Unbreakable Faith | Zac Ethridge | Liberty Live Church

And my So So So So So So So So So So So So So Good morning. Welcome to Liberty Live Church. We are so glad you decided to join us. Today's your first day at Liberty. We'd love to meet you. So text CONNECT to 40371, tap the seat back in front of you, or visit us at one of our next step centers after the service today. We can't wait to meet you. Si hablas español, nos encantaría que nos acompañaras a nuestros servicios todos los domingos en nuestro campus de Hampton. Para más información, favor de mandar la palabra ESP al 40371. Te esperamos. Because of your generosity, lives are being changed right here in Hampton Roads and around the world. When you give, you partner with us to help change lives, communities, and the world for Jesus Christ.

You can give through our website, tap the seat in front of you, or through an envelope at your campus today. Thank you for investing in all that God is doing through the work here at Liberty. You know, God is moving in so many incredible ways here at Liberty, from kids to students to young adults to senior adults. There are so many ways for you to find community, discover your purpose, and grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus. So right now, let's look at some exciting things coming up. Don't miss what's happening all throughout the week. So follow us on social media and connect with your campus Facebook group. Thanks again for being here today, where it's not just church, it's life. Good morning, Liberty! What a great day to be in church this morning. We are so happy you are here, and if it's your first time, we want to give you a big Liberty welcome. Put some praise hands in the chat for everybody that's new, and if it's your first time, we want to get to know you. So scan this QR code right here on the screen and fill out that connection card, and we want to get you plugged in. That's right. Or you can text LIFE to 40371, plug in your information right there. There you go. Kyle texting. We want to send you a free gift. Free gift! We haven't sent a free gift in a while. I know. It's time. If you're new, let us send you a free gift. We would love to do it.

Some free Liberty merch coming your way if you're brand new. Just fill out the connection card and let us know if it's your first time. Yeah, just tell us if it's your first time here, and leave your name in the chat. Let us know where you're streaming from today. Had lots of cool people stream last week. Oh, we got a list. What you got? We got Allison from upstate New York. Yes! We got Daryl from New Orleans. New Orleans? Was it hot in New Orleans for 4th of July? Probably, because it was smoking hot. I don't know. I wasn't there. KK135 from Anchorage, Alaska. Oh my goodness. That's really far. It was not hot in Anchorage, Alaska. I'm sorry if I'm saying your name wrong. Muyad from Delaware. Okay. We got Stacey from Maryland, and Jada from Wilmington, North Carolina. There you go. So you definitely want to let us know in the chat so we can give you a shout out. Yeah. We'll see you soon. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. So you definitely want to let us know in the chat so we can give you a shout out. Yeah. Yeah. We love seeing our liberty family all over the country, all over the world. Special shout out to our military who are deployed and serving today. We're grateful that you're there. We are. Maybe you're back. From vacation. From vacation. I don't know. I meant to. Last weekend was the 4th of July. Yes. I hope you stayed safe, had a fun time celebrating with your friends and family. Hey, speaking of 4th of July. I almost shared this news clip with you. Okay. We were talking about fireworks in Virginia. You're like, why can't we just shoot all these fireworks in Virginia? There was a fire. Oh. Did you see it in Ocean View? I didn't see that there was a fire. Hopefully you were safe. It saves through the fireworks.

Happy birthday, America. I do love me some good fireworks. They are fun. There's a reason why people plant themselves in a field all day long in the heat to save their spot. I wasn't there all day, but I have talked to people that did, like 5, 6, 7 in the morning so they could see the fireworks at 10 o'clock at night. I'm not that committed. Hopefully, you've cooled off from this past weekend and week because it was steaming hot. And the best place to get cool is right here on church. That's right. So you still got time. So get on in here and hear a good message. That's right. And speaking of a very hot, busy week, our students have been at camp. What an incredible week. Kyle, you just got back from camp. It's a lot. Did you have a great time? It is a lot of good. Yes. God has been on the move. Y'all keep praying for the students, for their families, because the enemy does not like what happened this week. And he's going to be on the attack. So be praying for the Lord's protection over them. And today, we've got a great message coming.

We do got a great message. Pastor Grant is going to be bringing the word. You're not going to want to miss it, Jenny. You got a word for it? I have a word. Since we've been in Hebrews, let me just remind y'all this hall of faith here. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us will be made perfect. The Lord has a promise for you today. We pray that he speaks to you through the word today. And if you haven't received that promise yet, know that it is coming. Eternity is on the horizon, and God has good things in store for you. So are you ready to get to worship today? I am ready. We're so glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy the message. Good morning, Liberty. Welcome to church. We were at camp this past week. We saw so many kids baptized, so many kids saved. So let's sing together, because we can't help but praise God this morning. Come on. I have fought the hands that bear the scars, reached down and rescued me. And I have known the love of the Father's heart,

a prodigal now redeemed. From where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming. So more and more, I see you move all around me. Come on, sing. Oh, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord. And I can't help but listen, shouts of joy. When I think of how good you've been, faithful now until the end, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord. For the blood you spilled to save my life, a debt I cannot repay. For the cross you bore with open arms, salvation that calls my name. From where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming. And the more and more, I see you move all around me. Come on and sing. Oh, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord. And I can't help but listen, shouts of joy. When I think of how good you've been, faithful now until the end, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord. Oh, I can't help but dance because I'm free. I got no chains on me because I'm healed and redeemed. So I can't help but call on a name that buried my shame, who opened my grave. I can't help but dance because I'm free. I got no chains on me. I'm healed and redeemed. I can't help but call on a name that buried my shame, who opened my grave. I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord.

And I can't help but listen, shouts of joy. Because when I think of how good you've been, faithful now until the end, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord. Oh, I can't help but dance. I can't help but praise You, praise You, Lord I can't help but praise You, praise You, Lord Will you sing that one more time with me, come on sing I can't help but praise You, praise You, Lord And I can't help but lift up, shout some joy Cause when I think of how good You've been Faithful now until the end I can't help but praise You, praise You, Lord Come on praise Him this morning, He's worthy, He's good, He's worthy, come on Open our eyes to see You, God If you listen, you can hear it A sound is breaking through Hear them roaring, see them running The lion's in the room, oh you're here Hearts are stirring, heaven's coming The Lord is breaking through Fear is fading, strength awakening The lion's in the room, the lion's in the room Come on sing it out He is reigning now The king is on the move Tearing strongholds down Our God will never lose Everything must bow To the lion, to the lion in the room

Mighty warrior, Lord of armies He's fighting for his own Demons crumble in His throne As Jesus takes His throne Oh Jesus take Your throne He is reigning now The king is on the move Tearing strongholds down Our God will never lose Everything must bow To the lion, to the lion in the room He is reigning now The king is on the move Tearing strongholds down Our God will never lose Everything must bow To the lion, to the lion in the room Oh hail the lion of Judah Oh hail the king of Israel Lift up your eyes and behold Him The lion's in the room, the lion's in the room Oh hail the lion of Judah Oh hail the king of Israel Lift up your eyes and behold Him The lion's in the room, the lion's in the room If you listen you can hear it A sound is breaking through Hear it roar and see it rise The lion's in the room, on the side Heaven's coming

♪ Moment, the Lord is breaking through ♪ ♪ Fear is fading, strength awakening ♪ ♪ It's raining now, the king is on the move ♪ ♪ Tearing strongholds down, our God will never lose ♪ ♪ Everything must bow to the light, to the light in the world ♪ ♪ Oh, he's waiting, oh, he's waiting, he is waiting now ♪ ♪ The king is on the move, tearing strongholds down ♪ ♪ Our God will never lose, everything must bow to the light ♪ ♪ To the light in the world ♪ ♪ Hey, open our eyes to see you, hey ♪ ♪ Open our eyes to see you, God ♪ ♪ Oh, you're here with us, you're here with us ♪ ♪ You are raining now, the king is on the move ♪ ♪ Tearing strongholds down, my God will never lose ♪ ♪ Everything must bow to the light, to the light in the world ♪ ♪ To the light in the world ♪ ♪ We give you glory and honor, we give you glory and honor ♪ ♪ Holy you are, holy you are, holy you are, holy you are ♪ ♪ Sing worthy is the lamb who was slain, holy, holy is he ♪ Lord, sing a new song. ♪ Sing a new song to him who sits on heaven's throne ♪ ♪ Heaven's mercy seat ♪ ♪ Worthy is the lamb who was slain, holy, holy ♪ ♪ He's known like your Lord and Savior ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to him who sits on heaven's throne ♪ ♪ Heaven's mercy seat ♪ ♪ We sing holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings ♪ ♪ You are my everything and I will adore you ♪

♪ Adore you ♪ ♪ We adore you God ♪ Sing filled with wonder. ♪ Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder ♪ ♪ At the mention of your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, your name is power, breath of living water ♪ ♪ Search of my mystery, holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Praise to the King of Kings ♪ ♪ You are my everything and I will adore you ♪ ♪ You are my everything and I will sing holy, holy ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is and is and is and is and is ♪ ♪ All the joy of the angels with all creation sing ♪ ♪ And I say praise to the King of Kings ♪ ♪ You are my everything and I will adore you ♪ ♪ Give Him praise, give Him honor and praise ♪ Good morning, church. Scripture teaches that one day we'll be singing that in the throne room, praising Jesus face to face. And we've got two more who have professed Christ who will be there with us. So I'm excited today to introduce you to Nehemiah. Nehemiah, yeah, he's got a fan club out there. Nehemiah has known the Lord, but this last week at camp, he really felt God just wash over him with new peace and a calling for him to truly go all in and following Jesus and representing Him.

So he's here today to make that declaration that he is all in for Jesus. Nehemiah, it's a joy to baptize you as my brother in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Bear with Christ in baptism, raised to walk in newness and life. Next this morning, we have Xavier. And you're good, you're good. Xavier was sharing with me that, he's actually not from here, but he's here this summer with his grandmother. And he had begun to see in his time here what Jesus was doing in the lives of other people. And he said, I need that, I need Jesus. So he's trusting in Jesus today. You can have a seat, buddy. Xavier, it's because of your testimony and your faith in Jesus, it's my honor to baptize you as my brother in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. Bear with Christ in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life. That is never gonna get old. Two this morning, and I got to watch that happen 131 times at camp Thursday night. Come on, come on. And I don't believe God's done. I believe our theme this year has been more, and he's got more for our students, and he's got more for you.

And so we're showing up this morning, and we still got some eye boogers in. We're still a little exhausted, but we're expecting God to show up and keep pouring his spirit out. Man, we sat there night after night at camp, and we acknowledge that Jesus, you are seated at the right hand of the Father. And that is good news, because if you had not gone, the spirit would not have come. But Jesus, you went, and now you're reigning, and the spirit has come. And I want you to know my prayer for you this morning is that the spirit would move all over this room like he moved all over that campus this week, because students' lives were changed forever, and your life can be changed forever. Students stepped into salvation for the first time. Students who were far from God, but knew what it was like to be next to him came home for the first time in a long time. Students stepped in to obedience. Students were called to ministry this week. There was so much that God had for them this week, and I'm telling you right now, it's the same God. I told them this week, you don't have a JV Holy Spirit, it's the same Holy Spirit. And that Holy Spirit wants to encounter you this morning. He wants to call you this morning.

I'm so grateful to be at a church where we are passionate about the next generation, and we send our best teams down there to camp for a week. Come on, yeah, give it up for this church. Thank you. We sent our best people down there this week to lose sleep and to invest in the next generation, and I'm telling you, it's worth it every single time. But this morning, I want you to hear me. God's looking to encounter you. He's looking all over this room right now, and he's calling people. And the moment this morning you feel that tug, the Holy Spirit says, I want you. I want you to know it's a privilege to be called by the Holy Spirit, and your next step is to respond in obedience, because he wants to use you to change the world. He wants to use you to change the lives of the people around you, and he wants to change your life, and it can happen like that this morning. So I'm gonna pray that we would be ready to encounter Jesus this morning, to encounter his spirit this morning. Then we're gonna watch a video that is absolutely 100% gonna get you fired up. And we're gonna dive into Pastor Zach's message this morning, Jesus, right now, you are seated at the right hand of the Father,

you are interceding for us, and your spirit is moving around this room, I believe it already. So God, by faith, I'm asking that you would go encounter every person in this room. God, I am setting the bar and I am trusting that you would do exceedingly and abundantly more than I'm setting, than I'm asking or imagining. So God, this morning, would you just be exactly who you say you are? Would you go get your people? Would you move all over this room and would our lives be changed forever? God, we love you, we praise you, and everybody said, amen. Find somebody to high-five and then check out the screen. Amen. Welcome to camp! In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. In Christ, there's not just sufficient power to scrape by. There is immeasurably more power than you could ever need. God set eternity in your heart, for when God made you and designed you and formed you and knit you together in your mother's womb, and knows the exact amount of hairs on your head, he put eternity in your heart. It's because he loves you. This week has been awesome, because I learned that the Holy Spirit

can actually talk to me through prayer. God has been working in my life this week because I made so many new friends that are Christian, as God calls us to do, and it's just been such a great experience. I get emotional when I see people go under the water, because I realize that they're saying that they're willing to give up their old identities, give up their old sins, give up their own passions, give up their own dream. They're willing to die to themselves to come alive in Jesus Christ. And I get emotional when they come out of the water, because they get a new identity in Jesus Christ. They get a new power to overcome sin. They get a new vision for who they can be and how they can live. We need a generation of students. We need a generation of parents. We need a generation of leaders that are gonna stand up and say, that's me, I'm unashamed. You guys understood what it looks like to be a generation that says, I'm not ashamed of Jesus. I'm telling you right now, hell would quiver and you would do some incredible things because of the glory of God. And if you're ready, you gotta be ready, because if you want to practice the Reverence of God, you've gotta keep praising God the Lord a day long.

Jesus is head of the glory of God. He's nope, he's just different. He just said, I don't have a candle. You can have my candle. If you've never had a candle, that's an excuse to say, the night before you can have my candle, just to say the name of Jesus, like, I gotta scratch my carve on that, but you can have my candle. This Sunday morning, my name is Pastor Zach. I'm the campus pastor at Liberty in Smithfield, and I wanna welcome those who are joining us at every campus, those who are tuning in online, wherever you are in the world today, we want you to know that God loves you, that he has a purpose for your life, and he has you as a part of this service today, because he wants to work in your life in ways immeasurably more than you could even imagine. We've been praying for you. We believe that God is gonna work in your heart today. As we just saw, God was at work in so many students' hearts this past week. Look at this. There were 917 total people who went to camp, 213 students made some kind of decision for Christ, 131 were baptized, and 27 were called to the gospel ministry, and all we can say is thank you, Jesus, and glory to God for his faithfulness and grace.

I don't think we fully appreciate or understand how special this is and how special it is to be a part of a church where God is changing lives, communities, and the world for Jesus Christ, and if you wanna be a part of what God is doing here, if you want to see God use you to change lives, communities, and the world for Jesus Christ, if you wanna know him and find community and serve people and leave a legacy with your short life, then I want you to come to Lifetrack next Sunday. Next Sunday at every campus, we're gonna have Lifetrack. It's an opportunity to hear more about our mission, hear more about our values, and maybe this is your very first Sunday at Liberty. Maybe you've been here for quite a while, but you've never been to Lifetrack before. Some campuses have brunch, some campuses have lunch, but every campus is having Lifetrack next Sunday, and I want you to register. If you've never been to Lifetrack before, text Lifetrack to 40371, and we would love to see you there and let you discover your purpose and how God could use you to accomplish his mission in this world, amen? Well, we. We are in a series called By Faith, By Faith. We've been studying the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 11, and in a way, it's a survey of the Old Testament,

highlighting stories of faith from creation to Christ. And what stands out to me in this last paragraph that we're looking at today, and what stands out in the whole chapter really, is that the people in Hebrews 11 had unbreakable faith, unbreakable faith. How many of you have something that in your life, it just keeps on running? It's just reliable, it just won't break. Think about the most unbreakable thing in your home. I don't want to say it's my spouse's stubbornness, no. That we might have a will that's hard to break sometimes, but think about the things that you have. And I remember Lindy and Dalton had this old car that she got when she went to college, and they drove the paint off of that little car. I mean, they had it until just a couple of years ago, and it just kept on running, it just wouldn't break. In our house, we have this old rocking chair that was my grandfather's rocking chair. And they don't make furniture, they don't make appliances, they don't make things like they used to. You hear that all the time. But in your life, what's the most unbreakable thing? I hope the most unbreakable thing is your faith, is your faith. Is your faith a teacup or is it a cast iron skillet? The people here in Hebrews 11, they had unbreakable faith. We're gonna read it in verses 33 through 38. It says, who through faith conquered kingdoms,

enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and in caves of the earth. They had an unbreakable faith, unbreakable faith. And what stands out here, in the middle of this paragraph, there's this seismic shift, we'll see it later. But the first group of people here, this list, we see that they had, if you're taking notes, faith for the breakthrough, faith for the breakthrough. Hebrews 11 has recalled story after story of miraculous breakthroughs. We've studied so many of them. When the odds were stacked against them, when they faced absolute impossibilities, when they were at a dead end, when they were as good as dead,

God delivered them through mighty acts of power. By faith, Sarah received power to conceive. And by faith, Moses led the people through the Red Sea. And by faith, Israel brought the walls of Jericho down. And by faith, Gideon and Samson became mighty in battle and put foreign armies to flight. And by faith, David enforced justice and obtained promises. And by faith, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they quenched the power of fire, didn't they? By faith, Daniel shut the mouths of lions. And as we read these stories, we ask ourselves the question, is the arm of the Lord too short to save? No, he is able to deliver his people in any and every circumstance. He is God Almighty, the Lord of hosts. He is the living God. He reigns in heaven above and on earth below, and there is nothing impossible for him. We have looked at all these stories that I've mentioned, and in each one, we have seen God's people experience mighty and miraculous breakthroughs, haven't we? And there are more stories of breakthroughs that we haven't really even seen yet. We hardly have time to look at them, but in the first half of verse 35, what does it say? Women receive back their dead by resurrection. In 1 Kings 17, there's a story of the prophet Elijah. He raises a widow's son from the dead. And then in 2 Kings chapter.

4, Elisha raises this couple's only son, this son that they had prayed for and longed for. He dies tragically, and Elisha prays for him, and he is raised from the dead and returned to his mother. And there are so many stories like that in this chapter, testimonies of miraculous breakthroughs that bear witness to what Jesus said. In Luke chapter 18, verse 27, he said, what is impossible with man is possible with God. Let me ask you, have you forgotten that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than you could ask or think? Are you resigned to your situation or your diagnosis or to a stronghold in your life? God means for these stories to stir the belief again that nothing is impossible for God. By faith, the mountain before you can be cast into the sea. And by faith, the sea can be turned into dry land. And by faith, what is dead can be raised to new life again. And yet, there's a great danger to be aware of. You see, our devil, our adversary, the devil, he is so crafty and so cunning and so deceitful. And I'm convinced that Satan can use the outcomes of the stories of faith like these to make you think that the reason you haven't experienced a breakthrough yet is because you just don't have enough faith. Maybe Satan's discouraged you with that. Maybe you fear that if I just have more faith, then I would have a breakthrough in my own life. The author of Hebrews is aware of this.

And so this chapter that is filled with stories of such great success is bookended with these stories of great suffering. The people of old did have breakthroughs, but they didn't just have faith for breakthroughs. They had faith for the breaking. And that's what I really want us to focus in on here today, faith for the breaking. And if you want to have unbreakable faith, then you have to have faith for the breaking too. It says in verse 35, we'll read it again. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy. These people had unbreakable faith too. They had faith for the breaking. You know, there seems to be this seismic shift in the stories here, but the author doesn't even break his cadence, does he? He just continues right on with the same tone, with the same cadence. And what I saw here as I read through this chapter in these stories of faith is that unbreakable faith,

sometimes it's gonna look like great success. Other times it looks like great suffering. Sometimes it means enforcing justice, and other times it means enduring injustice. Sometimes when people live by faith, it's measured by miraculous power, and other times it's measured by miraculous perseverance. Faith can look a whole lot of different ways in our lives. Sometimes we experience these great triumphs, and other times we experience these great trials. But faith, listen, faith isn't just measured by the chains that it can break. It is also measured by the chains that cannot break it. What in your life are you facing that is so difficult and so crushing, and yet it will not break your faith? That's a mighty faith. That's a strong faith. That's an unbreakable faith. The author says that some were tortured. Some were given the opportunity to be released, but they refused. They refused. Their faith could not be broken. They suffered in all these different ways, and yet they persevered. The prophets, they were called to speak the word of God in dark and evil times. when rulers and authorities and even the priesthood had forsaken the ways of the Lord." God has ordained government. He has ordained government to promote good and punish evil.

That's what Romans 13 tells us. Government has a role to play in promoting good and punishing evil. But wicked societies, what do they do? They call evil good and good evil. They legislate immorality. They codify lies and criminalize the truth. And the prophets who then speak God's Word against such immorality and injustice become the chief targets of their persecution. Elijah, he was under constant threat from Jezebel and Ahab as they relentlessly pursued his life. Obadiah, he hid a hundred prophets in caves during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. It's not recorded in the biblical narrative, but Jewish tradition says that King Manasseh had the prophet Isaiah placed in a hollowed out tree trunk and then commanded that the tree be sawn into. We see in the Scriptures stories like Jeremiah the prophet. He suffered greatly. He was called the weeping prophet. And it says in Jeremiah 37 15 that the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison. We also see the suffering of men like Zechariah in 2 Chronicles 24. It says that when Israel abandoned the house of the Lord their God, they served the idols. Wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs, yet God sent prophets. He did send prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. They testified against them, but they would not pay attention. Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, Thus says God, Why do you break the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you. But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Zechariah was martyred and murdered in the very temple itself. And the Spirit of God had clothed him, he was calling them back to God, but they rejected God's message and his messenger. This kind of suffering, this kind of persecution dominates the latter half of the Old Testament. And that suffering carries over into the New Testament and into the context of the Christians who are receiving the book of Hebrews. It says all throughout the scriptures, and we look particularly at the book of Acts, the early church faces fierce persecutions, arrests, imprisonments, beatings, and death. But like so many people of faith who came before them, their faith could not be broken. Their bodies were broken, but their spirit was not. You see this in Acts chapter 5, the apostles were brought in, and when they had called the apostles in, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Stop spreading the message of Jesus. And they let

them go. And then they left the presence of the council rejoicing, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day in the temple from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. They were brought in, they were threatened, they were beaten, don't share about Jesus anymore. They go out wounded, but rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. And the very next day, they went right back to serving their King. It's unbreakable faith, unbreakable faith. The apostles were beaten, but their faith could not be broken. And this pattern is repeated all over the pages of the New Testament. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had taught them. I wonder, how did they have such unbreakable faith? How did they have such unbreakable joy through suffering? Jesus had taught them. Jesus had shown them the way through His own life and example. And here's what He told them in Matthew chapter 5. This is in the Sermon on the Mount, the end of the beatitude. He says, blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and other all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. They were looking to the reward. What did we learn in Hebrews chapter 11 from Abraham and Sarah? Here we have no lasting city. We're looking to that city whose builder and founder is God. We have received a kingdom, Hebrews 13 says, we've received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Our inheritance is kept in heaven for us, imperishable and undefiled, cannot be stolen away. It is secure, eternally secure. And Moses, it says, was looking to the reward. The Christians in Hebrews were told in chapter 10,

don't throw away your confidence, don't throw away your faith, which is able to bring about great reward when Christ returns. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4, he said this, beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice in so far as you share Christ's suffering so that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. He tells us what's taught throughout the New Testament here that if we share in his sufferings, we will also share with Christ in his glory. And the spirit of glory rested upon them. It's the same spirit of glory that rested upon the prophet Zechariah. That spirit has been poured out upon the church of the living God. I heard pastor AJ say this morning here at the Hampton campus, and he said to the students at student camp, you didn't get a JV Holy Spirit. You got the Holy Spirit of the living God that was upon the prophets and upon the apostles. It was upon Christ himself that has been poured out upon you.

When we read the New Testament, we find that the faith of the church was forged through fiery trials. Their faith was forged through fiery trials. And I want you to know this morning that the trials you're facing aren't meant to break you. They're meant to make you unbreakable. What are you facing this morning that you think is going to break you? What are you facing that you think is insurmountable and crushing? Those things aren't meant to harden your heart, but they are meant to harden your faith. Steel, I was looking into this and thinking about steel. It's put into the fire, isn't it? And then it's struck with the hammer. In this process of fire and hammer being struck and being put in the flames, it packs the structure of the steel tightly together. It makes the steel so much stronger and stable. And this morning, whatever it is that Satan wants to use to break you, God wants to use it to forge you. Satan wants to break you through trials. God wants to forge you. He wants to give you an unbreakable faith. What did Jesus tell the apostle Peter? He said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

And when you have turned against strength in your brothers, Satan wants to sift us. He wants to crush us. He wants to break us. But if you only knew that the living Lord Jesus was at the right hand of the Father praying for you, then your faith would not fail. And when your faith has been strengthened through the trial, look at what you can do. You can strengthen others. You can strengthen others. It's times of great testing and trial that strengthen the church. The external threats that the early church faced revealed the importance and urgency of internal unity. The early church was strengthened as they suffered together. How many times have you experienced or you've seen others that they grew united together through suffering, through pain? Hardships have a way of bringing the people of God together. Easy times make us tribal. Easy times cause quarrels and divisions and strife. and pettiness, but when we're put into the fire, when we're struck with the blows of Satan, then we're strengthened and forged together to be united as the people of God. The early church was challenged by the apostles to put away strife and division and quarreling because the trials that they faced, the dangers that they faced, the threats that they faced were far too great to turn on one another. They had to stay united together with an unbreakable bond of faith. In Hebrews 11, we find that in every generation, the people of faith have faced great trials and great tests that strengthened their faith.

Sometimes they succeeded and sometimes they suffered. Sometimes they were delivered. Sometimes they died. But faith always glorifies God, no matter the result, because it reveals one of two things about God. It either reveals that God is bigger than the challenges of life, or it reveals that God is better than the challenges of life. Sometimes you triumph, sometimes you experience victory, and God flexes His arms and shows He's bigger than whatever this world can throw at you. We see that all throughout Hebrews 11 and in the Old Testament. But sometimes, as we read in the latter half of this chapter, the latter half of this paragraph even, sometimes they were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to what? A better life. Sometimes in the trial and in the suffering, our faith reveals that God is better than the comforts of this life. Better than anything this world can offer. And God is glorified in every circumstance, in every outcome. You know, faith is not about the outcome. Faith is about obedience. Obedience to God. The outcome may look very different from person to person, doesn't it? Some experience abundance while others experience need. And some experience that their family grows while others experience infertility. Some people live by faith and they get a promotion. Some people live by faith and it costs them their job. Some people live by faith and experience God's healing. And some people live by faith and face death. The examples given in Hebrews 11 are many, but notice that the first example given of faith in Hebrews chapter 11 is Abel.

The second example is Enoch, right there at the beginning. Two contrasting experiences and different outcomes. Abel was the first man to ever die. Ever. He died. He was murdered by his brother Cain, while Enoch was the first man to never die. And we see that same pattern again at the end of the chapter. Some escape the sword, others are killed by the sword, but they all had faith in God. They all had faith in God. And the stories in Hebrews 11 challenge us to lay aside our expectations of what the outcome of our faith might look like in this life. To lay those expectations aside and to yield our lives to the ultimate providential purpose and plan of God. Those who were delivered did not have a greater faith than those who died. We need to understand this. Those who are hurting and suffering and going through trials right now, you need to understand this. Those who were delivered did not have a greater faith than those who died. Sarah, and Moses, and Gideon, they didn't have a greater faith than Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Zechariah. All these, it says, all these pleased God by their faith. All these are heroes of the faith. All these are approved by God for their faith. Those who were delivered and those who died had the same faith in the same God. And perhaps no story in the scripture shows this more clearly than the story of Peter and James in Acts chapter 12. In Acts 12, it says that about that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

And so, there's this story here in Acts chapter 12, James is killed by Herod, and then Herod wants to be popular with the people, and so he arrests Peter, intending to do the same thing. But in Acts chapter 12, as we keep on reading, we learn that the story ends very differently for Peter. An angel shows up in the middle of the night. He releases him from those chains. and he unlocks the prison door, and he takes him out of the prison altogether. Peter's thinking he's having a dream, and he wakes up to realize this is real. God has delivered me. He goes back to the church that had been praying for his rescue. But James and Peter, they shared the same faith. They were prayed for by the same friends. They served in the same church. One was delivered, the other died. Both had unbreakable faith. On countless occasions, the early church found themselves in danger. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Have you ever had a week like that? I mean, if it's just not one thing, it's another. If it's not problems at work, it's problems at home. If it's not problems with the house, it's problems with the car. If it's not problems with the kids, it's problems with a friend. It's just one thing after another.

They faced spiritual attack and physical threats and sickness. The enemy wanted to break their faith at every turn. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul said they were under such great persecution that they could not endure it apart from God's power. It would have been impossible to endure apart from divine power. God delivered them from deadly peril repeatedly. Paul was delivered from death early in his conversion when he's let out of a basket from the city wall. There were some people who had set an ambush for him at the city gate, intended to kill him. He snuck away. God delivered him from death in a shipwreck at sea. God delivered him miraculously from prison in the midnight hour. He was delivered from death when they stoned him and drug him outside the city, leaving him there thinking he was dead and he actually wasn't. God delivered him from death. And in 2 Corinthians 4, here's how he puts it. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not driven to despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus also might be manifested in our bodies.

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his glorious presence. Presence. Incredible stories. As I read this, I thought about, you know, we focus on the crushed, the affliction. We focus on the persecution. I think he was focused on these words, not despairing, not forsaken, not destroyed. Where's your focus in your trial? What words jump off the page to you? How was he filled with such faith? Because every time this world tries to break us, the light of Jesus shines through all the more. Paul said, no matter how broken this world gets, no matter how broken my body gets, no matter how broken my life gets, my faith cannot be broken. And that kind of faith shines the light of Jesus like nothing else can in this world. Think about the people in your life. Their faith shines the brightest. It's not the people who have it the easiest. It is not the people who always seem to triumph. It's the people who triumph through their trials and through their pain, who persevere.

Time would fail to tell, the author of Hebrews says, of all these people, and I feel that even this morning, time would fail to tell the many stories of faith that have shown the light and life of Jesus through suffering and through hardship. But I wanna close by sharing this one with you. Their names were John and Betty Stamm. They met in Bible college and became young missionaries in China. I want you to hear about their faith in their own words, because I could not express their faith better than their own words capture. At just 18 years old, Betty wrote this, Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept your will for my life. I give myself my life. I am my all utterly to you to be yours forever. Use me as you will. Send me where you will and work out your whole will for my life at any cost." Just 18 years old. John gave the class speech at his college graduation. He was chosen by his classmates to give the speech at their graduation. And he said this, let us remind ourselves that the great commission was never qualified by clauses calling for advance only if funds were plentiful

and no hardship or self-denial involved. On the contrary, we are told to expect tribulation and even persecution, but with it victory in Christ. He knows the roughness of the way and his command carries with it the assurance of all that is needed. The faithfulness of God is the only certain thing in the world today. You know, when they were in college in the early thirties, Great Depression had just happened. Unrest all over the world. What's the only sure thing in this world? The faithfulness of God. He said, we need fear not. The result of trusting him. In a letter to her parents, Betty would write, it is as clear as daylight to me that the only worthwhile life is one of unconditional surrender to God's will and of living in his way and trusting his love and guidance. And a year later, she would write them again, saying when we consecrate ourselves to God, we think we are making a great sacrifice when really we are only letting go of the little trinkets that we have been grabbing. And when our hands are finally empty, he fills them full of his treasure. These young people were married in October of 1933. In September of 1934 on the mission field in China,

John and Betty had a little baby girl and they named her Helen Priscilla. Three months later, communist forces captured the city that they were living in and arrested them along with little Helen. They were forced to march 12 miles. They were kept in a house overnight, an abandoned house. Suspecting what was to come, Betty took baby Helen and she hid her in the house and she left extra diapers and two $5 bills. The next morning, they were paraded through the streets as prisoners. They were taken to a hill nearby where John and Betty were beheaded for their faith. They were 27 and 28 years old. Helen would be found and returned to her family. Her own rescue and miraculous deliverance is an incredible story itself. But in a letter that John wrote to his dad, a letter that would actually arrive the same day that news of their death arrived. He shared about the dangers they were facing and he included a poem that had been written by another missionary. I wanna read a portion of it to you this morning. Afraid of what? To feel the spirit's glad release, to pass from pain to perfect peace, the strife and strain of life to cease, afraid of that? Afraid of what?

Afraid to see the Savior's face, to hear his welcome and to trace the glory gleams from wounds of grace, afraid of what, of that? The people of faith who came before us, church, they endured with unbreakable faith because their faith was not confined to the hopes of this world or this life. They had put their faith in the eternal God. They were trusting in his eternal promises. They were hoping in his everlasting love. It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul would write in Romans chapter eight, who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, as it is written for your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more. We are more, come on, say more. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels or rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. This morning you can have faith through every trial and trouble because nothing in this world, not even death itself, can separate you from the love of God. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And faith becomes unbreakable when you put your faith in Jesus. Jesus is near to the brokenhearted. He doesn't leave us to the brokenness of sin. He doesn't leave us to the brokenness of this world. No, he entered this broken world. And though he did display his power through many miracles and wonders, and though he did perform many breakthroughs, he displayed his love by being broken for you.

At the last supper he took the bread and showed it to his disciples. He said, this is my body which is broken for you. Jesus Christ was broken on that tree so that you could experience the greatest breakthrough in all the world. Victory over sin, victory over death itself. On that cross Jesus was broken so that you could have a faith that's unbreakable. Do you have unbreakable faith in Jesus today? Won't you bow with me? You can have the faith of the many heroes who came before us. You can have the faith of John and Betty Stamm by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. And if today you know that you need to surrender to him, surrender completely and wholly as Betty wrote, completely surrender to his will for your life. If you're ready to surrender your future and surrender your eternity to him, that you could just pray something like this, Lord Jesus, I give you my all. I give you my sin. I give you my struggles. I give you my fears. I turn it all over to you. I am yours. And I put my faith in you to forgive my sins and to give me eternal life. Help me to live for you. Help me to honor you in life and in death. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Church, will you stand with me? Because I believe all over our campuses this morning, people just prayed that for the first time and God's word says when one sinner repents, all of heaven rejoices. So can we rejoice with heaven right now? Come on. If that was you, you're saying, that was me, I repented, I came to faith for the first

time this morning or I'm coming back home. We want to walk with you. You can text yes to 40371 or you can tap the seat back in front of you. This is going to be our way of coming alongside you and letting you know you're not alone in this journey. Now, Pastor Zach just delivered the word and something he said in there was so important. I don't want you to miss it. He said, faith is not about the outcome. Faith is about obedience. There are two moments every time the word is preached that I believe are vital. One, the minute you feel the spirit of God calling you and compelling you to take your next step and two, the moment you say yes and the moment you respond. So this morning, this altar is open. I want you to respond. If you felt the Holy Spirit calling you this morning and saying, hey, you know where you need to exercise faith. You know where you need to let go of the little trinkets in your hand and you need to come surrender to Jesus. I wanna invite you down front. Right now, I'm gonna invite our pastors and staff life team down front. Maybe this morning, you're like the man with the little boy and you're looking at Jesus and said, Jesus, I think I believe, but help my unbelief. We have people here this morning that wanna pray with you and that wanna help you in your unbelief. They wanna help encourage you to take that next step to just have faith, to believe that Jesus is bigger, that He is greater, and that eternity

is the reward worth pursuing. And so I'm gonna pray for you right now and then I wanna invite you down to this altar to take your next step of obedience. Jesus, right now, this morning, as we come to you, reminded that eternity is far greater than anything this world's gonna throw at us. I'm asking right now that your spirit would not hide His face. Jesus, that your Holy Spirit would go get your people, that right now, the Holy Spirit would bring them to repentance and bring them to obedience. And God, we would watch you move in the lives of people that we have not seen you move in the lives of in a long time God, would their yes be on the table right now? God, would our yes be on the table and would you show up in an incredible way? We love you, we praise you in Jesus' name, amen. ♪ It came from glory, took on flesh to save the lost ♪ ♪ Grace and mercy displayed upon the cross, our redemption ♪ ♪ It came from glory, took on flesh to save the lost ♪ ♪ Grace and mercy displayed upon the cross, our redemption ♪ ♪ He's the hope for all mankind, one name over everything ♪ ♪ One name over everything ♪ ♪ Jesus over everything, He reigns forevermore ♪ ♪ Our song for all eternity, this Jesus Christ is born ♪ ♪ Who can rival our resurrected King in one moment ♪ ♪ Our resurrected King in one moment ♪ ♪ He brought to His knees all the power and all authority ♪ ♪ To one name over everything, just one name over everything ♪

♪ Just one name over everything ♪ ♪ It's Jesus over everything, He reigns forevermore ♪ ♪ Our song for all eternity, this Jesus Christ is born ♪ ♪ God said, Jesus over everything, He reigns forevermore ♪ ♪ It's our song, our song for all eternity, Jesus Christ is born ♪ ♪ Our song for all eternity, Jesus Christ is born ♪ ♪ We believe that You can do it, we believe that You can do it ♪ ♪ Cause You're over fear, You're over shame ♪ ♪ You're over all anxiety, over troubles and all pain ♪ ♪ You're over sickness and disease, for He reigns on the throne ♪ ♪ All praise to Him alone, one name over everything ♪ ♪ You're over death and all sin, over hell, over the grave ♪ ♪ Darkness found, demons flee, at the mention of His name ♪ ♪ For He reigns on the throne, all praise to Him alone ♪ ♪ I Am Alone, One Name over everything, Oh ♪ ♪ So Jesus over everything, He reigns forevermore ♪ ♪ It's our song for all eternity, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, Jesus Christ is Lord, come on, sing it ♪ ♪ Yeah, Jesus over everything, He reigns forevermore ♪ ♪ Our song for all eternity, Jesus Christ is Lord ♪ ♪ Sing our song, our song for all eternity, Jesus Christ is Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus Christ is Lord, Amen ♪ Wow. I want Jesus to have more of me, and I want more of Him. And in these last days, that's what we're gonna have to have to stand for Jesus. And every single Sunday, almost without exception, I have a lady come up to me and ask, when are we gonna have another ladies' event? Well, it is here, September the 25th.

And there's a table in the back, and I'll be back there at the table for you to help you sign up. You can sign up with the QR code, or you can, if you don't do that, you can sign up with a pen and paper. And the tickets are only $10. This is gonna be a totally different kind of ladies' event. It's gonna be one night, Friday night. It's gonna be at each campus. And one of the major reasons for this is we want you at each campus to be able to invite friends who are lost to come to your campus. And then, hopefully, they'll receive Jesus, and they'll start living for Him. It's also only $10, ladies. And you can go through a drive-through and spend more than that. So I want to encourage you to buy a ticket for somebody who is away from the Lord, or a friend who does not even know Jesus yet, and bring them with you. They will more likely come to a one-night event than they would come to the whole weekend thing. So we're trying to make it friendly for a lost person to come with you. So you get her ticket. I'll meet you back there at the table, and we're gonna have an amazing women's event on September the 25th.

All right, I'll see you in a minute. Love you. What an incredible Sunday. We're so grateful you joined us for church this morning. If you took a next step in your faith, no matter what that looks like for you, whether today was the first day that you accepted Christ, or you want to be baptized, or today was maybe just your first day in church, we want to congratulate you, and we want to come alongside you in this new faith journey. And if today was the first day that you accepted Christ, we want to send you a free Bible. So make sure no matter what your next step looked like, you fill out our online connection card. You can scan this QR code right here on the screen, and let us know what next step you took. Liberty Family, it's been an awesome Sunday. We hope to see you back right here next Sunday at nine or 11. We love you, and we'll see you then. Thank you. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

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