The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, September 30, 2026, we follow up on our "All Things Are Possible" message series with a look at the topic, "Persistent Prayer."  Do we need to pray over and over to God?  Are we supposed to beg Him or plead our case?  Can our prayers change what God has planned?   We will answer all these questions this coming week in an uplifting message that shares the truth about our prayers.  Join us at 6:00 p.m. for some mid-week encouragement for the soul. 

If you can't join us in person, you can always participate through our Facebook page.  We go "live" at 6:00 p.m., and you will have a front row seat.  If you can't join us live, there are 3 ways to watch the message later - on Facebook, on YouTube, or here on our website. (the "Past & Future Messages" page).  Watch anytime!  

This week, September 23, 2026, we wrapped up our study on faith and an emphasis on Jesus' teaching that nothing is impossible with God.  Whether we live life in victory, with hope instead of depression, with peace instead of fear, all depends on the amount of our faith.

How can we tell when there’s an absence of faith in our life?  We stop believing in the impossible, and we settle for living a small life.  We settle for less than God’s best.  We decide for ourselves that this is it. . . what we have no is all we'll ever have.  We live down-hearted, thinking we will never get better, or get well, or have a loving relationship, or be able to move up in life, have a little extra cash, be able to help our loved ones, etc. 

But what if God wanted more for you? 

In Mark 6, the Bible tells of a time when Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth, accompanied by his disciples. On the Sabbath, He taught in the synagogue, "and many who heard him were amazed."  But notice what they said: 

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?  Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”  Notice verses 5-6 - "He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.  He was amazed at their lack of faith."

Understand this - Nazareth’s unbelief didn’t diminish Jesus’ divine power.  This story shows they rejected Him.  They chose not to go to Him.  They had no faith in Him.  But this story also reveals spiritual truth #1 - it reveals that Jesus would have done more.  He wanted to do more!  The question for us is this:  what are we missing in our own lives because we have been unwilling to go to God with our prayer request?  We've been unwilling to hope or trust that God could change our situation . . . or would want to?  What are we missing because we are too timid to ask?  Feel unworthy of asking?  It's all a lack of faith.  Because God loves us, He wants His best for us.  He wants to do more in our lives . . . if we would only have enough faith to ask Him and trust Him.

For those who need healing . . . who have dealt with a health issue for a while now . . . be encouraged with tis story.  It's from Mark 5, and tells of when Jesus healed a woman when she touched His robe.  She didn’t ask, she just reached out for Jesus and touched His robe.  She just believed that healing flows from Jesus.  Do we believe the same thing?  Are we willing to take a risk and reach for Jesus?  Her healing happened solely because she believed.  And she'd been suffering with a medical issue for 12 years.  Physicians of her day couldn't heal her, but Jesus could.  The Great Physician - God - can do what doctors of our day can't do.  Let the story of that unnamed woman teach us a spiritual truth – we need Jesus to deal with life’s problems, and we need to have faith that Jesus can do what doctors can't!

Hebrews 11:1 is a powerful verse on faith.  It says that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Point #2 of this week's message is this truth - to have faith in life is to live with hope.  Hope is a positive attitude.  Hope is wanting a good outcome to happen and believing there is a real possibility it might come true.  Faith in God gives us the ability to live with hope, and without worry.  With faith, we are assured that God wants good things for His people.  Faith in God is what allows us to be confident that all things work together for good.

Faith is the key to living this life in peace.  

Peace isn’t how you live when everything is perfect and great.  Peace is how you live knowing God is on the throne; that He is a perfect God with unlimited abilities; that nothing is too difficult; that He fights your battles; that He has your best interest at heart.

Jesus said nothing was impossible for God, or to put it another way, that all things are possible with God. (Matt.19:26)  Do you believe Him?

And in Matthew 17:20 - Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”

To move a mountain is not humanly possible.  It's an example Jesus gave to remind us that God can do what we can't do.  Faith knows God can do anything.  

Maybe your faith is low right now.  You aren't alone.  Plenty of believers in Jesus still struggle with faith.  Last week we look at a story from Mark 9 when the father brought his son to Jesus for healing and made this confession: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”  It's a confession many people make today - I believe . . . but I want to believe more.  I don't want to be afraid to hope that God can change my life, my situation.  I want more confidence, more hope, more faith. 

And in Luke 17, the Disciples wanted more faith, too.  They said to Jesus,  “Increase our faith!”  He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you."  (Luke 17:6).  Here is spiritual truth #3 this week - the way to increase faith is to use it.  Pray.  Ask.  The more you pray and see God answer your prayers, the more faith you will have. 

Matt. 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

John 14:13 – “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Jesus' words in those verses should change how we pray, and inspire us to ask boldly for God to be glorified in our lives. He is sitting by the throne of God, interceding for us right now, and wanting to answer our prayers.

Finally, here is spiritual truth #4 - our challenges in life are opportunities to be a witness for God.  Jesus said we’re the light of the world.  We’re to be examples for others, and that includes examples of faith.

Some challenging seasons in life exist so that we can be witnesses, living testimonies for God through our faith.  In Hebrews 11, the Apostle Paul lists example after example of people who had faith in God:  Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah.  He could have listed many more!  They were people who lived with faith, who believed that God could do the impossible.  And their stories are told to be encouragement for us.  They are stories that help us believe that God has goodness in store for us, just like He did for them.  They are stories that enable us - challenge us - to believe that God can change our situations. 

And know this - those miracles happened not because they were perfect people, but because God is a good, loving Father to us. God is good even to imperfect people.  Romans 4:14 says: "If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless."   And Romans 4:16 - "So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift.  And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s.  For Abraham is the father of all who believe."

Romans 4 brings home the point that miracles happen because of belief, and the reason for the circumstance that created the need for the miracle was for Abraham to be an example of faith.  The scripture says Abraham's miracle "happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.  Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”  And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.  Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.  He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.  And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.  And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit.  It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead." (Rom. 4:17-24).  

Our lives are testimonies to the greatness of Almighty God. We are examples of God’s restoration, healing, and life-changing power.

Look at Job’s story.  He lost everything.  But even when it hurt, even when he didn’t understand, he stayed faithful.  He still chose to say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  And on the other side of Job’s story was restoration, double portion, and revelation, a deeper knowledge of God, and a closer walk with Him.

Job is still an example to us thousands of years later.  Our challenges exist so that we can also be examples of faith.

Our faith in God is our testimony . . . our light that shines.