Sep 21
What do you think about when you think about God? Brett Younker shares that this is one of the most influential questions you can answer in this life. Acknowledging that Jesus is not only in control of your life but also amazed by your faith is key to growing your belief in Him.
Scripture References
1.When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2.There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3.The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4.When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5.because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6.So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7.That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8.For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”9.When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10.Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
15.The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
6.Who, being in very nature2:6 Or in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7.rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature2:7 Or the form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.8.And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!9.Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,10.that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11.and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Faith in Action
1.Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2.This is what the ancients were commended for.
3.By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4.By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5.By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”11:5 Gen. 5:24 For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6.And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7.By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8.By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9.By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10.For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11.And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she11:11 Or By faith Abraham, even though he was too old to have children—and Sarah herself was not able to conceive—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12.And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13.All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14.People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15.If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16.Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17.By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18.even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”11:18 Gen. 21:12 19.Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20.By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21.By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22.By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23.By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24.By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25.He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26.He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27.By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28.By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29.By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30.By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31.By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.11:31 Or unbelieving
32.And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33.who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34.quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35.Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36.Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37.They were put to death by stoning;11:37 Some early manuscripts stoning; they were put to the test; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38.the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39.These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40.since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
6.Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;7.it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.
What you have seen with your eyes
Brett Younker
Brett Younker is a pastor, worship leader, and songwriter at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia. His heart is to help people see and know Jesus in a real way through preaching, teaching, music, or just hanging out. Over the last decade, Brett has helped carry the heart of Passion Music and the Passion Movement to the world, calling a generation to live for the glory of God. Brett has helped write many songs the Church is singing, including “Build My Life,” Fall Like Rain,” Christ Our King,” God, You’re So Good,” “Holy Ground,” “Worthy of Your Name,” and many others. He also hosts a podcast called Jesus Songs that explores the stories of some of the songs we sing each week in church. Brett and his wife, Aynsley, have three kids and a dog named Sgt Pepper.