RAISING STRONG FAITH FAMILIES.

1 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. 2 The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. 

Hebrews 11:1-2 [MSG]

17 [Jesus said,] “Any kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. A family that is divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom stand?...21 When a strong man is completely armed and guards his house, what he owns is safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks, he is overpowered. The attacker takes away the armor the man had trusted in.”

Luke 11:17-18, 21-22 [NIRV]

24 [The Lord] increased His people greatly, And made them stronger than their enemies.

Psalm 105:24 [NKJV]

3 Ways To Live Out Strong Faith.

1. Trust God's Plan For The Future.

3 “When you see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord your God, leave where you are and follow it. 4 That way you will know which way to go since you have never been here before. But do not follow too closely. Stay about a thousand yards behind the Ark.”

Joshua 3:3-4 [NCV]

15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

Joshua 3:15-16 [NIV]

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do. He will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5–6 [NLT]

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 [NIV]

19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 

Isaiah 43:19 [NIV]

2. Choose Courage Over Fear.

1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.”

Joshua 6:1-2 [NKJV]

20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.

Joshua 6:20 [NIV]

11 “Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you — also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.” 

Joshua 24:11-13 [NIV]

20 [Jesus] replied, “Because you have so little faith. 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.”

Matthew 17:20 [NIV]

10 The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. 

Proverbs 18:10 [NIV]

3 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You."

Psalm 56:3 [NIV]

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7 [NKJV]

3. Refuse To Be Defined By Failure.

1 But the Israelites weren’t faithful to the Lord. They didn’t destroy what had been set apart to him. They did not do what they had been told to do. So the Lord became very angry with Israel… 6 Joshua tore his clothes. He fell in front of the ark of the Lord with his face to the ground…10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! What are you doing down there on your face?”

Joshua 7:1, 6, 10 [NIRV] 

1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope.”

Joshua 8:1 [NIRV]

16 Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…

Proverbs 24:16 [NIV]

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 [NIV]