WEBVTT - Take That Shot! 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.360 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.080 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:15.480 Unlike ESPN, unlike pop culture spin and records, talking about 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:18.160 what Beyonce did yesterday and all that kind of different stuff, 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:23.640 that's cool. That's all good. It's all in play. We 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:28.440 start with a central passage of Scripture. Isn't that right, guys? 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:29.840 That's right. Every time. 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:33.919 Every time we start with here's the Word of God. 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:39.080 And then we look at how life illustrates it, undergirds it, 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:49.720 bolsters it, proves it. And we never get disappointed by God. Never. Why? 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.519 Because all truth is God's truth. And I don't care 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.560 what you're looking at in the world today. If you 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:59.940 look at it through the grid of God's Word. Bada bing, 0:01:00.260 --> 0:01:05.420 bada boom. This thing's going to become crystal clear. And 0:01:05.420 --> 0:01:08.700 this is beautiful because I was a responsible adult and 0:01:08.700 --> 0:01:12.980 I went to bed at half time. Ali, she's a 0:01:12.980 --> 0:01:15.259 responsible adult, by the way. I'm just messing with her. 0:01:15.420 --> 0:01:16.260 Teenagers. 0:01:16.260 --> 0:01:20.380 With teenagers who want to watch the national championship basketball game. 0:01:20.780 --> 0:01:24.500 Found something when she walked in here this morning. She goes. 0:01:24.540 --> 0:01:27.460 Have I got something for you guys? Did you see 0:01:27.459 --> 0:01:31.580 the game? Nope. Oh, have I got some boy in? 0:01:31.580 --> 0:01:33.059 Does she take it away? 0:01:33.100 --> 0:01:35.100 Ali, let me tell you, if you did not see it. 0:01:35.140 --> 0:01:40.020 Houston versus Florida. 19 seconds to go in the game. 0:01:40.020 --> 0:01:43.140 Florida is up by two, but Houston has the ball 0:01:43.220 --> 0:01:46.700 plenty of time to either tie the game and send 0:01:46.700 --> 0:01:48.860 it to overtime or win it with a three. So 0:01:48.860 --> 0:01:51.620 they advance the ball up the court. Still about 12 0:01:51.620 --> 0:01:53.660 seconds on the clock. They start to move the ball 0:01:53.660 --> 0:01:57.580 around the perimeter. Florida is defending really well, but again 0:01:57.690 --> 0:02:00.530 Houston gets the ball to one of their best players 0:02:00.530 --> 0:02:03.850 who's made many, many three point shots throughout this tournament. 0:02:04.130 --> 0:02:06.809 He goes up in the air, elevates with the ball 0:02:06.810 --> 0:02:09.250 above his head, and you think he's going to go 0:02:09.250 --> 0:02:13.010 for that three. But he doesn't. He drops the ball 0:02:13.010 --> 0:02:15.370 to the floor because he sees the defender coming in. 0:02:15.410 --> 0:02:18.169 Thinks thinks this shot is going to get blocked. But 0:02:18.169 --> 0:02:22.489 the problem is in basketball you cannot land with the ball. 0:02:22.490 --> 0:02:25.570 So he drops it, then lands and then watches the 0:02:25.570 --> 0:02:28.170 ball bounce because he knows if he touches it, he 0:02:28.169 --> 0:02:30.450 will get the whistle and he will get called for 0:02:30.490 --> 0:02:33.400 a travel. So the ball just bounces like 2 or 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:36.970 3 bounces with nobody doing anything but watching it. So 0:02:36.970 --> 0:02:39.290 he watches it, knows he can't touch it. His teammates 0:02:39.290 --> 0:02:42.050 are trying to figure out what in the world just happened. 0:02:42.090 --> 0:02:45.690 A Florida player. This is all happening like one second, 0:02:45.690 --> 0:02:49.650 two seconds. A Florida player lunges for it, hits the ground, 0:02:49.690 --> 0:02:52.769 squeezes it like a teddy bear. A three year old 0:02:52.810 --> 0:02:56.830 hugging his teddy bear. And the clock expires Buyers and 0:02:56.830 --> 0:03:02.709 Florida wins. Great. But Houston, the fans, the coach, everybody 0:03:02.750 --> 0:03:07.269 stunned going, what happened after the game? Head coach Kelvin Sampson, 0:03:07.310 --> 0:03:11.230 he said some in somewhat kind of frustration. You just 0:03:11.230 --> 0:03:14.070 got to get a shot. You got to get a shot. 0:03:14.270 --> 0:03:14.550 Oh. 0:03:15.470 --> 0:03:18.630 That's so hard, man. You feel horrible for that kid. 0:03:18.870 --> 0:03:19.470 Great kid. 0:03:19.950 --> 0:03:24.350 Phenomenal shooter. In a split second, he decided, I can't 0:03:24.389 --> 0:03:27.390 take this shot. And then he was left with the 0:03:27.430 --> 0:03:31.270 even worse outcome of losing the game. You might have 0:03:31.270 --> 0:03:33.390 lost the game if the shot got blocked, if it 0:03:33.389 --> 0:03:36.470 didn't go in, but, oh, they didn't even get the 0:03:36.470 --> 0:03:37.190 shot off. 0:03:37.230 --> 0:03:40.990 Kelvin Sampson said it forever when he was coaching. I 0:03:40.990 --> 0:03:43.870 think he's 70, but he said this forever. What did 0:03:43.870 --> 0:03:47.990 he always say? Ali? What did he always say about 0:03:47.990 --> 0:03:49.950 a shot taken or not? 0:03:49.990 --> 0:03:52.990 I, I don't know every shot. 0:03:53.270 --> 0:03:55.010 You've been saying it all morning long. 0:03:55.050 --> 0:03:58.130 100% oh oh. You miss 100% of the shots that 0:03:58.130 --> 0:03:59.130 you don't take. 0:03:59.170 --> 0:04:01.250 That's what he would have said over and over again, right? 0:04:01.290 --> 0:04:02.490 100%. 0:04:02.530 --> 0:04:05.530 Well, I learned this from gymnastics, too. You know, they 0:04:05.850 --> 0:04:08.890 all the major part of injuries that you get from 0:04:08.890 --> 0:04:13.130 gymnastics are stopping your motion because you're afraid you're going 0:04:13.170 --> 0:04:15.610 to get hurt. If you just do the motion, you're 0:04:15.610 --> 0:04:18.089 way more likely to not get hurt than if you 0:04:18.089 --> 0:04:21.530 stop it in the middle. And and so take the shot. 0:04:21.730 --> 0:04:24.770 Take the shot. Because not taking the shot could be 0:04:24.770 --> 0:04:25.890 a problem in and of itself. 0:04:25.930 --> 0:04:30.010 And it's such an unsatisfying way to lose because you 0:04:30.010 --> 0:04:31.730 didn't give yourself a chance. 0:04:31.770 --> 0:04:34.730 No. You're sitting there thinking, what if. What if I 0:04:34.730 --> 0:04:35.410 took it? 0:04:35.410 --> 0:04:39.370 And God never wants his kids to live by what if? 0:04:40.050 --> 0:04:46.169 Faith has inherent risk. I mean, I know we want 0:04:46.170 --> 0:04:48.969 that the outcome is going to be. And he drained 0:04:48.970 --> 0:04:54.550 a three and it's victory. It. Here's what's crazy. Sometimes 0:04:54.550 --> 0:04:57.750 you don't drain a three. Sometimes you miss the shot. 0:04:57.790 --> 0:05:00.190 Sometimes it gets blocked. Sometimes you get a mulligan. He 0:05:00.190 --> 0:05:02.830 fouls you on the way. That's the shots going up 0:05:03.110 --> 0:05:06.990 and mixing metaphors here. Mixing golf with basketball. You get 0:05:06.990 --> 0:05:09.309 to go to the free throw line and you drain 0:05:09.310 --> 0:05:13.350 it or you don't. But you took your shot. And 0:05:13.350 --> 0:05:17.590 in the kingdom of God, when we take our shot, 0:05:17.630 --> 0:05:23.110 there's no losers. And you might say, well, Carl, I've 0:05:23.150 --> 0:05:25.589 taken a shot before and didn't seem to win. That 0:05:25.630 --> 0:05:27.830 didn't seem to win. But all you got to do 0:05:27.830 --> 0:05:29.789 is read Hebrews, and we will in a little bit 0:05:29.830 --> 0:05:36.830 to prove. When you take your shot by faith, put 0:05:36.830 --> 0:05:40.790 it out there. You will never be disappointed. Coming up. 0:05:41.830 --> 0:05:46.429 Been looking at the story of Hadassah Esther, and this 0:05:46.430 --> 0:05:53.660 story captures the essence of risk taking. I mean, death 0:05:53.660 --> 0:05:56.860 was imminent, but she took her shot. 0:05:57.100 --> 0:06:01.700 She's a choreographer extraordinaire, and everything is Greek to her. 0:06:02.140 --> 0:06:05.860 Super die is in the crew. It's Carl and crew 0:06:05.860 --> 0:06:07.100 on Moody Radio. 0:06:08.100 --> 0:06:10.380 Here's the funny thing about faith. There's no certainty that 0:06:10.380 --> 0:06:14.660 this thing's going to go beautifully. That's faith. 0:06:15.140 --> 0:06:15.659 Right? 0:06:15.740 --> 0:06:21.460 I mean, it's not faith if it's, like, ironclad. It's 0:06:21.460 --> 0:06:25.340 not faith. When you're a congressperson, you've got insider trading 0:06:25.339 --> 0:06:28.020 and you strike a deal, you know? That's not faith. 0:06:28.660 --> 0:06:29.460 Very true. 0:06:30.700 --> 0:06:31.620 That's not faith. 0:06:31.660 --> 0:06:33.900 That's what we want, though. It's like, can you just 0:06:33.900 --> 0:06:35.419 tell me how this thing ends? 0:06:35.460 --> 0:06:40.339 Give me some insider trading. God. Esther didn't have inside scoop, 0:06:40.339 --> 0:06:42.260 did she? Jonathan, take it away, my man. 0:06:42.300 --> 0:06:46.020 She certainly didn't. She was going on God only. So 0:06:46.220 --> 0:06:49.820 this takes place in the Persian Empire during when the 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.599 Israelites were exiled from Israel. And and so a lot 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:55.760 of Israelites are living in the Persian Empire. The Persian 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.640 Empire is pretty gigantic at this time. I did some 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:02.760 looking up on it, and it covered two point 9,000,000mi². 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:06.799 So this is as far east as as India. It 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:10.720 covers Greece and Turkey and Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, all those 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:12.600 places that you would see today on the map that 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:16.360 was the Persian Empire was gigantic. Yeah. And and so 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:19.280 Xerxes is the king over all of this. And that's 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:22.960 where the book starts. Xerxes is throwing this, this gigantic 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:26.440 party with all of his friends. That goes for seven days. 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:28.840 And so he's drinking a lot of wine. His friends 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:30.920 are drinking a lot of wine. They're having a party. 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.080 And and at the seventh day, he gets this grand, 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.880 not so grand idea of, hey, I'm going to trot 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:40.080 my wife out here because my wife's great looking and 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.640 I want to make all these guys jealous. And so, 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:44.600 I mean, that's what he's thinking. So he's like, look 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.200 how beautiful my wife is. And and so he sends 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:50.460 his servants to go get Vashti, his wife, and Vashti says, 0:07:50.460 --> 0:07:52.580 I'm not coming out there. He goes, I know what 0:07:52.580 --> 0:07:55.060 you're doing. That's disrespectful. I'm not going to be a 0:07:55.060 --> 0:07:57.740 part of it. And oh boy, I mean, that makes 0:07:57.740 --> 0:08:00.100 the King look bad. Back in those days. And so 0:08:00.100 --> 0:08:02.300 all of his, all of his dude friends come up 0:08:02.300 --> 0:08:04.140 to him and say, Xerxes. 0:08:04.580 --> 0:08:05.540 You got a problem? 0:08:05.540 --> 0:08:08.220 We got a problem. This is making you look really bad. 0:08:08.260 --> 0:08:11.780 But not only you. When our wives catch word of 0:08:11.780 --> 0:08:14.300 this that your wife just doesn't have to listen to you, 0:08:14.300 --> 0:08:16.820 then they're going to start not listening to us, and we're. 0:08:16.820 --> 0:08:19.380 Going to catch like wildfire. Man, we got problem. We're 0:08:19.380 --> 0:08:21.940 gonna have disrespectful women all over this kingdom. 0:08:22.260 --> 0:08:25.059 And so these jerk dudes come up with this plan 0:08:25.060 --> 0:08:27.140 that they're going to depose Vashti, they're going to make 0:08:27.140 --> 0:08:29.500 this edict go out to all of the provinces of 0:08:29.500 --> 0:08:32.740 the Persian Empire saying, hey, Vashti is deposed because she 0:08:32.740 --> 0:08:35.020 wouldn't listen to the king. Not only that, but there's 0:08:35.020 --> 0:08:37.940 a new law and requirement that that men are the 0:08:37.940 --> 0:08:40.380 leaders of the household, and you have to listen to 0:08:40.420 --> 0:08:43.460 them just to make sure they don't get any uprising there. 0:08:43.700 --> 0:08:46.459 And and so Vashti is deposed. She doesn't get her 0:08:46.460 --> 0:08:49.720 queenly duties anymore. And. And Xerxes says, I got to 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:51.360 look for a new wife. I got to find a 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.199 new a new woman who can, who can be the queen. 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:58.600 And so he starts holding this, this basically glorified beauty 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.360 pageant where he's bringing all these women in from all 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:05.559 over his provinces, Virgin specifically. So young women and and 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:07.520 he's just going to check them all out and say, hey, 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:08.840 this is who I want to be to have my 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:09.640 as my wife. 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.800 It's a self it's a self glorified beauty pageant. 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:14.760 Oh, it's so glorified. It's all for him. It's an 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:18.520 audience of one. And and so he brings in all 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:21.719 these women. Esther ended up being one of them. Mordecai, 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.200 which is Esther's uncle, says, you got to get into this. 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:26.280 You gotta you gotta jump in on this. And so 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:30.360 she did. She she gets this gigantic spa package where 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:32.640 she's being taken care of. She's got the makeup, she's 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:35.320 got the the face washers, you know, she's taken care of. 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:38.480 She gets presented before the king, and the king says, wow, 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.440 look at this woman. He goes, I love her more 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:43.840 than I've loved anybody else that's walked in this door. 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:47.310 She's it. She's the one. So he makes Esther the Queen. 0:09:47.309 --> 0:09:49.390 She's now up and high. She doesn't. He does not 0:09:49.390 --> 0:09:52.670 know that she's an Israelite woman. No, never told to him. 0:09:52.670 --> 0:09:55.390 So he just marries her. Now she's the queen. So 0:09:55.390 --> 0:09:57.429 we go into these side stories now, kind of, you know, 0:09:57.470 --> 0:10:00.030 takes a break off of Esther, and it focuses in 0:10:00.030 --> 0:10:03.750 on Mordecai and Haman. Hayman was a servant to the 0:10:03.750 --> 0:10:06.589 king high up guy. He's kind of been put one 0:10:06.590 --> 0:10:10.510 of the, you know, top commanders. And as he walks around, 0:10:10.510 --> 0:10:13.190 he wants everyone to bow before him. Mordecai knows this 0:10:13.190 --> 0:10:15.270 is not a man of God. He's not going to 0:10:15.309 --> 0:10:17.630 bow before him. So Haman walks before him and, you know, 0:10:17.670 --> 0:10:20.230 basically says, bow to me. Mordecai says, I'm not going 0:10:20.270 --> 0:10:23.189 to do it. And Haman's offended by this, he says, 0:10:23.190 --> 0:10:24.990 I'm going to get Mordecai back for this. But not 0:10:24.990 --> 0:10:27.270 only am I going to get Mordecai back, I'm taking 0:10:27.270 --> 0:10:31.230 it out on anybody who shares his people group, his bloodline, 0:10:31.230 --> 0:10:34.070 the Israelites. So he goes before the king and he says, King, 0:10:34.390 --> 0:10:36.510 there's this group of people out there, doesn't say the 0:10:36.510 --> 0:10:38.590 name of the people. There's this group of people out there. 0:10:38.630 --> 0:10:40.670 They follow their own laws. They don't follow your laws. 0:10:40.670 --> 0:10:43.350 It's not beneficial for you to keep these people here. 0:10:43.350 --> 0:10:45.689 You got to do something about this. The king says, 0:10:45.690 --> 0:10:48.650 take my ring. Make whatever edict you want. It'll have 0:10:48.650 --> 0:10:51.050 my approval. So he does. He sends a law out 0:10:51.050 --> 0:10:54.209 to all the provinces of the entire empire and says, 0:10:54.210 --> 0:10:57.290 identify the Jews, kill them all. It would be the 0:10:57.290 --> 0:11:01.530 first Holocaust. That was what the law was going to enact. Yeah. 0:11:01.570 --> 0:11:04.290 Mordecai catches wind of this before it gets sent out. 0:11:04.770 --> 0:11:07.930 He goes to Esther and he says, Esther, you'll never 0:11:07.929 --> 0:11:11.090 believe what's happening. They're going to kill all of our people. 0:11:11.090 --> 0:11:13.850 There's no one in the kingdom that has a position 0:11:13.850 --> 0:11:15.970 like yours to be able to tell the King about 0:11:15.970 --> 0:11:19.290 this and stop it. We need your help now. She 0:11:19.290 --> 0:11:22.810 knows the risks. She says, Mordecai, I haven't seen my 0:11:22.809 --> 0:11:25.690 husband for a month. I'm not allowed to go in 0:11:25.690 --> 0:11:27.810 front of him. I can't just walk in the door. 0:11:27.850 --> 0:11:31.410 It's a death sentence. Mordecai says. Listen, God may have 0:11:31.410 --> 0:11:34.290 put you here for a time such as this. You 0:11:34.290 --> 0:11:37.650 have to trust him. I'm paraphrasing here and in chapter four, 0:11:37.690 --> 0:11:41.689 verse 16, Esther says, okay, go and gather all the 0:11:41.690 --> 0:11:44.470 Jews to be found in Susa, which was the capital city, 0:11:44.790 --> 0:11:47.030 and hold the fast on my behalf, and do not 0:11:47.070 --> 0:11:50.350 eat or drink for three days, night or day. I 0:11:50.390 --> 0:11:53.030 and my young women, her servants, will also fast as 0:11:53.030 --> 0:11:55.390 you do. Then I will go to the king, though 0:11:55.390 --> 0:11:58.670 it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. 0:11:58.710 --> 0:12:05.710 Okay, those last words are epic. If I perish, I perish. 0:12:06.830 --> 0:12:08.270 But she took her shot. 0:12:08.710 --> 0:12:10.869 She took her shot by faith. 0:12:15.110 --> 0:12:18.350 Now we want to look at faith, as always, rewarded 0:12:18.350 --> 0:12:22.189 in earthly terms like, man, this is awesome. He took 0:12:22.190 --> 0:12:25.670 his shot and it's great. Look at what happened. It's 0:12:25.670 --> 0:12:29.429 an Esther story because the story goes on. The Holocaust 0:12:29.429 --> 0:12:34.030 that was coming down the pipe was thwarted. In fact, 0:12:34.070 --> 0:12:36.030 the turnaround is amazing. And we're going to cover that 0:12:36.030 --> 0:12:38.069 over the next two days. You're going to be here. 0:12:38.070 --> 0:12:43.050 We're breaking this whole story down. Ooh. But here's the kicker. 0:12:43.050 --> 0:12:48.970 If you look at faith, you'll notice something. The outcomes 0:12:48.970 --> 0:12:53.329 from an earthly perspective can be diametrically opposed. There can 0:12:53.330 --> 0:12:56.290 be a three pointer at the buzzer that everybody's inhalation. 0:12:56.290 --> 0:12:59.929 And there can be, from an earthly perspective, air balls 0:12:59.929 --> 0:13:07.410 thrown up. But they took their shot. And God says, 0:13:07.410 --> 0:13:09.770 well done, good and faithful servant. You want to hear 0:13:09.770 --> 0:13:13.290 that too? You're going to look at a passage of 0:13:13.290 --> 0:13:20.530 Scripture that's very important. Because half of this passage, you go, yeah, 0:13:21.130 --> 0:13:25.490 give me the ball, give me the ball. And the 0:13:25.490 --> 0:13:28.650 other half you go, I think I'm going to give 0:13:28.650 --> 0:13:33.770 an assist up here. You take the shot. But God says, 0:13:33.770 --> 0:13:34.929 take the shot. 0:13:35.210 --> 0:13:38.010 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:13:38.170 --> 0:13:42.360 We're on the crew here, man been saved by the 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:45.600 grace of God. An amazing thing. Then we can live 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.400 a life that is so different. We live by faith. 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:53.280 Now faith is not presumption. Faith is for the. And 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:55.760 there's two defining characteristics of faith. And you're going to 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:57.920 see it here. Faith is for the glory of God 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:01.280 and the good of mankind. No kidding. It might be 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:03.320 for a small group of mankind. It might be for 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:06.240 the good of your little family. But those acts of 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.640 faith are for the glory of God and the good 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:16.319 of man. But if you define faith strictly by Esther rules, 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.320 we're going to miss it. And some of you, bless 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:22.480 your heart, have walked by faith. And it's like, this 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.200 is going to be so encouraging to you today. Hebrews 11, 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:28.680 the Hall of Fame of faith. It's by faith, Abraham 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:33.280 by faith, not having received the things promised, but having 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:37.400 seen them greeted people from afar. God blessed by faith. 0:14:37.540 --> 0:14:41.060 Abraham by faith, Moses by faith. The people crossed the 0:14:41.060 --> 0:14:44.980 Red sea. And it goes on verse 32. And what 0:14:44.980 --> 0:14:47.460 more shall I say? Says the writer of Hebrews, for 0:14:47.460 --> 0:14:51.940 time would fail me to tell you of Gideon, Barak, Samson, 0:14:51.940 --> 0:14:54.980 and Jeptha, and David, and Samuel and the prophets, who 0:14:55.020 --> 0:15:02.300 through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the 0:15:02.300 --> 0:15:07.460 mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the 0:15:07.460 --> 0:15:10.740 edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, 0:15:10.940 --> 0:15:15.900 became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women 0:15:15.900 --> 0:15:21.580 received back their dead Lazarus by resurrection. Some were tortured, 0:15:21.860 --> 0:15:27.980 refusing to accept what? Yeah. There's a shift in verse 32. 0:15:28.780 --> 0:15:33.500 Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they 0:15:33.500 --> 0:15:37.040 might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:43.040 and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:48.200 They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:54.880 They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:58.600 of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.200 deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves on the earth. 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:08.080 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:13.000 receive what was promised, since God had provided something better 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:18.560 for us, that apart from us they should not be 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:24.760 made perfect. Here's the point the better was the coming Messiah. 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:32.240 But the Messiah came because of acts of faith. If 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:38.350 Jesus had taken a me 23 test, he would have 0:16:38.350 --> 0:16:45.390 found the blood of Rahab, who by faith stood tall. 0:16:49.390 --> 0:16:52.070 And we stand on the shoulders of men and women 0:16:52.070 --> 0:16:57.270 that have gone before us, who by faith some saw 0:16:58.030 --> 0:17:04.230 the ball go in the basket, some didn't. But they 0:17:04.230 --> 0:17:14.910 took their shot. They took their shot. In biblical faith 0:17:14.910 --> 0:17:23.430 is taking your shot. Without certainty of the outcomes. That's faith. 0:17:27.950 --> 0:17:34.890 And God rewards faith sometimes in this life. slope sometimes 0:17:34.890 --> 0:17:39.649 in the life to come. And that's the hope in 0:17:39.650 --> 0:17:43.650 our soul. That that's what puts fuel in our belly. 0:17:45.490 --> 0:17:49.290 That today some may walk into a boardroom meeting and 0:17:49.290 --> 0:17:51.609 have a moment where it's like they're going around and 0:17:51.609 --> 0:17:55.650 they're doing something really wild, and they're asking stories like, oh, so, um, 0:17:55.690 --> 0:17:58.450 what's the most impactful thing that's ever happened in your life? 0:17:58.450 --> 0:18:03.330 And you're like, oh no. Oh yes. Okay. God, here 0:18:03.330 --> 0:18:07.690 we go. And the room's quiet and they look at 0:18:07.690 --> 0:18:11.890 you because it's your turn, and you pour out your 0:18:11.890 --> 0:18:16.610 heart and you tell them about Jesus, who saved you 0:18:16.609 --> 0:18:23.810 from filling the blank. And the meeting ends, and a 0:18:23.810 --> 0:18:26.169 guy walks up at the end of the meeting says 0:18:26.170 --> 0:18:32.670 to you, tell me more about Jesus. You took your 0:18:32.670 --> 0:18:39.230 shot and God worked, but someone else walks into a meeting. 0:18:40.350 --> 0:18:42.669 They're going around. They're saying, tell your story and it 0:18:42.670 --> 0:18:45.389 gets to you. And you go, God, I hear your voice. 0:18:45.390 --> 0:18:47.030 I'm going to do it for your glory and the 0:18:47.030 --> 0:18:51.070 good of others. And you tell your story, and somebody 0:18:51.070 --> 0:18:53.470 picks a piece out of your story, and they snicker 0:18:53.470 --> 0:18:56.790 in the corner and laugh and take a shot at 0:18:56.790 --> 0:19:00.270 you and gets a few cheap chuckles around the room. 0:19:00.590 --> 0:19:03.429 And you walk out and you go, God. And you 0:19:03.430 --> 0:19:07.270 know what you hear him say? You took your shot, kid. 0:19:08.390 --> 0:19:16.070 You took your shot. Well done. Good and faithful servant. 0:19:18.270 --> 0:19:20.990 Because you don't know what was going on in that room. 0:19:23.270 --> 0:19:31.490 That's God. We got a question for you this morning. 0:19:33.450 --> 0:19:38.570 Very important question. You took your shot. And for some 0:19:38.570 --> 0:19:44.770 of you. It was a three at a buzzer. It 0:19:44.770 --> 0:19:47.130 was for the glory of God and the good of man. 0:19:47.130 --> 0:19:55.170 And it was beautiful. For others of you, you took 0:19:55.170 --> 0:20:03.850 your shot. And from an earthly perspective, man, no celebration here. 0:20:06.010 --> 0:20:09.449 But God, and there you are in the Hall of 0:20:09.450 --> 0:20:15.850 Fame of faith. Because you obeyed. You went with God. 0:20:15.850 --> 0:20:21.330 You took your shot. And that's all that matters. We 0:20:21.330 --> 0:20:22.850 want to hear your call, don't we, Ali? 0:20:22.890 --> 0:20:26.170 We do. So we're ready for you. You took your shot. 0:20:26.369 --> 0:20:29.919 Maybe you saw what felt like a huge win. Maybe 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:34.080 you took an L or so it felt like. But, man, 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:38.680 you know God was with you. Was pleased in your obedience. 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:43.680 805 55 7898 tell us what happened when you took 0:20:43.680 --> 0:20:46.359 your shot. 805 5578. 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:50.280 98 he's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:54.080 you can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:56.960 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:20:57.359 --> 0:20:59.520 When we take our shot and we walk by faith, 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:03.280 sometimes it's like bingo, baby. Three pointer at the buzzer. 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:05.560 God to you be glory. And it's for the good 0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:10.440 of others and it's awesome. And then you walk by 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:12.920 faith sometimes and you put it out there. You take 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:16.800 your shot and it. Well, Evangelos, is that your story? 0:21:16.840 --> 0:21:19.200 It doesn't always go like you'd really want it to 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:20.959 in earthly terms, right, my man? 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:23.280 That's correct. 0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:24.479 Give us the story. 0:21:24.520 --> 0:21:27.820 Saturday morning. Yeah. Saturday morning on my way to a 0:21:27.820 --> 0:21:32.460 Christian men's breakfast and middle of winter snow everywhere, I 0:21:32.460 --> 0:21:34.540 passed this guy up who was walking in the same 0:21:34.540 --> 0:21:37.100 direction I was driving, and it's like the Holy Spirit 0:21:37.140 --> 0:21:38.940 hit me in the back of the head. Turned around, 0:21:39.340 --> 0:21:41.660 picked this guy up. So I turned around. I pulled 0:21:41.660 --> 0:21:44.500 alongside him. I said, could you use a ride? He said, sure, 0:21:44.500 --> 0:21:47.020 I'm going to a bar up the road there Saturday morning. 0:21:47.060 --> 0:21:49.700 Friday night, people dropping their chains all over the place. 0:21:49.740 --> 0:21:52.380 I'm picking up change. I said, well, then I'm going 0:21:52.380 --> 0:21:54.220 to a Christian men's breakfast. How would you like me 0:21:54.220 --> 0:21:56.900 to buy you a breakfast this morning? He said, no, 0:21:56.940 --> 0:21:59.020 I'm not dressed for it. And I said, no, dude, 0:21:59.060 --> 0:22:02.820 it's just a bunch of sinners celebrating the goodness of God. 0:22:02.859 --> 0:22:05.220 He said, I appreciate it, man, but just just drop 0:22:05.220 --> 0:22:07.300 me off at the bar, which I did. And I 0:22:07.300 --> 0:22:10.220 was so disappointed. I failed in my in my mission. 0:22:10.220 --> 0:22:12.419 I feel like, you know, God was calling me to this. 0:22:12.820 --> 0:22:15.100 I make it to the meeting and the guy and 0:22:15.100 --> 0:22:17.700 the pastor there, Stan Smith, says, you know, I tell 0:22:17.700 --> 0:22:21.020 him how disappointed I was that no, you were successful. 0:22:21.340 --> 0:22:23.780 You did exactly what God wanted you. He wanted you 0:22:23.780 --> 0:22:25.960 to turn around. He wanted you to pick them up 0:22:25.960 --> 0:22:28.440 and invite them. That was your that was your goal 0:22:28.440 --> 0:22:30.400 and you succeeded 100%. 0:22:30.440 --> 0:22:31.320 It's a good pastor. 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:33.560 I don't know whether or not. Yeah, whether or not 0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:36.480 this guy would plant a seed, right? We don't know. 0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:38.480 He knew a Christian guy invited him. 0:22:39.040 --> 0:22:41.040 All he knows is some dude picked him up in 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:43.959 the snow, and instead of going to the men's study, 0:22:44.000 --> 0:22:46.200 he went to the bar to pick up loose change. 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:49.280 And all I'm telling you is, bro, that is a 0:22:49.320 --> 0:22:56.200 shining example of failure. That ain't failure at all and 0:22:56.200 --> 0:22:59.719 it's time we redefine it. When you heard this this morning, evangelist, 0:22:59.720 --> 0:23:02.880 you must have thought. Yeah, I mean, that must put 0:23:02.880 --> 0:23:05.560 fuel in your belly back on that snowy day, right, bro? 0:23:06.680 --> 0:23:08.280 Well, he made my day when he told me I 0:23:08.280 --> 0:23:11.680 didn't fail. And just to realize how God looks at success, 0:23:11.680 --> 0:23:13.359 we don't look at it the same way. 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:16.960 Stay on the horn. You're getting two prize packs. One 0:23:16.960 --> 0:23:19.760 for you, one for your pastor. Stan. Stay on the horn. 0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:21.240 Stay on the horn. Evangelize. 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:23.580 Wow. Wow. Out. 0:23:26.780 --> 0:23:28.660 In Wisconsin. What's your story, Corey? 0:23:30.540 --> 0:23:33.979 Hi there. Um, so basically, I was a single mom 0:23:33.980 --> 0:23:38.859 to two kids. Two girls, um, under nine. And I 0:23:38.980 --> 0:23:42.179 earned my bachelor's, but I really wanted my teaching license. 0:23:42.180 --> 0:23:45.140 And I was in my 40s, and I went ahead 0:23:45.140 --> 0:23:47.940 and prayed and prayed and prayed. And I quit my 0:23:47.940 --> 0:23:53.060 job in June. Um, did a six month internship. Um, 0:23:53.060 --> 0:23:56.460 the church did help me. Um, I leaned on the 0:23:56.460 --> 0:24:00.540 Salvation Army for Christmas that year, and I did earn 0:24:00.580 --> 0:24:05.900 my teaching license. Um, I did also feel the spirit. 0:24:05.900 --> 0:24:09.220 I went ahead and got my masters three years ago, 0:24:09.859 --> 0:24:15.139 and I come from a shelters and group homes. I 0:24:15.180 --> 0:24:18.420 had a broken family growing up. Statistically, I probably should 0:24:18.420 --> 0:24:22.260 not even have my education. And I'm ten and a 0:24:22.300 --> 0:24:26.850 half years in recovery as well. During this time, my 0:24:26.850 --> 0:24:31.410 father passed of suicide and I was broken. I just 0:24:31.410 --> 0:24:35.890 kept I just kept praying and he just carried me through. 0:24:35.930 --> 0:24:38.250 He carried me through the whole time. And he continues 0:24:38.250 --> 0:24:39.650 to carry me through today. 0:24:39.690 --> 0:24:42.290 Yeah. But Corey, I'm going to I'm going to give 0:24:42.290 --> 0:24:45.450 some credit where credit's due here. Sister, you are living 0:24:45.450 --> 0:24:47.929 a life, taking your shot by faith. And it's for 0:24:47.930 --> 0:24:50.010 the glory of God and the good of others. And 0:24:50.010 --> 0:24:54.610 I'm proud of you, sister. That is powerhouse. Corey. Uh, 0:24:54.609 --> 0:24:56.609 stay on the horn, Corey. If I didn't give you 0:24:56.609 --> 0:24:59.649 a call and crew prize pack, a lightning bolt may 0:24:59.650 --> 0:25:02.810 come from the heavens. So you're getting one today. So 0:25:02.810 --> 0:25:03.610 there you go. 0:25:03.690 --> 0:25:04.530 Thank you. 0:25:04.730 --> 0:25:06.889 Stay on the horn. You didn't. You didn't call to 0:25:06.930 --> 0:25:12.530 get something. But way to go. My goodness. Uh, Daniel's 0:25:12.530 --> 0:25:15.010 getting one more here. First time caller from Illinois. What 0:25:15.010 --> 0:25:17.450 do you say, Daniel? What's your story? You took a shot. 0:25:18.490 --> 0:25:21.990 Took my shot. So I was. I've been disabled by 0:25:21.990 --> 0:25:24.710 a moody grad for a year, and I told him 0:25:24.710 --> 0:25:26.950 I'm interested in the prison ministry. He goes, you got 0:25:26.950 --> 0:25:29.389 to do this. And I said, Brian, I'd love to 0:25:29.390 --> 0:25:32.149 do it, but I have trouble speaking in front of people. 0:25:32.190 --> 0:25:34.590 I went to speech courses in college. I couldn't even 0:25:34.630 --> 0:25:36.910 do it because you got to step out in faith. 0:25:36.950 --> 0:25:39.949 He says it's a learned skill. So I did it. 0:25:39.990 --> 0:25:42.189 And you know, God met me where I'm at, and 0:25:42.190 --> 0:25:45.669 now I'm at the jail 2 or 3 times a week. Wow. And, um, 0:25:45.910 --> 0:25:49.869 I'm planning on enrolling in Moody in, um, in January. 0:25:50.390 --> 0:25:52.629 I want to pursue, uh, I want to pursue a 0:25:52.630 --> 0:25:55.909 master's degree in biblical theology. And last Thursday at my 0:25:55.910 --> 0:25:58.470 Bible study, they asked me, like, what my vision was. 0:25:58.830 --> 0:26:00.750 If it's God's will and only if it's God's will. 0:26:00.750 --> 0:26:03.350 I'd like to be a head chaplain of a federal prison. 0:26:03.390 --> 0:26:07.189 Glory be to God. And let me say one more thing. 0:26:07.390 --> 0:26:10.230 Four years ago, I was in the hospital, suicidal. I've 0:26:10.230 --> 0:26:14.150 dealt with OCD for 39 years. I have 25 brain scans, 0:26:14.190 --> 0:26:17.629 been hospitalized seven times a month in nursing homes. And God, 0:26:17.670 --> 0:26:19.889 I felt God saying, you need to stop like you 0:26:19.890 --> 0:26:23.450 told Joel. Listen, you've been battling this for 38 years 0:26:23.450 --> 0:26:25.490 in your own strength. Let me do this. And through 0:26:25.490 --> 0:26:27.250 the grace of God, I was able to do it. 0:26:27.650 --> 0:26:29.369 If you would have told me four years ago. I'm 0:26:29.369 --> 0:26:32.129 where I'm at now. Even in my most faithful moment, 0:26:32.130 --> 0:26:34.810 I would have no chance. God is faithful. He's true 0:26:34.810 --> 0:26:36.290 to his word. I give him glory. 0:26:36.609 --> 0:26:37.570 Daniel. That's a pick. 0:26:37.570 --> 0:26:39.370 An awesome story, dude. Daniel. 0:26:39.850 --> 0:26:40.770 Killer story. 0:26:40.850 --> 0:26:41.369 So much. 0:26:41.410 --> 0:26:41.730 So. 0:26:42.090 --> 0:26:44.810 I'm just outside of Chicago. I actually do a Thursday 0:26:44.810 --> 0:26:51.410 night outreach in Inglewood at 63rd and California with, um, uh, teacher, uh, John. Uh, 0:26:52.570 --> 0:26:58.250 I love it. So prison ministry. Prison ministry is my heart, though. So, 0:26:58.530 --> 0:27:00.530 like I said, I'll do whatever God, you know, God 0:27:00.530 --> 0:27:02.609 restored my life. I have a second chance. So whatever 0:27:02.650 --> 0:27:05.250 God wants me to do, he's got it 100%. But 0:27:05.250 --> 0:27:07.530 I feel my calling is a prison ministry. I'm just 0:27:07.530 --> 0:27:09.730 very thankful I have a heart for these guys. There's 0:27:09.730 --> 0:27:12.609 no judgment. We connect, I listen, I learn to be 0:27:12.609 --> 0:27:14.609 a good listener. I praise God for all this. 0:27:15.369 --> 0:27:19.950 Wow. Daniel. Awesome testimony. First time caller from Chicago. 0:27:19.990 --> 0:27:27.790 Powerhouse. Dude. Powerhouse. Stay on the horn, Daniel. Lightning bolts 0:27:27.790 --> 0:27:30.630 can come out of zero. Thunderclouds. 0:27:31.670 --> 0:27:32.070 Wow. 0:27:32.869 --> 0:27:34.710 So you're getting a Garland crew prize pack. 0:27:34.750 --> 0:27:35.950 You don't want that lightning bolt. 0:27:36.070 --> 0:27:43.429 Wow. Oh my goodness. Take your shot. Take your shot. 0:27:44.070 --> 0:27:49.710 Walk by faith. There are so many thousands of people 0:27:49.710 --> 0:27:51.830 right now going. God, what are you saying to me? 0:27:51.869 --> 0:27:54.070 Listen close to what he's saying. I don't know what 0:27:54.070 --> 0:28:04.149 he's saying, but he's speaking. He is speaking. Oh my goodness. Father, 0:28:04.150 --> 0:28:06.470 I give you praise for these stories. This morning you 0:28:06.510 --> 0:28:08.990 are putting a banner ad up in front of us 0:28:08.990 --> 0:28:13.190 today to walk by faith and not by sight. You're 0:28:13.190 --> 0:28:18.300 telling us. Take your shot, kids. It's a win win. 0:28:18.660 --> 0:28:21.820 Even when you lose, you win. And I give you 0:28:21.820 --> 0:28:29.740 praise for it today. God. Lord, there's a there's a 0:28:29.740 --> 0:28:32.300 theme here that's on my heart. And that every one 0:28:32.300 --> 0:28:38.820 of these people have a genuine attitude of contrition and 0:28:38.820 --> 0:28:43.020 submission to you in a very deep way, and I 0:28:43.020 --> 0:28:46.140 thank you for it. Wow. God, just. That's all I 0:28:46.140 --> 0:28:54.780 can say is wow. Wow. Amen. And let it be. Yeah. 0:28:54.820 --> 0:28:57.980 Spin a record for this dude. All of them. That's 0:28:57.980 --> 0:29:00.540 why we call you the Boom crew. Oh, by the way, 0:29:00.580 --> 0:29:06.100 boom boom boom. This is why we call you the 0:29:06.100 --> 0:29:09.820 boom crew. And you get triple boomed when you do 0:29:09.820 --> 0:29:10.780 these things. 0:29:12.100 --> 0:29:13.660 It's the modern day. Amen. 0:29:14.660 --> 0:29:15.780 My goodness.