Jim Van Gelderen: I’m podcasting from Ocala, Florida, where we have just finished our very first week of War of Special Forces here in 2025 at Ocala Christian Academy and Central Baptist Church. We really spent most of the time with the church in revival meetings through Thursday night, so we had a final rally night last night, but we did Special Forces during the school day in the school, and we were so encouraged with what the Lord did in hearts. When I come to this particular ministry, I have a lot of nostalgia. I just finished my junior year in the fall of 1981. I was traveling with an ensemble from the Christian college which I was attending at the time, and it was a wonderful fall.

God did so many things in my heart as I was each night preaching. God was stirring me about Christian schools. And I had the privilege of preaching in several Christian schools, many churches. And again, I’m not sure I helped them, but boy, I’ll tell you, just being in the ministry helped me. And when I come here, I do remember being here at Central Baptist Church.

Jesse Bloom was the pastor at the time, and he’s now with the Lord. His son Andy was the pastor here for years. He’s now with the Lord. But anyway, I remember being here, and just that tour was such a blessing to me. And it was a great pleasure and encouragement to be back.

In fact, it’s Saturday as I’m doing this podcast. We just came off of Silver Springs, where we rented some kayaks and went into the Silver River. We were able to see some manatees—even a baby manatee—and enjoy God’s creation: so many different birds, a few alligators, which of course we didn’t want to get too close to, and all kinds of turtles. It was a great experience. If you ever get a chance to kayak on one of Florida springs, they’re so clear.

You can see what you often cannot see in other kind of waters. But anyway, I’m not here to talk to you about kayaking, but I am here to tell you something God’s warmed my heart with, something I know is not in any way a foreign topic here on the Thee Generation podcast. Ephesians, excuse me, Hebrews, chapter number 11, verse number 6 is a verse that if you’ve been raised in a Christian home, you’ve heard probably often. The Bible says, but without faith it is impossible to please Him. Talking about God.

For he that cometh to God, notice this, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. I’ve just been reminded that God blesses and honors faith. Now faith is not a work. I put it this way. Faith is when we’re recognizing our inability and trusting God’s ability.

We come to recognize, I can’t do this. In my own strength I will fail. I cannot accomplish what I need to. I need divine intervention. That’s faith.

Faith is looking to Jesus to do what you cannot do. And God says that’s what pleases God. And I think sometimes, friends, we actually get more focused on our works. I think most of us would say, but without works it’s impossible to please God. In other words, without action, without obedience.

You say, preacher, isn’t obedience important? Well, sure it is. But the order is absolutely essential. Obedience doesn’t come first, faith does. God honors faith.

And when we in dependence upon Him obey, that pleases God. In fact, real faith always gives birth to obedience. James 2 puts it this way, faith without works is dead. In other words, if you’re depending on Jesus, believing God, there will be action. If you believe God can illumine your heart, as you study the Word of God, you’ll study the Word of God in dependence upon Him to teach you.

If you believe Jesus can give you wisdom to know how to pray and spiritual wisdom and discernment and strength to pray, then you’ll do that in dependence upon Him. And the list could go on, whether it’s outreach, preaching, whatever. You’ll have the action if you depend on Jesus to do it. Then you’ll naturally say, well, He’s going to enable me to do this. I’ll take the step of faith and I will obey Him.

But I’m depending on divine intervention. So we’re not against works, we’re just saying you gotta get it in the right place. And so many young people, and adults for that matter, get into a performance-based thinking. Okay, if I do all this, God will be pleased. But the Bible says right here that without faith, it’s impossible to please God.

What pleases God is when you and I, in utter dependence on Him, cast ourselves upon Him. And then of course, out of that dependence, we obey, that pleases God. But you say, well, preacher, you just read the verse. It says, you must believe that God is. Of course, we have to believe that’s the first thing, that our answer is God, but also that He’s a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Isn’t God rewarding us for what we do? And the answer is, seeking God is a pursuit of faith. It’s depending on Him. It’s saying, God, you said if I seek—if I seek You, you will manifest yourself to me. It’s a pursuit of faith.

And God honors the faith. But faith is not a work. You’re not earning God. God is not obligated to do whatever, because you’ve sought Him. No, seeking, another metaphor in the Bible helps us.

It’s the metaphor of thirst. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, Isaiah 44:3. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them. I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isaiah 41:17.

Those verses on thirst help us understand what faith is. It’s like thirst. When you get thirsty, thirst doesn’t earn you anything. The more thirsty you get, the more you’re willing to sacrifice to see your thirst quenched. And friends, it’s like this.

When you get thirsty for God, other things are not as important. You’re willing to say, you know, I’m going to push that aside. I’m going to push my technology aside. I’m going to spend time with God. I need God.

I want God. And so we’re not earning God by seeking Him. It’s like thirst. You don’t earn a drink of water by thirst. It just means you will prioritize it.

It will become important when you’re needing the quenching of thirst. And so it is with God. When you seek Him and you desire Him to be what fulfills you and satisfies you and what motivates you, then God rewards that because that’s a journey of faith. You’re saying, I need God. I’m depending on Him.

He alone can meet my needs, satisfy me, enable me, give me meaning and purpose in life. Now, without faith it’s impossible to please God. So the question for you is, whatever you’re doing in your Christian life that’s not working, is it rooted in faith? You know, you can have your devotions and God not meet with you. In other words, if your devotions come out of duty, and that’s not wrong to prioritize your devotions and say, I need to spend time with God every day, I hope you do that.

But that alone won’t cut it. It’s not just, okay, if I do my devotions, then God will do this. No, without faith it’s impossible to please God. It starts with faith. It starts with, God, I need you to speak to me through Your Word.

God, I need you to show me what to pray for. God, I need you to enable me to pray. And if we do that, then we’re gonna open the word of God and seek God’s face in His Word. We’re gonna seek the Lord in prayer. But it’ll come out of dependence.

It’ll come out of faith. Now whatever you’re doing in the Christian life, is it rooted in faith? You can obey in self-dependency. Without faith it’s impossible to please God, which means you’re not pleasing God if it’s not rooted in faith. It doesn’t say without works or obedience you can’t please God, because some people can do good things.

You see that in 1 Corinthians 13, people doing a lot of good things, but it’s not rooted in love, which is a fruit of the Spirit, which comes obviously out of a life of faith. And I will tell you, friends, what you do and how you obey are important, but if you are doing that in self-dependence, it will not please God. And your obedience comes out of, I can do this, or I’ve got to do this, self-dependence. That won’t please God. Without faith, it’s impossible to please God.

Everything that happens in our Christian life should be rooted in faith. Now think about this for a moment. You’ve got some crises in your life. You have a relationship that’s not going well. You have a difficult situation you’re facing that looks impossible.

You have a problem that’s come up that seems like there’s no way out, maybe financial pressure. You know, start with faith. Just cast yourself upon Jesus. God, I need wisdom. God, I need direction.

I need intervention. I need strength. I need you to heal this relationship. I need you to heal my heart. I need you to intervene in this situation, give wisdom.

I need, I can’t do this. It’s casting ourselves upon God for the impossible, for divine intervention, divine assistance, help. And I want you to understand without faith it’s impossible to please God. And sometimes you ever come to the end of yourself, you ever come when you’re frustrated, you’re in despair, you feel like your Christian life isn’t working or something’s wrong. Well, that’s always the moment.

You need to, in utter dependence, cry out to God, depend on Him, and expect Him to intervene, expect Him to lead you, give you wisdom, direction, whatever you’re needing for the moment. And I just want to encourage you that God makes it simple. Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. If there’s a parent listening, and you’re struggling in your parenting, I will tell you, friends, some people try to parent and obey the Bible, which is a good thing, but they do it in dependence upon their own strength. And in parenting, sometimes God brings you to despair where you realize that I’m not cutting it, my kid’s not getting it.

Those moments are when you need to say, God, I’m gonna obey you. But I’m doing it in dependence on you. I’m depending on you to intervene through the biblical principles that I’m going to obey. Don’t obey in self-dependence. That won’t work because your obedience won’t be supernaturally enabled, and it won’t last, and it won’t be real.

It won’t be, it’ll be flesh. And God says the flesh profiteth nothing. So let me encourage you, whatever it is that you’re facing in your Christian life, whether it’s doing devotions, reaching people, having victory over some stubborn sinful habit, it starts with faith. It starts with, I need God. I can’t do this without God.

Now, I know I’m preaching to the choir. Most of you out there that are Thee Generation people that, you know, listen to us on a regular basis, you know that our burden is for this generation to be a generation of faith. Because if you’ll walk by faith, God begins to reward you. It’s again, you’re not earning God. He honors faith.

He rewards faith. He blesses faith. And when you and I walk by faith, God shows us His will in our life. He leads us step by step. Miraculous things happen.

We have difficulties and hardships, but God brings us through. He meets our need. He heals our hurt, etc. And every day we ought to wake up and say, I wonder what God’s going to do today because I’m going to trust Him and look to Him to divinely intervene. Well, I hope you’ve been encouraged with Hebrews 11:6.

Maybe you ought to go there and memorize the verse and spend the day saying, without faith it’s impossible to please God. But he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. I know you believe that God is, but do you believe he honors, blesses, rewards people who seek Him, in dependence upon Him, believing that he will be found, that he will lead, he will quench our thirst? May you do it, friend, by the grace of God. Be a man or woman of faith.

And of course, that’s where our little byline comes from. Total surrender, that’s a step of faith. God, I want your will. Total dependence. Jesus, I’m looking to you to enable me.

May the Lord bless you.