Throughout this Supernatural Faith series, we have talked about the power of faith.
In the last message, I explained why we need to live in the supernatural. It is not just for you to receive and be blessed, but because we are God’s showcase. People may never open a Bible, but they are reading your life every single day.
That is why miracles, signs, and the supernatural are not optional—they must be part of our journey.
Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the world.” In other words, you are God’s display window—you are the one people are watching.
A natural faith touches no one’s heart, but a supernatural life reveals God to people.
Jesus truly called us to live a supernatural life.
I had another word ready for today, but God spoke to me: “Do not end the series like this. Talk about the other side of faith. Prepare my church, not just for miracles, but for maturity, for persecutions, and for the difficulties that will come.”
There is something few people talk about. There is a side of faith that doesn’t show up in Instagram testimonies. A side of faith that doesn’t become a conference title. A side of faith that doesn’t look like victory, but it is. It is the Other Side of Faith!
Because the same faith that moves mountains is the faith that sustains you when the mountain doesn’t move quickly.
The same faith that heals is the faith that keeps you standing when the healing doesn’t come in the time you expected.
The same faith that opens doors is the faith that supports you when you are standing before closed doors.
Illustration: It’s like someone who joins a gym. They see strong, fit, healthy people and say, “I want that result!” But they don’t see the other side. The painful reps, the invisible effort, the days the body doesn’t want to go, but the person goes anyway. Because every visible result is sustained by an invisible process.
Many Christians love the results of faith, but they are not prepared for the process of faith.
This is why some start well but give up halfway. Because no one taught them that: A supernatural faith also goes through pressure.
Today, I didn’t just come to talk about the faith that receives; I came to talk about the faith that remains, the faith that resists, the faith that continues when it doesn’t feel, when it doesn’t see, and when it doesn’t understand. Because that is the faith that truly wins!
FAITH THAT RECEIVES vs. FAITH THAT ENDURES
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Faith is a certainty of what you hope for, yet faith does not depend on what is seen.
- THE FAITH THAT RECEIVES
Let’s read Hebrews 11:32–35a (NIV):
“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, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 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. Women received back their dead, raised to life again…” Hebrews 11:32–35a (NIV)
We all love these verses! People who, through faith, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, escaped death, and saw the dead resurrected!
- THE FAITH THAT ENDURES
Now let’s read the continuation: Hebrews 11:35b–38 (NIV):
“…There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” Hebrews 11:35b–38 (NIV)
This text seems like a paradox: the same faith—two scenarios! One uses faith to receive the miracle; the other uses the same faith to endure the trial.
Most people only know half of Hebrews 11. Everyone loves the beginning, but almost no one keeps reading. In the same chapter, it says others were tortured, tested, and killed. In other words: Some were delivered from the fire; others went through the fire. But all were in faith.
Faith is not just about results; it is about faithfulness.
THE FOUNDATION OF TRIALS
Let’s read James 1:2–4 (NIV):
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2–4 (NIV)
This sounds like madness. How can someone rejoice in the middle of a trial? James reveals something powerful: “The testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
Tested faith is not destroyed faith; it is developed faith.
Gold only becomes pure when it passes through the fire.
If gold could talk, it would say, “This fire is destroying me.” But in reality, The fire doesn’t destroy the gold; it removes the impurities.
The same is true for your faith. What you call an attack or a trial is often God strengthening you. Every trial has a purpose! God wants you to be mature and complete, and for that, you will be tested! Your faith must be proven.
THE ATTITUDE IN THE TRIAL
Now let’s read James 1:12 (NIV):
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 NIV
Notice this: In Hebrews 11, faith makes some escape and others endure. James shows us that the faith that endures is the faith that matures.
Today I didn’t come just to talk about the faith that receives; I came to talk about the faith that stands firm even when results are slow and we feel disappointed. To deal with disappointments, we first need to deal with some myths.
MYTH: “God will end all my suffering!”
This is a lie. Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33). That is a promise! Jesus keeps His word: you will have tribulations.
Let’s see another biblical promise: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12 NIV).
If you live a life that pleases God, you will be going against the current of this world, and you will be persecuted! There will be suffering. People will suffer for following Christ. Sometimes, the suffering starts as soon as you give your life to Jesus. He said many will be persecuted by their own families (Matthew 10:36).
You will suffer rejection, you will be misinterpreted, mocked, and in many places today, people are being killed for their faith.
The Bible says Jesus was a man of suffering (Isaiah 53:3). Through His suffering, He redeemed the world!
When He invites us to follow Him, He doesn’t invite us to pleasure; He invites us to self-denial! He invites us to take up the cross! Because the symbol of Christianity is not comfort or ease—it is a cross.
You are here today because of the blood of the apostles and many Christians and pastors who gave their lives preaching the Gospel. Yet, it is striking how many abandon the faith, leave the church, and stop attending meetings because of small sufferings or disappointments within the church.
The church is not a place of comfort; it is a place of transformation.
It is where God confronts your pride, teaches you to forgive, and molds you to become like Jesus. For this transformation to happen, you will be confronted—including inside the church.
Listen to this: If you came to church because of Jesus, you will never leave it because of people!
THE SOLDIER AND THE STORM
I believe God will move in your life. I believe in miracles. God will take away your loneliness, set you free, open doors, heal your heart, and fill your mind with peace! But please understand that this world is not yet paradise.
Hebrews 11:35-39 says they had great faith, yet they suffered and died for it!
The Bible doesn’t give us the specific reason why some were sawed in two or beheaded. Some have faith to face problems; others have faith to endure them. Some have faith to be delivered from death; others have faith to die victoriously.
Paul told Timothy, as a good soldier, to endure suffering:
“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:3 NIV).
Illustration: Imagine a soldier only trained for parades and ceremonies. Impeccable uniform, perfect posture, strong appearance. But he has never faced a real battle. On the day of war, the noise scares him. The pressure paralyses him. He doesn’t know how to react because he was prepared to “look the part,” but not to endure and fight.
Many Christians are being prepared for church services, but not for life. They know how to sing and lift their hands, but they don’t know how to stand firm under pressure.
“A faith that only works during a church service will not survive the battlefield.”
I want to encourage you: do not give up on the supernatural! Pray always, have faith for the miracle, pray against suffering—but do not lean on your own understanding! Faith is trusting God in all circumstances.
In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus spoke about two houses:
One built on sand. One built on the Rock.
The difference was not the appearance of the house; it was the foundation.
And do you know what reveals the foundation? The storm.
“The storm doesn’t destroy the weak; it only reveals who was never truly strong.”
CONCLUSION
Today God is calling us to a deeper faith… Not just the faith that declares, “I believe to receive,” but the faith that says, “Even if I don’t see it now, I continue to believe.”
This is the faith that hell cannot stop.
This is the faith that matures.
This is the faith that truly wins.
This is the faith that keeps your house firm on the Rock.
I believe there are people here who are tired. Who are hurt by the church or by their “brothers and sisters.” Who are in the middle of a test! Who are facing the silence of God, asking, “Where is the miracle?”
God brought you here to say: “I have not abandoned you. I am with you in the storms. I am forming you.”
If you are living “the other side of faith” today, it is not the day to give up; it is the day to position yourself.
If you have been hurt or are bitter toward people, God is speaking to you: throw away your pride, humble yourself, repent, and restore the relationship. This situation is destroying your spiritual life.
Today is the day to declare: “I will not live only for miracles; I will live for faithfulness.” Because God is raising up a generation that does not negotiate their faith, does not stop at pain, and does not abandon the path, but remains until the end.
God bless you.