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The Promise - Called Out — Transcript

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0:00Last summer, we kicked off a series in
0:02Genesis in uh the teaching series
0:04started with a a collection of talks
0:06called the garden,
0:08appropriately named. And this this
0:11summer, we're going to talk about the
0:12promise. We're going to talk about the
0:13lives of Abram, Abraham, Isaac, and
0:16Jacob. And so, if you have your Bible,
0:19turn with me to Genesis chapter 11.
0:21And if you have If you don't have your
0:23Bible, grab your phone. If you don't
0:25have a phone, look at the sky Bible
0:26behind me. But, I'm going to do
0:27something a little different cuz it's a
0:28long passage of scripture, and I want
0:30you to stay awake. If you will stand
0:32with me real quick, and we'll just read
0:34this together and honor God's word, and
0:35you guys can track along with me.
0:37Genesis 11
0:3827
0:40to Genesis 12 uh verse 9.
0:44It says this, "This is the account of
0:46Terah's family line.
0:48This is father Terah. He became the
0:50father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And
0:53Haran became the father of Lot, and
0:55while his father Terah was still alive,
0:58Haran died in the Ur of the Chaldeans in
1:00the land of his birth.
1:02Now, Abram and Nahor both married. The
1:05name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the
1:07name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was
1:09the daughter of Haran, the father of
1:11both Milcah and Iscah. Everybody
1:13tracking? Verse 30, it says this, "Now,
1:15Sarai was childless because she was not
1:17able to conceive.
1:19Terah took his son Abram, his grandson
1:21Lot, son of Haran, and his
1:23daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his
1:25son Abram, and together they set out
1:27from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to
1:29Canaan.
1:30But, when they came to Haran, they
1:31settled there. Terah lived 205 years and
1:34then died in Haran.
1:37Then the Lord said to Abram,
1:40"Go from your country, your people, and
1:42your father's household to the land I
1:45will show you.
1:46And I will make you into a great nation.
1:49And I will bless you. And I will make
1:52your name great.
1:53And you will be a blessing. I will bless
1:56those who bless you, and whoever curses
1:58you I will curse, and all peoples on the
2:01earth will be blessed through you.
2:04So, Abram went
2:06as the Lord told him.
2:08And Lot went with him.
2:09Abram was 75 years old when he set out
2:13from Haran. He took his wife Sarah, his
2:15nephew Lot, and all the possessions that
2:17they had accumulated and the people that
2:18they had acquired in Haran. They set out
2:20for the land of Canaan and they arrived
2:22there.
2:23Abram traveled through the land as far
2:25as the site of the great tree of Moreh
2:27at Shechem. And at that time the
2:29Canaanites were in the land. The Lord
2:32appeared to Abram and said, "To your
2:33offspring
2:35I will give this land." So, he built an
2:37altar there to the Lord who had appeared
2:39to him.
2:41Verse seven, the Lord appeared to Abram
2:43and said, "To your offspring I will give
2:47you this land."
2:49That's beautiful.
2:51So, from there he went on towards the
2:52hills east of Bethel and pitched a tent
2:56with Bethel on the west and Ai on the
2:58east. There he built an altar to the
3:00Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
3:03Then Abram set out and continued toward
3:06the Negev.
3:08God, I pray
3:09that you would speak to us this morning,
3:10Lord, through your word. Holy Spirit,
3:12give us ears to hear what you have for
3:14us. We love you. It's in Jesus' name we
3:16pray. And everybody said, "Amen." You
3:19guys can be seated.
3:22When I was uh a sophomore in high
3:24school,
3:26I
3:27um over the summer one summer I went to
3:31uh several football camps. One was at
3:33Carolina, one was at East Carolina, one
3:35was at NC State. This was during the
3:36Chuck Amato era, so they were better
3:39during that era, the Philip Rivers era.
3:40Can I get a witness? So, I go as a
3:43sophomore and I'm excited cuz my buddies
3:45have several friends
3:47going with me. And I get dropped off,
3:51we're there for maybe 45 minutes. We're
3:52waiting on dinner.
3:54And we're staying at this nicer kind of
3:57private dorm situation at NC State. My
4:00parents haven't even They have not even
4:02gotten home yet and during the course of
4:05when they dropped me off to the time
4:06that they got home, I decided along with
4:08my friends it'd be a great idea if I
4:10just take the issued lanyard that they
4:12gave us and just swing it around a
4:15sprinkler head that stuck out over the
4:17bed there in my room.
4:20I have no idea why we thought this was a
4:21good idea. Just like there we were
4:23talking and I was slinging this lanyard.
4:25I had no experience with sprinklers
4:27clearly. And my lanyard got stuck on the
4:30sprinkler and instead of
4:33taking the time to undo it or I just
4:35begin to pull on it. And I didn't break
4:37the bulb. I broke like the whole thing
4:39ripped off the wall. And if you've never
4:42done this before, chances are you have
4:44not done this. There like it's like
4:48somebody standing there with a fire hose
4:50and just like water is just coming at a
4:53alarming rate, okay? And and there and
4:56it's black water when it starts off.
4:58There's some kind of chemical that helps
5:00to damper the flames. My friend, what I
5:02remember seeing this water and I was
5:03like, this is I'm dreaming. This is the
5:05stupidest thing. There's no way this is
5:07real. This is this is crazy. I'm just
5:09watching my room get flooded. My buddy
5:11runs out of the room.
5:13We get out. We're in the hallway. He
5:15looks at me. He's like real fearful. He
5:17runs back in the room and I'm like, oh
5:19man, his laptop is
5:21you know, his mom wrote him a letter.
5:22Like I don't know what he's after. He
5:24runs out. He has a football in his hand.
5:27He's like, I got it. I'm like, what? And
5:29then my neighbor, there was a guy in the
5:31room next to us who was a counselor and
5:33he was like, man, that's going to leave
5:35like 3 ft of water, 4 ft of water in
5:37your room. So I run downstairs. We're on
5:40the fourth floor mind you.
5:42I run downstairs. I go to the counter.
5:45And for whatever reason I decided to be
5:47courteous in this moment. I'm going to
5:49wait in line
5:50as
5:52And so I she gets you know they're
5:53they're trying to navigate the camp get
5:55everybody settled and they come to me
5:56and they're like what's up and I said
5:57hey I got a little bit of a problem.
6:00And they're like what's going on? I was
6:01like I got some water in my room. And
6:03they're like what does that mean you got
6:05water in your room? I was like yeah
6:06there's an issue with the sprinkler. The
6:07sprinkler has come off of the wall and
6:11they're like what? And I said I ripped
6:13the sprinkler off the wall and it is
6:15flooding my room.
6:17And the girl looked at me and she was
6:18like
6:20what she like it didn't even she
6:21couldn't even understand like no one's
6:23ever been this stupid ever.
6:26And so
6:27so it takes them 45 minutes to get it
6:29turned off because again there's zero
6:32precedent no one has been this dumb. And
6:34so while I remember standing in the
6:36lobby and looking at the elevator.
6:39Here's how much water it was. I'm
6:40looking at the elevator and it looks
6:41like a water feature.
6:44Yeah the whole floor is flooded like
6:45this is coming down everywhere and
6:47um
6:49I remember
6:50my parents who love me a lot they they
6:54came to pick me up cuz of course I was
6:56kicked out of camp. The football coaches
6:57thought it was funny but they didn't own
6:59the facility you know what I'm saying
7:00and they're like well we you know you
7:01got to send you home this ridiculous.
7:03And I just assumed I was going to prison
7:05or you know like
7:06my parents come to pick me up and
7:07they're like
7:10I know they were thinking like why
7:13would you do this?
7:16And I know they were thinking that
7:17because they said why
7:20would you do this? Like they couldn't
7:22understand
7:24in that moment and it's a reminder that
7:26as children sometimes we have great
7:28capacity to complicate our parents'
7:31lives.
7:32Uh this was not the only time I had that
7:35a moment where I had like made it hard
7:37for my family. This is not the worst
7:40honestly where it but it was like an
7:43example and again as a dad now, I have
7:46kids and again I'm in I understand
7:48covenant love. I understand I understand
7:50that my kids are my kids and regardless
7:52of what crazy things happen, they're my
7:54kids and I love them. But also sometimes
7:56you have that moment where you look at
7:57your kids and you're like
7:59why?
8:01What what is going on? And I feel like
8:04that's what happens
8:05in the text that we're going to cover
8:07over the summer.
8:08From Genesis 11 through 35,
8:12um
8:13God establishes this covenant with his
8:15people. He's a heavenly father who loves
8:17his kids and yet time and time again
8:21we have a tendency to mess things up,
8:23screw things up, try and do things in
8:24our own strength or
8:26hang from a sprinkler and he's like, why
8:29are you doing this? And that's kind of
8:30where we meet uh this couple, Abram and
8:33Sarai.
8:35We see in in Genesis 11 and 12
8:38God uh meets them.
8:41And he meets he meets Abram in a pretty
8:45hard season if you think about the text.
8:48Um
8:49we gloss over it because it's genealogy
8:51and it's confusing and it's just names
8:53and we're like, whatever. But if you
8:55think about it, Abram receives a call on
8:57his life
8:59to step into this father of nations and
9:02dad of many sons and many sons have
9:05father Abraham, I am one of them, so are
9:07you. Let's all praise the Lord. He steps
9:09into this assignment
9:11when his brother has died.
9:14So his dad, Terah, has three sons. Haran
9:17dies prematurely.
9:19Nobody wants to watch their kid die and
9:21that's the reality of Abram's father.
9:24And then he and his brother, they're
9:26going to get married, so everybody's
9:27excited.
9:28You know, like let's go. Wedding, my
9:30family, we'll party, sprinkle in little
9:34sparklers, you know, we'll to Uptown
9:37Funk. We're all we're We're going to do
9:38it. We're going to do it. And so,
9:39everybody's excited and then find out
9:42Sarah can't have kids.
9:44Disappointment.
9:46And then
9:48fast forward, the dad says, "Hey, we're
9:50going to go to Canaan."
9:53Bible doesn't say exactly what gave him
9:54this directive. I believe it was the
9:55Lord, but he says, "We're going to go to
9:57Canaan." But they don't make it to
9:58Canaan. They stop short there about
9:59halfway.
10:01And then Abram's dad dies. It says this,
10:04"Together they set out from Ur of the
10:06Chaldeans to go to Canaan, but when they
10:07came to Haran, they settled there."
10:11And they never make it. He loses his
10:13brother.
10:14His wife can't have kids. He and his
10:16wife can't have children.
10:18And then his dad uh
10:21passes away.
10:22And then he's in this spot that they
10:24were never really intended to go. This
10:26is He's just stuck. And
10:28that's where we find him.
10:31And so,
10:33uh this is not a man standing on the
10:34edge of possibility. This is a
10:36disappointed brother. And many of us
10:38have had these same lived experiences,
10:40same highs and lows. All of us Let me
10:42put it this way. All of us east of Eden,
10:44all of us post-Genesis 3 live in this
10:47space.
10:48Where we have expectations, we have
10:50wants, we have really cool moments, and
10:52then we have really low moments, and
10:55that's where we find Abram.
10:57So, the day your employer announced
10:59layoffs, or the day that the doctor
11:01asked for more tests, or the day that
11:03the relationship ended, or the day that
11:05the pregnancy test came back
11:07not the way that you wanted it to, or
11:09the day that the dream dies, you fill in
11:10the blank with whatever it is. Every one
11:12of us knows what it's like to stand in
11:14that place. And it appears like Well,
11:16here's what's cool. In that chaos and in
11:18that brokenness is where God often meets
11:20people and speaks.
11:23And if you think about it like back to
11:26last year when we talked about the
11:27garden,
11:28God speaks into the void. God speaks
11:31into the darkness and out of that gives
11:33way to creation, gives way to life,
11:35gives way to hope. And in the same way
11:37he meets Abram in like a really dark
11:39moment of his own life.
11:40And gives way to life and gives way to
11:43hope.
11:45Here's my encouragement to you if you're
11:46going through a hard time and if it if
11:50life feels a little disappointing, God
11:52speaks promises over your brokenness and
11:55over my brokenness.
11:57God meets us like right there in that
11:58moment. After all the hard in Genesis
12:01chapter 11 that Abram goes through,
12:03here's what happens.
12:05Genesis chapter 12 opens with one of the
12:07most important moments in the entire
12:09Bible.
12:10It says this, the Lord said
12:14to Abram, "Go from your country, your
12:16people, and your father's house to the
12:18land I will show you and I will make you
12:20into a great nation and I will bless you
12:23and I will make your name great and you
12:25will be a blessing. I will bless those
12:27who bless you and whoever curses you, I
12:29will curse. And to all peoples on earth
12:31will be a blessing
12:33through you."
12:34And this speech is amazing and it also
12:36seems a little bit out of place
12:38because up to this point post Genesis 3,
12:41there's been death, there's been
12:43violence, there's been murder, there's
12:45been
12:47and a people who are so prideful, so
12:49full of sin, there's been the flood,
12:51there's been pride puff up at the place
12:53of Babel and it should feel like a
12:55dramatic shift in the story that God
12:56would speak. From chapter to chapter,
12:59we've watched humanity spiral downward.
13:02And here's how important this moment is.
13:04This tiny little part in Genesis chapter
13:0612, everything that comes after what God
13:09says to Abram
13:11stands on what God says to Abram.
13:16God gives a promise
13:18and establishes a covenant right now
13:21with the people and you and I are in
13:23this room right now
13:25because of this promise and this
13:26covenant he establishes in Genesis
13:28chapter 12. How crazy is that?
13:31That's amazing. This is the God that we
13:33serve. It's the promise. Notice that God
13:36tells Abram, here's what he says first
13:37if you want to receive the promise. He
13:39says this,
13:40"Go from your country, your people,
13:44and your father's household."
13:46Before God changes Abram's future, he
13:48changes Abram's dependents.
13:51Before God gives Abram a new identity,
13:53he wants him to let go of the old one.
13:56And isn't it just like God, anytime he
13:58asks us to do a thing, he asks us to
13:59step outside of our comfort zone and and
14:02usually lay something down
14:04in order to grab hold of what God has
14:06for us.
14:07This guy, Abram, is going to become
14:09Abraham,
14:10the friend of God and the father of
14:12nations, but the first thing that he has
14:14to do
14:15is leave.
14:17Leave.
14:18And the invitation of God always
14:20involves letting go of something we're
14:22comfortable with before we experience
14:23the more that he has for us. The second
14:25thing that he does is he speaks a
14:27blessing. And we know that God is
14:29speaking a blessing over Abram because
14:31it says it five different times. He
14:32says, "I will bless you and you will be
14:34a blessing. And I will bless those who
14:36bless you and all the peoples on the
14:37earth will be blessed through you."
14:38There's a lot of blessing going on. And
14:40this is not an accident.
14:42Uh things have been dark since the fall,
14:44but now it's like God is beginning this
14:46rescue mission and he wants to be sure
14:48that everyone understands, "I am
14:51blessing.
14:52I am reconciling. I am redeeming and
14:55it's going to start through you.
14:58It's going to start through this
14:59relationship." He says this, "I will
15:02make your name great." It's not about
15:03prosperity. It's about identity. "I will
15:06make your name great" is what he says
15:08Abram.
15:10Now watch this. This is right after the
15:12fall of Babel. This is right after God
15:14spread the people out who were so
15:16prideful, "Hey, let's make a name for
15:17ourselves." As a matter of fact, that's
15:18what the Bible says. They said, "Hey,
15:20let's build this tower, this tower to
15:22the heavens." And it says this, "Let us
15:25make a name for ourselves." And so God
15:27scattered them.
15:29God scattered them.
15:31And uh God loves to take the least
15:33likely. I love it because he looks at He
15:36looks at Abram and he says, "I want you.
15:38I want to make your name great." Coming
15:40off the heels of everybody trying to do
15:41it in their own strength. God loves to
15:43take the least likely to be picked.
15:46I remember growing up and playing
15:47basketball with my cousins.
15:50And I was always like, we're playing
15:51backyard ball and I was always like,
15:53"Man, don't pick me last, bro. Please it
15:55First of all, it's my house. You know
15:57what I mean? It's embarrassing if you
15:58get picked last. Last is your own
15:59house." I'm like, "Man, please don't
16:00pick me last." And and I just think how
16:03cool is our God that he would take the
16:04guy who's picked last and make him
16:06captain of the team.
16:08Why? Cuz I will make your name great.
16:12It's not about you, Abram. It's about me
16:13and you.
16:15And and uh Matthew 23:12, Jesus puts it
16:18this way, "For those who exalt
16:20themselves will be humbled, and those
16:22who humble themselves will be exalted."
16:25And
16:27that's so true. Like God will meet us in
16:31a space of humility and that's who God
16:32chooses. And then comes the craziest
16:34part of the promise.
16:36He says this, "All peoples on earth will
16:38be blessed through you."
16:41God blesses Abraham and establishes a
16:43covenant. Abraham is the father of
16:45Isaac, who's the father of Jacob. Jacob
16:47becomes Israel. Israel has 12 tribes.
16:49David comes out out of these 12 tribes.
16:52And from the house of David, born in the
16:54city of Bethlehem, is the savior of you
16:57and I. But it starts in Genesis 12.
17:02Hey, I'll bless you.
17:04And you'll be a blessing to the nations.
17:07From your lineage will come about
17:09salvation and redemption and
17:11reconciliation. I love this so much.
17:14All peoples on earth will be blessed
17:16through you.
17:18The blessing moves through this family
17:20until it reaches the entire world.
17:23And And I think it's It's in it like
17:25God, too. This is the way that the Lord
17:26works. He blesses Abraham
17:29to bless others, who bless others, who
17:32bless others. And I'm thinking about
17:34your life and my life right now. God has
17:35blessed your life, watch this,
17:38to bless others.
17:40If you're ever like, "What is the
17:41blessing for? Why did God give me these
17:42gifts? Why did God give me this time?
17:44Why did God give me these resources? Why
17:46did God give me these people?" To be a
17:48blessing to others. You and I Like I'm
17:50standing right now in the promise that
17:52God had for me on the backs of so many
17:54people who were faithful to whatever it
17:56was that the Lord asked them to do. I'm
17:58only here
18:00I'm only here
18:01because God blessed someone who blessed
18:03someone who blessed me. And you and I
18:05are in the same space. The reason I know
18:06Jesus at all is because somebody blessed
18:09me with the truth of who of who Christ
18:11is.
18:12And so, this is the God that we serve.
18:14We're blessed to be a blessing, but it's
18:16important that we remember when Abram
18:18receives the promise, Abram's brother
18:20and his father are still dead.
18:23Sarai is still barren.
18:25And the promise God gives arrives long
18:27before the fulfillment of the promise.
18:30Let me put it this way. God speaks hope
18:32into chaos before he changes the chaos.
18:36Uh So, what do you do when God gives you
18:38a promise, but your circumstances remain
18:40unchanged?
18:43Um
18:44God will speak to you in one season of
18:46brokenness and one season of hard and
18:48one season of humility about things that
18:50are going to come to pass like way down
18:52the road, but it it just requires
18:55Really, it requires trust. Is God who he
18:57says he is? The promise is an invitation
18:59for us to trust God.
19:01If you receive a promise, if you receive
19:03a word, if you listen to the promises
19:05that God already has for your life in
19:07his word, it's an invitation to trust.
19:09What's remarkable about Abram is not
19:12merely that God spoke to him. I love
19:14Abram for this reason.
19:16He listened.
19:18It's really cool that God spoke to him.
19:20What if he spoke to him and he did
19:22nothing with it? Like the Bible tells us
19:24he listened, he applied it, he went in
19:26the direction that God had for him. When
19:28most of us encounter chaos on the level
19:30that Abram had encountered chaos, my
19:32brother's dead, my dad is dead, my wife
19:34is barren, all these things are
19:35happening.
19:36We instinctively move in one of two
19:38directions. We're really afraid, we're
19:40we're full of anxiety, we're full of
19:42fear, the risk is too high, I don't want
19:44to deal with it, whatever. I'm not going
19:45to go in that direction cuz I don't know
19:47the end game. Or we just try and muscle
19:49and strong-arm that thing. I'm just
19:51going to work harder. I'm just going to
19:52try harder. I'm just going to force my
19:54will. I'm just going to control the
19:55narrative or whatever.
19:57Manipulate the situation.
19:59Basically fight or flight. That's our
20:01response. But the invitation that God
20:03gives Abram in this passage is trust.
20:07Do you trust me?
20:10And and the the the sense of control
20:11that you and I often feel is a false
20:13sense of control. It's not real control.
20:15It's perceived control or momentary
20:18control.
20:19And and God's invitation is to trust
20:21him. God specializes in making beauty
20:24out of ashes, creation out of chaos, and
20:26hope from a place of despair. But it's
20:29there.
20:30Really it's there for those who have
20:32ears to hear and Abram hears him.
20:35And Abram listens. You want to know what
20:38I think Abram was doing whenever he
20:39receives the call
20:41on his life and the blessing that God
20:43has for him, the promise that we're
20:44talking about.
20:46Bible doesn't tell us.
20:47It tells us nothing. It just says that
20:48God spoke to Abram. Here's what I think
20:50Abram was doing.
20:52Praying.
20:54Shocker, I know, right? I just think he
20:57was praying and it wasn't loud and it
20:59wasn't a it wasn't some kind of I think
21:01it was just a small still voice.
21:04And Abram in the midst of brokenness and
21:06Abram in the midst of just like a hard
21:08season
21:09sat humbled himself, spent time with the
21:13Lord, got close, got proximity.
21:15And he had ears to hear. God was already
21:17speaking, but God is he he can hear the
21:19Lord.
21:20He can hear what he's saying.
21:22And um
21:26we can hear it.
21:27God's voice it it often sounds like a
21:30whisper. It's not loud.
21:32To those who hear it, the invitation is
21:33almost always the same. Take the next
21:35step.
21:36God never gives us the whole picture. He
21:38never tells us what's going like how the
21:40end get like
21:42Abram, I want you to go in that
21:43direction. Where are we going? I just
21:45want you to go.
21:47I just want you to just go in that
21:48direction. You know the direction you're
21:49supposed to go. And you and I know some
21:51things that God's asked us to do, but we
21:53can we're trying to do the math on how's
21:55it going to work out? And he's like,
21:56maybe don't worry about that. Maybe just
21:58do the thing that you already know that
22:00like by my spirit I've been telling you
22:02to do. And if you would do those things,
22:04I'd unpack the rest for you. Some of us
22:06feel safe
22:08if we're driving or if we're in control,
22:09but again it's a false sense of
22:11security.
22:12Jesus puts it this way in Matthew
22:146:33-34.
22:15Seek first the kingdom and his
22:17righteousness.
22:18Basically, listen. Be obedient to the
22:20Lord. Do what he's asked you to do. And
22:22all these things will be given to you as
22:25well. Therefore, don't worry about
22:26tomorrow. What are you fearful of or
22:28anxious about or afraid of? For tomorrow
22:30will worry about itself. Each day has
22:32enough trouble of its own.
22:34And the invitation to trust God isn't
22:36passivity.
22:38The invitation to trust God is active.
22:41As a matter of fact, trust in this
22:43passage doesn't look like a feeling. It
22:45looks like Abram just moved in the
22:47direction that God wanted him to go. And
22:49then God met him in that space.
22:52It says this.
22:54Abram went.
22:56How? As the Lord had told him.
23:00That's our call.
23:02Go. How? However it is that God tells
23:04you. Those six words may be some of the
23:06most important words in Abraham's entire
23:08story. I would say this, they're the
23:10some of the most important words in in
23:11the whole of scripture.
23:14Abraham leaves Haran and finishes the
23:16journey that his father began. He heads
23:18southward towards Canaan and there's
23:20hundreds of miles there, hundreds of
23:22opportunities to quit.
23:24You ever do something you feel like
23:25God's asked you to do when it gets a
23:26little hard and you're like, "I don't
23:28know, dude."
23:29I don't know.
23:31It should feel maybe easier. Not
23:33necessarily.
23:34Right?
23:35Biblically speaking,
23:37actually not at all, right? It's just
23:39like if God's calling me to do it, keep
23:41pressing forward. Every step is an act
23:43of trust. What I love about the story is
23:45that trust isn't presented again as a
23:47feeling, but it's moving in the
23:48direction you've been called. Eventually
23:50Abraham arrives at this place called
23:52Shechem in Genesis 12 and it says this,
23:54"Abraham traveled through the land as
23:56far as the site of the great tree of
23:57Moreh at Shechem."
23:59And Moreh, it means this, seeing or
24:01appearing.
24:03And that's exactly what happens in this
24:04passage.
24:06He shows up, God gives him a vision,
24:08meets him there.
24:09And God repeats the promise that he's
24:11already given to Abraham, but then he
24:13deepens the promise. Not only will
24:15Abraham have descendants, but in verse
24:17seven it says this, God tells him that
24:19these descendants will inherit the land.
24:23You know when God will ask you to do a
24:24thing and then you're like faithful in
24:26it for a little while and then may
24:28usually years after and then Lord like
24:31gives you some sense of revelation for
24:33what?
24:34Oh, that's what that was for.
24:36You know what I'm talking about? Like I
24:38remember when Brooke and I
24:39uh the pastors of the church that sent
24:42us to start Soma years before that, we
24:44pastored regionally and they asked us,
24:46they were like, "Hey,
24:47what do you think about Hickory?"
24:49And we were like, "We don't think about
24:51it."
24:52We've never I think I went to Bojangles
24:54one time on the way to Asheville and
24:56that's that's the only I literally that
24:57was my only experience at the time.
25:00They're like, maybe think about it.
25:01Maybe pray about it.
25:04And and it was it was in that space of
25:07like not knowing what God was doing. Why
25:09in the world are we here?
25:11Why in the world would you send us? Not
25:13knowing anything about Soma, not knowing
25:14anything about planning a church, not
25:16knowing anything about how God would
25:17move. All they were like is, what do you
25:19think? We're like,
25:22pray about it. And we pray about it.
25:25In a sense of peace, sense of direction.
25:27We assume it's temporary.
25:29Lord tells us we're like, hey, maybe 3 5
25:31years. We're not exactly sure. How many
25:33of us are aware anytime God gives you an
25:35assignment or direction for your life,
25:36you're like 65% sure that that's what
25:38the Lord wants for you. Unless it's
25:39explicitly spelled out in the text. You
25:41know what I'm talking about? Most of the
25:42things that we're after like, where do I
25:43work or who do I marry or whatever. Like
25:45none of that stuff is covered in here.
25:46You know what I mean? You pray about it
25:47and then you're like, I'm 72% sure this
25:50is the will of God for my life. But you
25:51just kind of have to go in the direction
25:53and God meets you in that place of
25:54faithfulness.
25:55Morah, it means it means seeing or
25:57appearing. God meets Abram in this space
26:00and speaks to him.
26:02And then gives him more revelation, more
26:04security.
26:06You trusted me here.
26:08And then he gives him more revelation.
26:10And here's what happens in the passage.
26:13Abram builds an altar.
26:16Wow, God called me to do a thing. I did
26:19the thing he asked me to do.
26:21And then he confirmed what he asked me
26:23to do. How faithful and how good is God?
26:26He begins to worship God. He builds an
26:28altar.
26:30Basically, he expresses thanks.
26:33And for some of us, I think our issues,
26:35they're not trust issues. They're
26:37worship issues.
26:39For some of us, God has come through
26:40time and time again.
26:42And there is no altar.
26:45We need more altars. We need more We
26:47need to stop and commemorate more of the
26:49faithfulness of God. We need to stop and
26:51express more gratitude for what God's
26:53done. You need annually a block party to
26:55express your gratitude for all that God
26:57has done in your life. What about your
26:58marriage? What about your kids? What
27:00about your vocation, your calling, your
27:01gifts, your resources, the time,
27:03everything the Lord has given you in
27:04your life and begin to take inventory
27:06and be like, "Man,
27:08I got to build an altar."
27:10This becomes one of the main rhythms of
27:12Abraham's life. God speaks, Abraham
27:14responds. God reveals, Abraham worships.
27:18God blesses, Abraham builds an altar.
27:22And for some of us, again, our trust
27:24issues are simply
27:26worship issues. When God comes through,
27:28build an altar.
27:30Build an altar. I was talking with
27:32somebody in our church family this past
27:33week.
27:35And they recently got uh terminal
27:37diagnosis and they've been battling
27:39uh illness for a while and um coming off
27:43of a failed procedure, basically they
27:45were given days,
27:47a week, 2 weeks to live.
27:50Spending time with this person, they're
27:51faithful, they love the Lord.
27:54But also it's like a real surreal space
27:56to find yourself,
27:58to sit with someone who knows time is
28:00short.
28:02What could I impart? What could I
28:04possibly share
28:06that would lift, that would encourage,
28:08that would edify, that would add any
28:10value?
28:13And so, I felt like the Lord said this,
28:16"Tell them
28:18tell them to take inventory
28:21of my faithfulness in their life.
28:24Tell them in these last moments, last
28:25days, last hours
28:27to think about all the things that
28:29they're grateful for."
28:32And so, I said that.
28:34I said, "Hey,
28:35take time, express gratitude. Express
28:38gratitude to the Lord, express gratitude
28:40to the good people that God's brought in
28:41your life, the good gifts that God's
28:43given."
28:45And I watched their face when I said it.
28:48And their face told me
28:50they already knew.
28:54Like they agreed with it. They were
28:56like, "Yeah, it's good, you know."
28:58But they were kind of already there. And
29:00I was like,
29:02And immediately the Holy Spirit spoke to
29:03me and said, "Hey, that was for you."
29:09And I was like,
29:11"Cool.
29:13I need to build more altars.
29:16Need to stop and celebrate more.
29:19I'm wired this way and I don't I don't
29:21know if you're wired this way,
29:23but um
29:24I'm goal-oriented. I'm action-oriented.
29:28I'll hit a mark and then be like, "Cool.
29:29Next." Before I've even hit the Before
29:32I've even done the thing that was like,
29:33"Hey, that was my goal." Like even
29:34before I've hit it, but I know it's
29:36going to get hit. I'm like, "All right,
29:37next." And God's like, "Maybe Maybe just
29:40stop
29:42and just express gratitude and thanks
29:45and out of an overflow of worship, I'll
29:47begin to do some things in your heart
29:48and your life that only I can get credit
29:51for. It's not about your ability to keep
29:52up or your own strength or whatever."
29:56And so I The invitation that I see in
29:59the life of Abram
30:01is not just to listen and have ears to
30:03hear, not just to obey what God's
30:05saying, but when you know God is
30:07speaking and when God comes through,
30:09stop and build an altar. What does your
30:11altar look like practically? Just like
30:14worship.
30:15Whatever you got to do, honestly, to
30:18commemorate that moment.
30:21And people pile up rocks in the Bible.
30:25People create Hebrew festivals straight
30:29up to like remember the faithfulness of
30:31God.
30:32I mean, I don't know what your thing is
30:34that you need to do, but you just need
30:35to stop, write it on the calendar, write
30:37it down, tell somebody about how amazing
30:39God has been in your life. You need to
30:40tell yourself about how amazing your God
30:43is.
30:46The altar becomes a reminder that God's
30:47been faithful before. So, watch this, he
30:50can be trusted again.
30:53And so many of us are after like Canaan,
30:56but in order to get to Canaan,
30:59you got to get to Shechem.
31:02And then you got to get to Bethel.
31:04And then you got to get to whatever's
31:06next. And the way forward is to remind
31:09yourself of how faithful God is. Cuz
31:11some of you, you're not ready for
31:12Canaan.
31:14And I'm not ready for Canaan. I'm ready
31:15for whatever's next. Build an altar. As
31:17Abram Abram continues south, he he comes
31:20to he comes to Bethel.
31:22Bethel means house of God. What does he
31:24do at Bethel? He builds an altar.
31:27Again, he calls on the name of the Lord.
31:29And again, he puts his tent he positions
31:32his tent near the promise near the
31:34presence of God. And as you read these
31:37moments, you begin to notice like
31:39that Abram has like tapped into
31:41something that's been missing ever since
31:44Genesis 1 and 2.
31:46He's like figured something out.
31:49There's trees in this passage, God's
31:51presence in this passage, blessing,
31:53fruitfulness. It sounds a lot like Eden
31:55in this passage. And what Abram has
31:57figured out is partnership with God.
31:59It's almost like Abram has tapped into
32:01what we're meant to be doing. It's like
32:03gardening with God.
32:06Like I'm not There's certain things I'm
32:08responsible for and and for Abram, it's
32:11I want you to go in that direction.
32:14I was working in the yard yesterday.
32:16We have these planters, these raised
32:18beds in the back of our yard.
32:20We bought this house in 2021. The lady
32:22that we purchased this house from, she
32:23had like a green thumb. Everything was
32:25immaculate. It was beautiful. We looked
32:27at each other, we're like, we're going
32:28to ruin this so fast.
32:30Front yard's not terrible
32:33cuz it's the front yard. Can I get a
32:34witness up in here? Backyard's a little
32:36hairy. We're like, "Woo." So, I'm out
32:38there in these I'm you know, I'm just
32:39pulling weeds.
32:41Starting to look better.
32:43I look over to the pots that we have,
32:45the plants that I potted like
32:485 days ago. I don't even remember. Like,
32:50I literally went to Lowe's, got some
32:52plants, put them in there. I looked at
32:53the plants. Plants are looking a little
32:54sad, y'all.
32:56Come on, that heat index. Can I get a
32:57witness up in here? Feel like Florida.
33:00And I And And I look at them and they
33:02And I'm like, "You know what? Probably
33:03should water.
33:05Probably should water the plants. You
33:06know what I mean? That's the key
33:07ingredient to"
33:09And so, water the plants, weeding,
33:11everything starting to look a little bit
33:13better. There's things that you and I
33:14are responsible for.
33:16Things that God has called us to do
33:19He's not going to do. But, watch this. I
33:21can't make plants grow.
33:25I can't make I can't make flowers bloom.
33:30I can't I can't bring life.
33:34I can't bring miracles. Like, that's the
33:36Lord's work. I think about from
33:39um from the call that he has on for us
33:41as a church. Like, I can't save anybody.
33:44You can't save anybody. We can't change
33:47people. We can't transform people or
33:49sanctify people, but there are certain
33:50things that we can do to position
33:51people.
33:54Uh I got a friend and a mentor. He put
33:56it this way. I heard this um a couple
33:58months ago. We were at an event, Brooke
33:59and I were. He said this. He said, "I
34:01think zero about outcomes."
34:04And it blew my mind as someone who
34:08is too wrapped up in thinking about
34:10outcomes.
34:11Why? Because this person has written
34:13books and like millions of people have
34:15bought said books.
34:17Because their impact in terms of
34:19evangelism is absolutely bananas. Like,
34:21the amount of people that have come to
34:22faith in Christ because of this person's
34:24ministry is insane. And here's what they
34:26said, "I think nothing about outcomes."
34:30They said, "I only think about sowing
34:33seeds."
34:36They're like, "I spend my whole time
34:39just thinking about where can I sow
34:41seeds, and I am not responsible for
34:43where those seeds land or how they land
34:44or what people respond or what people do
34:46in response to what I'm like I The only
34:48thing I think about is I have a part to
34:50play, God has a part to play. I cannot
34:52play his part. I will play mine.
34:55Outcomes belong to God. Our
34:57responsibility is obedience. Our
34:59responsibility is trust. Our
35:00responsibility is walk in the direction
35:02that you know that the Holy Spirit is
35:03asking you to walk.
35:05God provides growth. God provides
35:07blessing. God provides fruit.
35:09Gardening with God means receiving the
35:11blessing of God. Watch this, while
35:13accepting that growth is often slow.
35:17>> [sighs]
35:21>> We never arrive.
35:23Spoiler alert, if you're new to church
35:25or new to the Christian faith, you never
35:26arrive this side of this side of
35:28eternity.
35:30Used [snorts] to be it's hard. We meet
35:31you Thank God for the finished work in
35:33Christ because like I'm better I'm I'm a
35:35more godly man and I'm more God wants me
35:37to be today than I was 10 years ago, but
35:40I will never arrive. I'll never arrive,
35:43but growth is steady, growth is slow.
35:46And sometimes if you're like me,
35:48I'll sow some seeds and then I'll walk
35:50out and I'll be like,
35:52"Where's that tree?
35:54Where's it at?
35:56Come on.
35:58You know, redwood. Like and I'm just
36:00like waiting. And it's like, "Oh, it's
36:03starting to germinate. It's start You
36:05know, it's starting to bud. We're
36:06getting some action." And that's the
36:08reality. Trusting God means working
36:10beneath the surface even when nothing
36:12seems to be changing. It means believing
36:14that God is faithful to his promises
36:16even when fulfillment appears far away.
36:18And if we're honest, that sounds
36:19beautiful, but that is also difficult.
36:22It's hard. Well, I've been praying for
36:24somebody for 17 years. What do you want
36:26me to do?
36:28Keep praying.
36:30Keep sowing.
36:32Keep loving.
36:34Keep doing your part. You can't change
36:37people. Can't save people, but you can
36:40do what you can do. What is God asking
36:43you to do? Do that.
36:45Do that.
36:48One of the things that I love so much
36:51um
36:52about Genesis
36:55and I'll kind of wrap up with this
36:56thought.
36:58One of the more encouraging parts of
36:59this story is that Abram and Sarai are
37:02not presented as spiritual superheroes.
37:07In fact, they're often examples of what
37:09not to do.
37:13Which I feel like I can relate with more
37:15than the spiritual superheroes. One of
37:17the most encouraging things in here
37:21is
37:22um
37:25they experience fear.
37:27They lie.
37:28They try and self-preserve.
37:30They'll make decisions that complicate
37:32their lives because they try and take
37:34matters into their own hands. They
37:35doubt. They manipulate. They fail. In
37:37other words, they're a lot like us, and
37:39yet
37:42the promise has already been made.
37:47>> [laughter]
37:48>> I love that. I love it when God promises
37:51me something that's not based on my
37:53performance. Now, there are
37:56promises in scripture
37:58that an if this, then this promise.
38:04It it it matters what we do. But, there
38:07are also promises in scripture. Hello.
38:09That have absolutely nothing to do with
38:11my performance.
38:14And have absolutely nothing to do with
38:15my ability to hit the letter of the law.
38:17They go through all kinds of things.
38:19This is one of the reasons that I love
38:20Genesis. It's not a collection of
38:22stories designed to make us admire human
38:24faithfulness. It's a collection of
38:25stories designed to make us admire God's
38:27faithfulness.
38:29The hero of Genesis is not Father
38:31Abraham. The hero of the story is God.
38:34God is the hero of the story.
38:37It's God's covenant love. It's God's
38:38faithfulness. It's his divine mercy.
38:41It's the story
38:42If the story depended on my faithfulness
38:45or your faithfulness or Abraham's
38:46faithfulness or Sarah's faithfulness, it
38:48does not work. But the story doesn't.
38:52It rests on God's character.
38:55And so God continually moves towards his
38:58people rather than away from them. God
38:59continually recommits himself to them
39:01and God continually pursues them with
39:04covenant love because that's just who
39:06God is.
39:08Not because they earned it.
39:10And the story is not ultimately about a
39:11great people. It's about a great God.
39:14And so today, if you find yourself
39:16living in the tension
39:18of suffering
39:20and blessing,
39:22of life and death,
39:24of highs and lows,
39:26of
39:30of like disappointment.
39:34And you might be hearing it might be not
39:36It might not be stuff that's happened to
39:38you.
39:40You lost someone or someone else hurt
39:42you or someone betrayed you or whatever.
39:44We experience those things. Maybe
39:45self-inflicted wounds.
39:47Maybe things you've done or said that
39:49you just know wrong kind of to the
39:50character of God. God's been working on
39:52you for a season. There's a sense of
39:53shame attached to that. That's not of
39:55the Lord. That's of the enemy, by the
39:56way. But there's just You feel ashamed.
39:58Here's my encouragement to you and as we
40:00close in Hebrews 4:16, let us then
40:02approach God's throne of grace with
40:03confidence so that we may receive mercy
40:05and find grace to help us in our time of
40:07need.
40:10Same posture that God met Abraham during
40:13the call, same posture that God met
40:15Abraham at Shechem, Same posture that
40:18God met Abram at Bethel was one of
40:20worship.
40:22One of humility, one of Lord, I need
40:24you.
40:26The good news of Genesis is that the
40:28thing holding your story together is not
40:30your ability to be perfect or trust
40:32perfectly. It's God's ability to remain
40:34faithful [music] even when your trust
40:35wavers.
40:39And so,
40:41here's my encouragement as we close in
40:43prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit,
40:46"How am I doing with trust?
40:49And where do I lack trust? And what have
40:50you asked me to do? And instead of
40:52trusting and being obedient doing what
40:54you've asked me to do, I'm afraid, I've
40:56run from it or I'm trying to manage it
40:58in my own strength. And [music]
40:59honestly, I just need to surrender that
41:01over to you.
41:02What's the next step that you have for
41:04me? God, give me the courage of
41:06conviction to be able to take that next
41:07step." [music]
41:09And then, build an altar.
41:13Build an altar and just think on and be
41:15grateful for the ways that God is
41:17currently moved I mean, put it this way.
41:19Some of you, your breakthrough is on the
41:20other side of the altar. [music]
41:23Some of you, what you're waiting on,
41:25what you feel like you need, the next
41:27step, all of that, clarity is on the
41:28other side of worship, [music]
41:30is on the other side of a moment where
41:31you say, "God, how good have you been so
41:33far? How amazing have you been in my
41:34life?" And just begin [music] to worship
41:36him.
41:40So, just ask the Holy Spirit to reveal
41:42those things to you. Let's [music] pray
41:43together. God, thank you.
41:46Thank you for your word. Thank you for
41:48your faithfulness.
41:49Thank you for your covenant love that is
41:52not subject
41:54to my being [music] good enough.
41:59My not subject to me being [music]
42:01worthy.
42:03Not subject to my faithfulness or my
42:06level of trust, your covenant love.
42:12It remains [music] steadfast because of
42:14who you are.
42:16Thank you that you made that love
42:18manifest. [music] Jesus, that you came
42:20and you walked among us and you lived a
42:22perfect life.
42:24Thank you, God, that Abraham gave way to
42:26Isaac, gave way to Jacob, [music]
42:27gave way to David, gave way to Christ
42:30who comes and redeems and reconciles and
42:32stands in our place. Thank you that
42:34[music] the promise is made good on the
42:36person of Jesus.
42:42Jesus, that you loved us that much. God,
42:44that you pursued us, that you're after
42:46us. [music] You atone for our sins and
42:47you offer us grace. You offer us a new
42:49life based on your finished work. Not
42:52based on who we are, not [music] based
42:54on our behavior, not based on behavior
42:55modification or pretending, but based on
42:57your finished work. And that you rose
42:59again so that we could experience
43:01resurrection [music] and abundant life
43:02now and the hope of eternity. That
43:04heaven that's awaiting us. That new
43:05heaven, new earth that you purchased.
43:09If you're here [music]
43:10and you know, I have man, I'm lost.
43:14I'm broken.
43:16I'm in a hard place. God has a high call
43:18on your life.
43:22And the enemy would love for you to push
43:25back on the idea that you have a high
43:27call on your life, but you have a high
43:28call on your life.
43:31And the moment [music]
43:32the Holy Spirit lifts your head and
43:34helps you to see Jesus for who he is.
43:36This revelation that he stood in your
43:38place, that he loves you that much.
43:40>> [music]
43:40>> That he's your savior and that he is
43:41your Lord and you accept that.
43:45You receive that gift of the promise
43:47that God has for you in Christ.
43:49You become a new creation. It's time for
43:51some of us to lay down arms. You've been
43:53running from the things of God. You've
43:54been making it about yourself. You've
43:55been selfish for [music] a while and you
43:57just know, hey, today's my day. Today's
43:59my opportunity to come alive in what
44:00Jesus has already finished for me. So,
44:03with our heads bowed and our eyes
44:04closed, if that's you,
44:06if you want to surrender your life to
44:08Christ and go all in today, with our
44:10heads bowed and our eyes closed, just by
44:12way of confession, would you just lift
44:13your hand in the room? [music] Bible
44:15tells us it's believing that Jesus is
44:17who he says he is and confessing him as
44:18Lord that brings about salvation. Is
44:20there any other hands you say that's for
44:22me?
44:23Hand doesn't save you, Christ does, but
44:24it's an opportunity for you to confess,
44:25[music]
44:26"Hey, I need Jesus." Thank you, God.
44:28Anyone else you say that's for me?
44:31Right where you're at, if that's you,
44:32you can put hands down. Right where
44:33you're at, if that's you, just say,
44:34"Jesus, I give you my life.
44:37I love you, but only because you loved
44:38me first.
44:40>> [music]
44:40>> And I'm grateful for this moment, Holy
44:42Spirit, for
44:43for teaching me, God, through your word,
44:45how much you love me and how much you're
44:46for me.
44:47God, thank you for your faithfulness.
44:50And thank you for the [music] promise.
44:53I I accept what you offer me, take in
44:55exchange my life.
44:57Lead me moving forward.
44:59>> [music]
44:59>> Change and transform me into the person
45:01of God you've created to me created me
45:03to be. There's some responsibilities
45:04that I have, but God, I can't bring
45:06about life change or transformation and
45:08sanctification. [music]
45:09Holy Spirit, do your work. God, through
45:10your word and through your people,
45:12change and transform me and help me to
45:13step into the high call that's on my
45:15life. God, the same [music] thing for us
45:17as a church family. We love you. Would
45:19you mark us as a people who are led, as
45:21a people who hear, as a people who
45:23respond, [music]
45:24as a people who obey, as a people who
45:26worship because they could see your
45:28faithfulness time and time again.
45:30>> [music]
45:30>> Lord, we love you. It's in Jesus' name
45:32we pray. Amen.

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