1 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:11,680 You have your Bible going to make your way to Genesis chapter 2 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,720 17 and hold your place there. We'll be there in just a moment. 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,440 What I want to do is something that does a follow up from 4 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,520 several weeks ago. If you remember our Refocus 5 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:26,960 Sunday, it's the Sunday before Palm Sunday where we walk 6 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:31,280 through the presentation that we as a team, a Refocus team, 7 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,800 worked through for the last 6 to 8 months to prayerfully pursue 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,480 some very specific things about where we believe God is leading 9 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:43,560 us as a church family and how to fulfill specifically for CFBC to 10 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,000 fulfill the Great Commission of making disciples and being 11 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,280 faithful as a body of Christ. So we had a Refocus Sunday. 12 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,000 We distributed this Refocus launch guide. 13 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,320 We also took a discipleship survey where we asked 10 14 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,920 questions and asked you to respond. 15 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,440 So I'm about to walk you through the answers to this. 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,760 Now, just a little context here. I think it'd be helpful to know 17 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:10,120 that there's about 2000 ish people involved in the life of 18 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:11,720 our church. You say Kahawa, do you know 19 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,640 that? Well, because there's about 2000 20 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,960 members and about 2000 come on Easter. 21 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:22,440 All right, so that's about how we know on average about 1200 22 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:28,200 show up on any given Sunday and about 800 of that 1200 are in 23 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,240 small groups. All right, so you got less than 24 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:34,640 50% of our total participants in a small group, more than 50% 25 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:40,320 come on an average Sunday, about 2000 total 511 took this survey. 26 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,520 So you're only looking at a sample of 25%. 27 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,360 And I think you could probably say this is probably one of the 28 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:51,200 people who took this are closer to the core of the ones that are 29 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,520 here week in and week out, most likely. 30 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,760 All right, So that's it'll help as you interpret the answer. 31 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:01,160 So question number one is, do you daily engage the word of 32 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:02,960 God? Do you daily engage? 33 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:07,920 No is 36% and yes is 64%. Let me just remind you that the 34 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:12,040 number one thing you need spiritually is not my sermon. 35 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:17,520 I need an Amen. The number one thing you need is 36 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:22,760 the meal of the word of God. You feed yourself and the Bible. 37 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:28,440 The Bible is so is so it is It is such the primary Jesus says 38 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,440 you're not going to live by bread alone, but every word that 39 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,480 proceeds from the mouth of God. Studies show that unless you're 40 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,080 in the word of God for yourself at least four days a week that 41 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,000 it's really making no noticeable impact in your life unless you 42 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,040 get it the majority of the days. Unless you eat the majority of 43 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:43,680 the days of the week, you're going to be losing weight 44 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,480 instead of gaining, right? And I mean that in a good way. 45 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:54,120 All right, so all right #2 do you daily spend time in focused 46 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:58,600 prayer? It goes up 72% just shy of 3/4 47 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,240 of our Church of the Representative sample. 48 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,720 Spend daily time in focused prayer #3 do you attend Sunday 49 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,440 worship at CFC at least three times a month? 50 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:13,600 All right, no, 9%, yes, 91%. So at least of that sample of 51 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,320 511, those are again probably more of our frequent weekly 52 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,560 church attenders #4 are you active in a small group for 53 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,600 spiritual growth? No, 37%, yes, 63%. 54 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,720 Again, that's pretty representative that less overall 55 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,560 out of the 2000, less than half, but of that sample, a little 56 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,520 more than half. You can see the potential we 57 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,760 have in the life of our church for people to plug into that not 58 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,480 just gather on Sunday, big group, but to grow in the small 59 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,600 group dynamic in that community. Accountability, prayer, and more 60 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,800 focused Bible study and discussion #5 do you tie at 61 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,080 least 10% of your financial income to your local church? 62 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,200 This is interesting, right? I don't know who these people 63 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:56,160 are or who they're not. I can just know these numbers. 64 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,280 No, 42%, yes, 58%. And again, that's the frequent 65 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,080 Sunday attenders I think that we're talking about in the 511. 66 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,160 But it just goes to show you what if that number of yes were 67 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:08,560 to significantly increase? What would the financial 68 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,040 possibilities be for ministry and mission in the life of our 69 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,600 church if that number went up significantly, right? 70 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,360 Amazing. Number six, do you share the 71 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,160 gospel with a lost person at least once a month? 72 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,840 Look at the nose. And again, that's probably our 73 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,560 core. That's probably 5-11 that would 74 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:34,640 maybe most likely to say yes. So more than 3/4 of us don't 75 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:39,680 share the gospel once a month, 12 * a year with a lost person. 76 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,000 Now I just want you to think of the impact if that number 77 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,880 changed. Just think of just people at 78 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:51,280 CFBC started at least once a month sharing the life, the 79 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,400 death, the burial and resurrection of Jesus for the 80 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,000 forgiveness of sin and eternal life with somebody at least once 81 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,720 a month. Amazing the potential of what 82 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:05,160 impact we could have #7 are you in an active role of service at 83 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,360 CFBC? Basically almost split right 84 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,600 down the middle? No is the majority, 45% are in 85 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,080 an active service role in the life of our church. 86 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:18,480 Again, think of the potential if the Holy Spirit gifts were being 87 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,200 used in the life of our church to full capacity, what our 88 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:25,560 church would be like #8 Have you participated in regional, 89 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,920 national or international mission trip within the last 90 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,400 three years? Look at the no answer there 91 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:34,280 again. Think of the potential in our 92 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:36,680 church for people to be mobilized. 93 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:41,040 What I mean by that is to go for the sake of making disciples 94 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,200 beyond your normal Monday through Saturday and Sunday 95 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,200 routine. What if you went a little 96 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,360 further regionally or in our city or in our state or in our 97 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,680 nation or even internationally, just simply for the sake of 98 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,720 telling people about Jesus? Look at the Army that we have 99 00:05:55,720 --> 00:06:01,760 waiting to be deployed if we were willing to go right #9 Are 100 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,040 you personally investing spiritually in anyone else? 101 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:10,080 Yes, 67%, No, 33% and #10 Have you ever been personally 102 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,480 discipled or mentored by another believer? 103 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:17,920 32% and yes, 68%. That's just a little insight. 104 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:23,000 The reason we did that was to try to get really a baseline for 105 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,200 where we are as a church so that we can see part of the reason 106 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,200 why we would walk through a process called refocus. 107 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,240 Why is it that we want to continue pushing on the 108 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,200 potential we have as a church to be faithful to the Great 109 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:36,920 Commission? Why is it that we want to 110 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,480 articulate our mission is to love people to life in Jesus 111 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,560 Christ? Because they need to see and and 112 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,800 hear and understand the love of Christ for them so they can see 113 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,520 the life and the salvation and forgiveness and hope that He 114 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:50,560 offers. And This is why we have in our 115 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,960 vision to see our growing community saturated with the 116 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,400 gospel. We can't force people to believe 117 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:00,320 it or receive it, but we can by all means and by God's help, see 118 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,440 that there's no place in our community where there's not 119 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:04,840 access to the truth that can change people's lives. 120 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:08,440 Where we work, where we play, where we live, and everywhere in 121 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:10,000 between. This is why we've talked about a 122 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,360 four fold rhythm of gathering, growing, giving, and going to 123 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,200 where a healthy disciple is going to embrace these four 124 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,160 things as a rhythm in their life. 125 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,680 Gathering for worship, growing in a small group community, 126 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,600 giving of their life sacrificially from time, talent, 127 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,680 treasure, and beyond. And even willingness to go, yes, 128 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,600 where you normally live and even beyond. 129 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,520 Because those things, if absent, are going to mean gaps in our 130 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,880 lives as disciples of Christ. If you remember on that 131 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:43,960 refocused Sunday, I gave you a card that said what's your next 132 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:47,960 step? Do you remember what yours is? 133 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,560 Or if you weren't there that Sunday, do you know maybe what 134 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,120 your next step is based on that survey or based on gather, grow, 135 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,960 give and go that God is calling you to as God is calling all of 136 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:06,040 us toward further faithfulness for the sake and glory of Christ 137 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,400 right here in our community and beyond. 138 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,600 And I pray that you hadn't forgotten about that step. 139 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,240 Some of you gave me a name and a number on your card and I 140 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,800 followed up with you. But if you didn't and you want 141 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,760 to consult with someone or talk to one of us, me or one of the 142 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,800 pastors about taking next steps, please do continue to pray about 143 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,960 that and boldly, courageously act on what God has shown you or 144 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,040 maybe even continuing to show you. 145 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:34,600 So I hope that is both a challenge and an encouragement 146 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,120 to you. Now, back to Genesis 17 and the 147 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,200 actual message for today. That all was just bonus. 148 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,159 All right, I know that took 8 minutes in my sermon time, but 149 00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:43,320 I'm not really paying attention to that. 150 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,920 But we'll get out on time. All right, So, parents, can you 151 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,840 identify with me? Have you ever said where are 152 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,400 your shoes and what did you hear? 153 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,480 I don't know where. Where's your backpack? 154 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,480 I don't know where. Where's your jacket? 155 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:04,760 I don't know. Where's the library book? 156 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:07,880 I don't know. My wife says. 157 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:10,320 Where's your glove? Where's their back? 158 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:10,680 Where? Where? 159 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:12,280 Where is all the stuff? I don't know. 160 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:16,280 But how can you not know, right? Yeah, you get the picture, 161 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:18,640 right. As human beings, especially 162 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:23,360 young ones growing and still maturing, we tend to lose stuff. 163 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,080 We tend to misplace stuff. We tend to carelessly not know 164 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,600 what we've done with stuff. But of course, this tendency 165 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,080 does not completely disappear just because we turned 21 and 166 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,280 officially become an adult, does it? 167 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:41,640 I mean, we still struggle to locate what our phone, our keys, 168 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:45,000 our sunglasses, our watch, our wallet. 169 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,360 All right. I could name so many things that 170 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,080 I failed to keep up with. I was just, we were having 171 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,840 dinner with some folks Friday night and the guy was like, I've 172 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,760 invested in air tags. I've put them on everything and 173 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:57,840 everything I own's got 1. He pulled up his app on his 174 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,200 phone showing me where he's. I was like, dude, that is genius 175 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,360 right there. I ought to do that so we have 176 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:05,520 technology to help us keep up with our stuff. 177 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:07,520 Why? Why am I talking about all this? 178 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:12,040 Because one of the things that we often misplace, that we lose, 179 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,680 that we tend to struggle to keep up with, is not just our 180 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:19,320 physical things, but quite honestly, one of the things that 181 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,160 falls into this category is our faith. 182 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:29,400 The same thing that we could say trying to rush out of the house. 183 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:34,360 Has anyone seen my keys or whatever you fill in the blank? 184 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,640 There's a lot of days in our lives when if we were being 185 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:43,760 honest and saying it out loud, we'd say, has anyone seen my, my 186 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,160 faith? I don't remember where I put my, 187 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,960 my faith. I don't know where I've I don't 188 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:55,920 know where I've put it. Genesis 17 y'all is an example 189 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:02,960 of what God does for us as frail human beings who often struggle 190 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:08,720 to keep up with our faith. All right so I want you to watch 191 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,280 how this unfolds. Listen to the verse the 1st 8 192 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:20,280 verses of chapter 17. When Abram was 99 years old, the 193 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:27,000 Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty, walk 194 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:32,440 before me and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between 195 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,720 me and you, and may multiply you greatly. 196 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,880 And then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, Behold, my 197 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,400 covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a 198 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:46,080 multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be 199 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,280 called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham. 200 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:52,920 For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 201 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,360 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you 202 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,680 into nations, and kings shall come from you, and I will 203 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:02,800 establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after 204 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,680 you throughout their generations, for an everlasting 205 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:09,800 covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 206 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,080 And I will give to you into your offspring after you the land of 207 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,040 your sojournings and all the land of Canaan for an 208 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,320 everlasting possession, and I will be their God. 209 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:26,600 I realize that it might sound like God and Abram are having 210 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:31,200 coffee every Monday morning, but that's not exactly the way it's 211 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:36,200 going down as Genesis unfolds. What I mean here is that when we 212 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,200 started Genesis 12, do you remember how old Abraham was? 213 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:43,560 He was 75. Now Fast forward 5 chapters 214 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:51,480 later and Abraham is 99 years old. 25 years have passed since 215 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:56,320 Abram first heard God's promises of land, name, nation, 216 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,200 prosperity, blessing, and protection. 217 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:04,920 All right, so after 10 years of hearing the promise and still no 218 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,800 offspring, Sarah, if you remember, gets a little creative 219 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,080 to say the least. Genesis 16 is how that goes. 220 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,880 Now she takes maidservant Hagar gives to Abram as a wife, says 221 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:21,960 we can have a son this way. And Ishmael is born at Abram the 222 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:25,400 age of 86. Ishmael is now 13 years, 13 223 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,920 years old. All that's to say, much time has 224 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:32,560 passed and God's promises don't seem to be in a hurry. 225 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,680 And the that's why I know how to put it, is that Abram's faith is 226 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:40,360 on the Fritz. Abram's faith is wavering. 227 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:47,640 Abram has forgotten, if you will, where he's placed his 228 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:49,000 fate. It's weak. 229 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,160 And he's wondering, are the promises of God ever going to be 230 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,040 true? Abram's having days when, if his 231 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:01,000 faith were his keys, he'd be asking you, have you seen my You 232 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,360 ever been there? Ever woken up on a day or gone 233 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,000 to bed on a day? And quite honestly, if somebody 234 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,280 asked you where your faith was, you really wouldn't know what to 235 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,720 tell them. I think that's where Abram was 236 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,320 when it came to his faith in the promises of God. 237 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:19,840 You know, God knows exactly what we need right when we need it. 238 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,720 And so God shows up, calls a little time out and says to 239 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:29,400 Abram the exact thing Abram needs to hear. 240 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:35,640 Here's what he says. Abram, I am God Almighty. 241 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,080 Abram, I am El. Shaddai. 242 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,400 Now in the last chapter we learned the name of God when 243 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,200 Hagar was sitting beside a well of water in the middle of the 244 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,640 wilderness. She felt abandoned, she felt 245 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,560 lost, she felt forgotten. She felt surely left for dead. 246 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:56,760 And there God shows up. God saw her, God cared for her, 247 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,920 and God drew near to her to draw her back into his plan. 248 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:05,280 And she said, you are El Roy, the God who what? 249 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,640 The God who sees. You're the God who actually 250 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,880 cares for me. You're the God who actually 251 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,280 loves me. Like you've not forgotten about 252 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,160 me, little old me, somebody that I would have never have thought 253 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,280 God would care about. I realize you are Elroy. 254 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,760 So we learn a name of God and a truth about God there and here 255 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,360 again, at just the right moment when Abraham needs to hear a 256 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,640 word from God, God shows up and says, Abraham, I am El Shaddai, 257 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,720 I am God almighty. What is Abraham's faith been 258 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:41,680 weekend God's ability and power to fulfill the word he spoke to 259 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:45,320 him and God shows up and says, hey man, let me remind you of 260 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,360 who I am. I am the one who's omnipotent. 261 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,000 I am the one who's unlimited. I am the one that can do 262 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,760 anything. I am the one for whom nothing is 263 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,400 too difficult. I am the one that with me all 264 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:57,840 things are possible. You know the song my God is so 265 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,720 big, so strong and so mighty. There's nothing my God cannot do 266 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,400 for you. Y'all did so much better than 267 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,800 first service. I'm like, did y'all forget that 268 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,640 song or not learn that as a that's God. 269 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:17,520 That's how should I in a song, Abram, his faith is weak and 270 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:21,120 wavering in the fact that God is so big, so strong and so mighty 271 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,280 that there's nothing that God cannot do. 272 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,520 So God says to Abram because of here I am Abram, listen man, let 273 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:30,840 me try to get you back on track. Here's the two things you need 274 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,480 to be doing. By the way, this is as relevant 275 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:35,320 to me and you today as it was to Abram. 276 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,440 The number one walk before me, Abram. 277 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:47,760 Brother, I am with you always. I know you can't see me. 278 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:50,200 I know you can't hear me all the time. 279 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:54,280 I know you don't think that I'm there, but I am always with you. 280 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,080 Abram. I want you to walk before me and 281 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:01,120 honor me and all that you do. I want you to live like I'm with 282 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,359 you because I am and I am Almighty. 283 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,960 I can do anything. So walk. 284 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,760 Live your life as if I'm with you. 285 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:16,160 Do you sometimes forget to live your life as if God is with you, 286 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,079 especially when you misplace your faith? 287 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,920 Forget that God is all powerful. The second thing God tells to 288 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,760 Abraham is to be blameless. That one's a little more 289 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,680 intimidating, is it not? Because it kind of feels like, 290 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,080 oh goodness, God's asking me to be perfect. 291 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:33,680 God's saying, don't ever mess up. 292 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:35,160 God's saying if you do, watch out. 293 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:39,360 And that's not what God's saying by be blameless, God is saying, 294 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:45,560 Abram, be wholeheartedly, completely, totally, fully 295 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,640 surrendered and submitted to me. Abram, what I'm asking you, man, 296 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,400 I'm not asking you to be mistake less. 297 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:57,680 I'm asking you to be all in, totally committed, seeking me, 298 00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:59,560 loving me first with all you've got. 299 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,160 I'm asking Abram for you to give me all of your heart. 300 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:04,880 So let me make it even more simple, Abram, I'm asking you to 301 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,720 live like I'm with you. And then, Abram, I'm asking you 302 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,600 to live like you're with me. This is the way this thing 303 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,400 works. This is the way walking by faith 304 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:13,760 works. This is the way the Christian 305 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:15,680 life works. This is not trying to work our 306 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,200 way into heaven. It's simply living like God is 307 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,040 actually with us and like we're actually with him. 308 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:23,280 And guess what? If God is with us and we're with 309 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,400 him, and he's almighty, what is impossible for us and God's plan 310 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,680 in our lives? Anything, Nothing. 311 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,880 So Abram, live like I'm with you and you're with me. 312 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:39,560 Why does God go out of His way to say this to Abraham? 313 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:46,200 Here's one God does not want. Let me even more clear. 314 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:52,160 The last thing that God wants is for lack of faith to be a 315 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,560 problem in God's plan for our lives coming to full fruition. 316 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,080 Let me say that again. The last thing that God wants is 317 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:08,000 a lack of faith in Him to be an obstacle, to be a problem to His 318 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,240 plan for our lives coming to full fruition. 319 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,240 Because, see, the limitation is not on God's part. 320 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,880 The only potential limitation could be on our part if lack of 321 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,000 faith in God's part is present. God doesn't want any lack of 322 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,080 faith in His part to be present. That could be a hindrance, 323 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,400 right? And God's going to hit replay on 324 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,960 His promises to Abram here. I'm just going to highlight one 325 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,560 of them. God changes Abram's name, right? 326 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:37,000 He's promised him offspring. Abram means exalted father, but 327 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,040 Abraham means father of a multitude like father, not just 328 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:46,720 of nation single, but a nation's plural kings, plural shall come 329 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,200 from you. You see what God is doing for 330 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,400 Abram and what God does for us who, just like Abram, struggle 331 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:58,120 to sometimes keep up with where we've placed our faith is #1 God 332 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:01,880 strengthens our faith by divine reminders. 333 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:06,520 God strengthens our faith by divine reminders. 334 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,640 This is a. Pattern in Scripture What did 335 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:14,080 God, as a reminder, give Noah when he stepped off the boat as 336 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,280 a promise he would never do what he just did again? 337 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,760 What did he give him rainbow, which is a reminder in the sky 338 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:24,240 to this day of God's covenant that he made never to destroy 339 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:28,440 the earth by flood again. What did God give Moses as signs 340 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,840 as he's calling in to go to Egypt to give him confirmation 341 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:33,360 that God would set his people free. 342 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:35,320 Do you remember the three things God gave Moses? 343 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,240 He allowed his rod to turn into a serpent and back. 344 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,480 He allowed his hand to go inside his cloak, pulled out leprous 345 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,640 put back, pulled back out again healed and he allowed him to 346 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:48,120 turn water into blood before he even showed up in Egypt. 347 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:52,280 What did God do for Gideon when God called Gideon to raise an 348 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:55,840 army, God gave him the fleece before that right? 349 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,000 He consumed the act, the sacrifice that Gideon put before 350 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,040 God with fire and then he took the fleece and Gideon is like, 351 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,760 OK God, let's make the fleece wet with dew and the ground dry. 352 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,600 God did that and Gideon said, God, I need to vice versa that 353 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,600 can you make the fleece dry and the ground wet? 354 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:13,560 And then Guinea said I need more than that. 355 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,400 God gave him a dream at night, right of the victory. 356 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,600 What did God do from Mary when the Angel came to her and said, 357 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,560 behold, you're going to be with child, It's going to be of the 358 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:23,400 Holy Spirit. And Mary asked, how can these 359 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,400 things be? What sign did God give? 360 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:30,680 He said, behold, your cousin Elizabeth is what is pregnant. 361 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,160 She makes a beeline to go visit. And sure enough, just like God 362 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,280 said, right with the forerunner, John the Baptist, she was with 363 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:41,240 child. God wants to strengthen your 364 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:46,520 faith with divine reminders. Say, Kyle, where in the world 365 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,120 should I look for such divine reminders? 366 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:52,760 Well, the quite honest answer is anywhere, everywhere and through 367 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:55,640 anything, but no place more than right here. 368 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:03,240 I cannot tell you how often I need specific direction. 369 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,640 I need a reminder, I need wisdom, or I need help. 370 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,600 And in just my daily back to question #1 timing, God's Word, 371 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,320 God allows me to read something that speaks specific, 372 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,480 specifically to exactly what I needed to hear. 373 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,240 Just like God gave Abram exactly what he needed to hear when he 374 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,280 needed to hear it. To give him the guidance he 375 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,440 needed to strengthen his faith so he can move forward in God's 376 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:31,040 plan for his life. Which is just one of 1001 377 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,960 reasons you ought to be in the Word of God every day and then 378 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:37,160 living life with eyes wide open. Did you realize there's no such 379 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:40,120 thing as luck? God is in control. 380 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,760 Life is not random. And if we'll open our eyes to 381 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,600 the God who cares, to God who's in control of the God who is 382 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,400 working all things according to his will for our good and his 383 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,400 glory, you're going to see God wanting to strengthen your faith 384 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:58,080 with divine reminders. Pick up in verse 9 with me, and 385 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:03,160 God said to Abraham, As for you, You shall keep my covenant, you 386 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,640 and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 387 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,720 This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you 388 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,720 and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be 389 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:14,800 circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the 390 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,000 flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant 391 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,920 between me and you. He who is 8 days old among you 392 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,080 shall be circumcised every male throughout your generations, 393 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,200 whether born in your house or bought with your money from any 394 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,600 foreigner who is not of your offspring. 395 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,880 Both he who is born in your house and he who has bought with 396 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,200 your money shall surely be circumcised. 397 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:40,120 So shall my covenant be in your flesh as an everlasting 398 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:43,080 covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is 399 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,320 not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off 400 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,880 from his people. He has broken my covenant. 401 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,040 This is one of the reasons why you just preach through books of 402 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,280 the Bible and you don't randomly select text because there's 403 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,600 certain Bible passages you just never pick unless you just walk 404 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,480 in through the Bible. And yet all of them are 405 00:23:58,480 --> 00:23:59,920 practical and relevant to our lives. 406 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:01,360 I had somebody asked me after the first service. 407 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:02,640 Kyle, does that get awkward for you? 408 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:04,320 Not really. I don't know if it's awkward for 409 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:05,880 you or not, but I'm good if you're good. 410 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:10,280 All right, so we're going to show just how practical God's 411 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:14,040 word is. Now, if I'm being honest, if I'm 412 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:19,840 99 years old and God comes to me, it says, hey, I got a sign 413 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,840 between me and you. This is going to be the symbol 414 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,240 of my covenant I'm making with you and yours with me. 415 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:28,320 And God said it was circumcision. 416 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:32,120 I think I'd look back in God and said, God, you got anything else 417 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,240 I'd gladly trade like Noah got a boat and a rainbow. 418 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,800 God, this does not seem fair. All right, But that's not what 419 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,320 God says, not what Abraham said. So to be serious about this for 420 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,280 a moment, right? God is giving Abraham and his 421 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:52,720 descendants a physical sign of the covenant God was making with 422 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:57,600 him, and the sign of God's covenant would be carved into 423 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,920 Abraham's body in order to be a continual reminder in the most 424 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,320 personal of ways in his life, in the life of his offspring. 425 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,320 Why does God choose this sign? The Bible does not explicitly 426 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,760 say, but I do think there's some insights we can draw to give us 427 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,200 clues as to why. Couple of the number one, 428 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:22,720 physically speaking, the essence of the covenant centered on 429 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:27,680 physical offspring to Abraham. Hence the sign. 430 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,800 I'll stop comments there. Ready #2 Spiritually speaking, 431 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:41,040 the sign involved a cutting away of flesh, symbolizing a greater 432 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,680 circumcision that God was seeking not physically but 433 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:50,400 spiritually of the heart, which is also the same surgery that 434 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,600 God wants to perform on a believer. 435 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,760 When we come to Christ and we offer our heart and he takes 436 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,600 away our sinful flesh, right? Fills us with the Holy Spirit 437 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,960 and says, don't walk according to the flesh, but walk according 438 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,440 to the Spirit. In other words, God wants to do 439 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,200 surgery in our hearts to cut away sin and assert his 440 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:13,280 righteousness by Christ so that we live with a new heart before 441 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,040 him. So in this way, physically and 442 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:20,200 spiritually y'all the sign of the covenant's not random. 443 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:25,600 It actually perfectly fits with the nature of the covenant God 444 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,280 was making with Abram and those that would be his offspring. 445 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,360 Now some have asked, hey, if this was so important back then, 446 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:38,640 does it save? Is it required for salvation 447 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:40,640 today? You can read your New Testament 448 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:46,120 and actually the discussion took place quite quite seriously. 449 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,600 Acts chapter 15 you can read the debate in the early church and 450 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:55,080 then what Paul writes in Galatians chapter 6 verse 14 and 451 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,280 15 makes it absolutely, unmistakably clear. 452 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:05,480 Listen to what He says, but far be it from me to boast except in 453 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,680 the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 454 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:15,240 In other words, let me never say anything could benefit me that I 455 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,040 could ever do, except what Christ has done for me in my 456 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,200 place on the cross. Do you follow Him by which the 457 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,840 world has been crucified to me, and I to the world? 458 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:30,080 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, 459 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:34,800 but a new creation. Let me tell you what counts, 460 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:40,920 Paul says, is you being made alive by faith in Jesus Christ. 461 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,920 Period. No work that you do or don't do. 462 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,200 It is faith and faith alone. For by grace you've been saved 463 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,520 through faith by grace. It is not a work. 464 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:52,120 It's not a thing that you can boast in. 465 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:55,680 It is a gift of God. The Bible says the circumcision 466 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,680 saved. The answer is, does faith in 467 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,280 Jesus save? Yes, this is what the New 468 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,640 Testament makes clear. It was a sign of the covenant. 469 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,920 It was not the fate that saved even Abraham and credited him 470 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,520 with righteousness. The second thing that I want you 471 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:17,200 to see and mark down here is that God strengthens our faith 472 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,200 by physical signs. God strengthens our faith with 473 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:25,160 divine reminders, but God also strengthens our faith by 474 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:28,600 physical signs. And that begs the question, what 475 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,760 physical science has God-given us as believers in the new 476 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,360 covenant to strengthen our faith? 477 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:35,720 Let me give you 2. Are you ready? 478 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:42,160 Baptism and the Lord's Supper, these are two physical signs 479 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:47,200 that God has given us as new covenant people of Christ to 480 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,400 observe and participate in that strengthen our faith. 481 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,320 These don't save. These don't wash away our sin. 482 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,640 These don't give us more grace. These don't give us more favor 483 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,320 in the eyes of God. But these strengthen our faith, 484 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:03,200 and these symbolize our faith and reinforce it #1 baptism. 485 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,560 I'm not going to read all the text, but you're going to see 486 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,680 the references on the screen. You can write them down and I'm 487 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,280 going to give you the principle. We take out of them baptism, 488 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:15,040 Roman 63 and four. We learned that baptism 489 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:20,240 symbolizes our fate in the life, death, burial, and resurrection 490 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,200 of Jesus. The reason why we get in the 491 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,560 water and lay somebody horizontal flat like a dead man 492 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:31,080 is because Jesus died tasting death, taking the wage of my sin 493 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,520 in yours was laid in the grave after dying on the cross. 494 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,000 But then we don't hold you underneath the water. 495 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,040 Praise God. All right, we bring you right 496 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,080 back up because Jesus on the third day was raised back up 497 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:45,120 symbolically in baptism. We're showing you've identified 498 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,880 yourself with the life, death and burial and resurrection of 499 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,480 Jesus Christ. It's a testimony physically 500 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,080 signing the gospel that you believe. 501 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:58,480 First Corinthians 12/13, we learned that baptism symbolizes 502 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,360 our union with the body of Christ. 503 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,080 The conversation we'll have with you when you go through our 504 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,160 membership class discover first, which is once a month is 505 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,560 eventually have you trusted in Jesus Christ and have you been 506 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,200 baptized? Have you done the declaration 507 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:19,160 publicly that says I join publicly the body and bride of 508 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,640 Jesus because there is a way that God has said you do that 509 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:25,640 and that's the public declaration through baptism, 510 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,360 which is why is one of the ways, the most clear way that you 511 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:34,520 actually truly, if you will say I am a part of the family of 512 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,920 God, which is also why it is public, not a private thing. 513 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,560 Acts 238. We learned that baptism 514 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,920 symbolizes our cleansing from sin and the reception of the 515 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,520 Holy Spirit. You receive the Holy Spirit of 516 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,000 God when you believed the gospel. 517 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,960 When you go through the water, Cartersville City water doesn't 518 00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:02,920 wash away any of your sin. OK, but it does picture the fact 519 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,280 that if you believe the gospel, that is that Jesus lived a 520 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,440 sinless life for you, died as a substitute for you, and was 521 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,760 raised victorious over sin, death and the grave for you. 522 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:15,680 And there's been a moment that you surrendered your life to 523 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,840 that truth and called on Jesus to save you. 524 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:23,000 If you believe that the blood of Jesus spilled for you on the 525 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:28,880 cross, spiritually washed your soul before God, absolutely and 526 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:35,080 perfectly clean without spot. The water washing is a symbol of 527 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:37,040 that. It's also a symbol of the 528 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,600 receiving of the Holy Spirit that you received when you 529 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:42,440 believed. Now that doesn't mean you're 530 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:45,000 always walking by the Spirit or I'm always walking by the 531 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,960 Spirit, but you received him the the third person of the Trinity, 532 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,200 a he not an it when you believed. 533 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:57,080 Then there's the Lord's Supper, first Corinthians 11/25, the 534 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:00,960 Lord's Supper, the partaking of the bread and the cup sign for 535 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:05,080 us, the body and blood of Jesus given to us for our salvation. 536 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:11,400 It is a physical meal of bread and of the cup representing the 537 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,720 body and the blood of Jesus that we have entrusted, that we have 538 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,720 believed on, that we've received spiritually the significance of 539 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,400 the body of Christ in our place, his blood shed for the remission 540 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:25,760 and forgiveness of our sin. When we physically imbibe those 541 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:29,040 things, they are not doing to us something magical. 542 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,920 They are reminding us of what we believed and trusted in by 543 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,080 faith. It is a physical act. 544 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:39,760 It is a physical sign to reinforce our faith in the 545 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:43,520 actual body and blood of Jesus for our salvation. 546 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,840 Obviously, both signs can be empty and completely meaningless 547 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:54,240 if not done by faith. Now let's pick up verse 15 548 00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:59,040 through 21. And God said to Abraham, As for 549 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:04,240 Sarah your wife, you shall not call her name Sarah, but Sarah 550 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:07,640 shall be your name. I will bless her, and moreover, 551 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,400 I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall 552 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,040 become nations. Kings of people shall come from 553 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:16,520 her. And then Abram fell on his face 554 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:20,440 and laughed, and said to himself, Shall a child be born 555 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,920 to a man who is 100 years old? Shall Sarah, who is 90 years 556 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:27,560 old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, Oh, 557 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:29,440 that Ishmael might live before you. 558 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:32,880 And God said, no, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and 559 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:36,080 you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant 560 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,400 with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after 561 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,240 him. And As for Ishmael, I have heard 562 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,080 you. Behold, I have blessed him and 563 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,560 will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. 564 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,920 He shall father 12, Princess, and I'll make him into a great 565 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:54,600 nation. But I will establish my covenant 566 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,360 with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you. 567 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:03,600 At this time next year, God changes Abraham's name to 568 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:07,120 Abraham. Now it's Sarah's turn for a name 569 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,520 change. She is a partner in this 570 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,360 covenant God is making with Abraham. 571 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:17,560 Sarai and Sarah both mean Princess or my Princess. 572 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:21,360 She will be the mother of a royal lion again. 573 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:25,280 Nations will come from her. Kings shall come from her. 574 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,000 So what does Abraham do in response to all this? 575 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,800 Let me be more clear. Does Abram fall down in faith 576 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:37,600 and worship God? What does he do? 577 00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:47,880 The dude laughs. God, me plus her equal baby? 578 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,400 I don't think so. Abram laughs. 579 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,800 God says not so fast. I'm not laughing, I'm dead 580 00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:00,800 serious. In fact, God gets the last laugh 581 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:08,600 because guess what? Isaac means laughter does this. 582 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,000 You want to laugh at me, Abram? Guess what? 583 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,200 I'm going to give you a son reminding you not to laugh at me 584 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:15,800 when I tell you I'm going to do what I'm going to do. 585 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:21,080 You ever laughed at God? You ever heard something led by 586 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:22,640 the Spirit of God in the direction? 587 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:25,520 Laughed at God out loud or underneath your breath? 588 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:28,000 God, that's not a good idea. God. 589 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:29,840 That's not possible. God, I don't think so. 590 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:35,160 God, you got to be kidding me. God, that's funny, right? 591 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,240 God says, I'm going to get the last slide. 592 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:43,800 We, we, we get an idea of where Abraham's heart is when he says, 593 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:47,240 oh, that Ishmael might live before you know what this is. 594 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:50,760 God, if you'd only bless my plan, it's a good one. 595 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:55,000 I've worked hard for this one. God, I've stayed up I don't know 596 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,320 how many nights. God, it's all written out in my 597 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,360 journal. If you would just bless this 598 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:07,080 plan like the God, this is what I want God, there's nothing 599 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:10,880 wrong with this. Surely this is an option. 600 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:17,360 You ever done that? Third thing I want you to write 601 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:23,160 down is that God strengthens our faith by answered and unanswered 602 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:26,840 prayers. God strengthens our faith 603 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,440 through divine reminders, through physical signs and 604 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:31,160 through answered and under answered. 605 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:35,800 You know when God let me ask you like this, do you know why God 606 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:45,920 doesn't answer prayers sometimes when God has a better plan, when 607 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:53,120 God has a better plan, Sometimes God's no to our ask is God 608 00:36:53,120 --> 00:37:01,360 saying yes to a better plan, No to ours, yes to his. 609 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,800 God strengthens our faith by answered and unanswered prayers. 610 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,240 Now let's listen to the final part of the chapter. 611 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:13,280 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from 612 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:16,080 Abraham. Then Abraham took Ishmael, his 613 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:20,200 son, and all those born in his house or bought with his money. 614 00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:23,200 Every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he 615 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:25,640 circumcised the flesh of their foreskins. 616 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,280 That very day is God had said to him. 617 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,840 Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of 618 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,560 his foreskin in Ishmael. His son was 13 years old and he 619 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:41,120 was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin that very day. 620 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:44,680 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised in all the men of 621 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:47,000 his house. Those born in the house and 622 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,680 those bought with money from a foreigner were circumcised with 623 00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:55,600 him. Abram sharpened his knife, grit 624 00:37:55,600 --> 00:38:00,720 his teeth, and started cutting that very day. 625 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:06,440 Abram does surgery all day. That day, Abram obeyed right 626 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:08,720 away, all the way. We've heard that phrase before. 627 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,600 You'll see that principle over and over again in Scripture. 628 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:13,720 Mom and dad's. That's when to teach our 629 00:38:13,720 --> 00:38:14,480 children. Why? 630 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:19,160 Because it's the right response to godly good authority. 631 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:23,000 And God starts that practice between parent and child. 632 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,520 All right, and Abraham puts it into practice here. 633 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,720 Disobedience, it was right away all the way was not easy. 634 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:33,120 It was not pain free. In fact it was bloody, but it 635 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:38,560 was worth it in the same way that Jesus is. 636 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:44,000 Obedience to his Father was also not pain free, was also costly, 637 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:49,080 was also bloody, but was what was worth it. 638 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:57,560 God strengthens #4 our faith for the sake of our obedience and 639 00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:01,120 blessing. God strengthens our faith for 640 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,600 the sake of our obedience and blessing. 641 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:08,800 You see, when God gave Abraham the sign of the covenant, he had 642 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:11,840 a choice. Let's let's be real honest, He 643 00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:18,040 could either start cutting or he could be cut off Why? 644 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,280 Because there was no halfway with God. 645 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:25,560 Abram, I want you to live as if I'm with you and as if you're 646 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:27,680 with me. I'm asking you to be all in 647 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,120 because I'm all in with you. There really is no halfway with 648 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:33,200 God. There's no such thing as half 649 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,240 safe. You're either loving God with 650 00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:38,240 all you've got or you're not. There's no halfway. 651 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:42,040 God is asking for him to be all in, right? 652 00:39:42,240 --> 00:39:48,280 And in so many ways, all in sometimes requires pain and 653 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:51,200 blood. Let's be a little more honest 654 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:52,400 though. As modern day American 655 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:56,360 Christians, most often what it means is sometimes obeying Jesus 656 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,120 or putting our faith into practice. 657 00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:02,160 Sometimes means a little discomfort and a little 658 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:05,760 inconvenience. And maybe some minor cost and 659 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,720 oftentimes we as modern day Americans aren't even willing to 660 00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:11,200 pay those three. And but I'll be honest with you, 661 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,480 I think when you read your Bible, you have to ask yourself 662 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:15,920 the question, if there's not a willingness to be a little 663 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:19,480 uncomfortable, to be a little inconvenience, to pay a little 664 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:23,200 price, you got to ask yourself, is that real genuine faith in 665 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:29,560 Jesus at all? Because there's really no 666 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:34,520 halfway with God. God calls us to be all in with 667 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:37,680 Him as He's all in with us. What's the point of this 668 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:39,520 chapter? Here's what I think it is in a 669 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:41,720 sentence. So you're ready, God Almighty 670 00:40:41,720 --> 00:40:46,440 else should I want our faith to be mighty. 671 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:51,920 Why? Because the only obstacle 672 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:58,360 between His plan and power in your life is lack of faith in 673 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:00,720 His power. That's the only obstacle. 674 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,440 There's no obstacle with God. He said, oh, should I? 675 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:06,200 The question is, do we believe that? 676 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:09,840 Do we trust that? Do we have faith in who he is? 677 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:13,960 The only issue between God's plan and your life and mine is a 678 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:15,920 lack of faith. God wants our faith to be 679 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,240 mighty. God is building our faith, and 680 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:20,560 sometimes he'll build it in such a way He'll stretch us in such a 681 00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:21,880 way. We want to say God, that's 682 00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:24,120 funny, but guess what? God's going to get the last 683 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:27,600 laugh. He wants to do something that 684 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:30,600 only he can get the credit for. We've been seeing that over and 685 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:35,320 over and over again. And Abraham learned the hard way 686 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:42,240 not to laugh at God, but to laugh with him when God gave him 687 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:44,400 a son. Being true to his word, that 688 00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:47,160 means laughter. John and praised him are going 689 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,000 to come out. I got a just a couple questions 690 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:56,760 I want you to respond to. Number one, is this, where is 691 00:41:56,760 --> 00:41:59,520 God trying to strengthen your faith? 692 00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:09,360 Where is there a potential lack of faith that is causing a block 693 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:14,120 in God's plan for your life? Let me put it like this. 694 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,720 This is maybe not how you thought about it, maybe not what 695 00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:23,040 you're doing, but where? Where are you quote laughing at 696 00:42:23,040 --> 00:42:29,040 God saying no or no way or God I just don't believe that's 697 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:32,600 possible or God I'm refusing to obey. 698 00:42:40,090 --> 00:42:46,530 What do you, what do you need to do to realize God is with you 699 00:42:46,970 --> 00:42:49,210 and for you to be all in with him? 700 00:42:51,170 --> 00:42:55,690 Is that your next step on the refocus card that maybe you've 701 00:42:55,690 --> 00:42:59,370 set aside or misplaced or know exactly where it is? 702 00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:05,360 Is it saying, Lord Jesus, I'm choosing to trust you with my 703 00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:09,840 heart and life today? I've heard the life, death, 704 00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:12,960 burial and resurrection of your son, Father, but I've really 705 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:15,000 never surrendered my life to Jesus. 706 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:19,480 Today's the day. Or maybe you've done that, but 707 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:21,760 you know what? Your faith has kind of become 708 00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:23,200 like your keys. You're just not really sure 709 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:28,080 where they are. And to get back on track, you 710 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,360 need to look at God and say, God, I believe you are El 711 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,280 Shaddai. I believe you are almighty. 712 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:37,040 And if you believe that, that has crazy practical implications 713 00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:38,800 for how you live, if you really believe that. 714 00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:40,960 So the question is, do you believe that? 715 00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:42,760 Where are you not believing that? 716 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:47,520 Where do you need to say God? I'm choosing to believe today. 717 00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:51,880 God, I don't want there to be any lack of faith causing any 718 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:53,960 problem in your plan for my life. 719 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:59,320 Heavenly Father, I pray the that as we worship and respond to you 720 00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:02,880 in your word today, Father, that we truly believe you are God 721 00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:05,840 Almighty God, if there's a place you're seeking to strengthen our 722 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:09,120 faith, I pray that you'd have our yes, Father, that we would 723 00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:11,160 trust your plan. We wouldn't laugh at you in 724 00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:14,760 unbelief, but we would lay our lives before you in worship and 725 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:17,600 faith saying God, have your way, your will, not ours. 726 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:19,760 God, do something that only you can get the glory. 727 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:23,840 Let there be no obstacle in your plan and your purpose for us. 728 00:44:24,640 --> 00:44:26,840 God, if someone needs to trust you today, may they do it. 729 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,920 If they need to let something go today, let them let it go. 730 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:32,680 If they need to walk forward by faith to help them take the 731 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:34,800 step. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 732 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:36,800 Would you stand with me? We're going to sing together. 733 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:39,680 I'm inviting you to come. As we sing and you respond to 734 00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:41,040 God's call, you come.