1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:02,040 Thank you. Good morning, everyone. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:05,080 We haven't met. My name is Mandy. 3 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:06,640 I'm on staff here at the Garden Church. 4 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:08,960 I'm really excited to be teaching from God's Word this 5 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,400 morning. And we are just continuing our 6 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,840 exciting sermon series called The Story, which we've been in 7 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,280 for the last couple of weeks. So yeah, this fall, basically 8 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:23,440 we're going through a sermon series that talks about the kind 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,680 of through line of Scripture, right? 10 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:31,120 So basically we're going from creation to the fall to kind of 11 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:36,120 exploring God's redemptive story arc that the plan of the epic 12 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,880 plan of salvation and restoration of the world that he 13 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,000 is enacting. So basically we're covering the 14 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,640 entire Bible in 10 weeks. So no pressure, you know, But 15 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,000 given the title of our series, I actually wanted to get started 16 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,880 by talking a little bit about the concept of story. 17 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,720 So it's kind of at the center of what we're doing here trying to 18 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,920 get settled. So yeah, basically, whether 19 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:04,000 you're looking at, like, ancient hieroglyphs or like the latest 20 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,640 Hollywood blockbusters, humans seem to love stories. 21 00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:09,560 Right. Let's do a quick poll of the 22 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:10,920 audience. I'm going to be that person who 23 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:12,200 has you shout things out from the crowd. 24 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,560 What are some of your all time favorite stories? 25 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,800 Just shout them out. All time favorite stories? 26 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:20,800 Is it the horse in his voice? Oh, that's a good one, Maggie. 27 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:22,720 I love that CS Lewis. I'm all about that. 28 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:24,000 What else did? What else did I hear? 29 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:26,560 Harry Potter. OK, Harry Potter. 30 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,160 Love that. I love that. 31 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,600 I love the diversity so far. And of all Anne of Green Gables. 32 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,080 OK. It sounds like you're just 33 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:34,880 listing my favorites. I appreciate that. 34 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:36,480 On behalf of everyone here. Yeah. 35 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:38,800 Where the. Oh, where the wild things are. 36 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:40,880 I can also kind of not. I can tell who has kids, but 37 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:42,760 it's like, maybe some of these things are a little bit fresher 38 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:44,440 in your mind. That's a good one. 39 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,600 Amazing. All right, Well, some of you 40 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,800 know me. If you do, you might know that 41 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,240 my undergraduate degree is in screen writing. 42 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:53,880 And when people find this out, one of the first things they 43 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,920 often ask is, you know, what's your favorite movie or favorite 44 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,720 TV show? And that question would give me 45 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,880 so much anxiety because as a storyteller, it's kind of, it's 46 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,800 hard not to feel like my answer says something, you know, deep 47 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,360 and important about what type of person I am. 48 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,120 Like to say that like, you know, this is the story that made me 49 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,880 want to write stories or that speaks the most to my soul. 50 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,040 So as much as I'd like to treat it as kind of a innocent 51 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,560 icebreaker, it's hard for me to kind of overcome this instinct 52 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:25,560 that my favorite stories are connected to who I am. 53 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,880 Why is that? When I asked for your favorite 54 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,040 stories, and I'm sure some of you thought of them and didn't 55 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,920 say them, it's OK. I also noticed that none of you 56 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:37,360 named like a legal document that you really like, or like an 57 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,920 encyclopedia, or even like a philosophy book. 58 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,360 Because if all we were trying to do is list rules or facts or 59 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,240 even principles we should live by, we wouldn't necessarily need 60 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:53,200 a story, right? Humans use story to make sense 61 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,720 of our experience of the world. We kind of grapple with the 62 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,400 strange realities of being flesh and blood, but also an eternal 63 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,360 soul, but also like this pulsing heart full of desire and emotion 64 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:06,840 by through story. And as we try to make sense of 65 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,760 what it means to be human and what are places in the world, 66 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,240 story seems to just come spilling out of us. 67 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,640 Because story helps us create meaning. 68 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:22,480 Scripture is a unique type of story because the meaning maker 69 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,280 here is not a mere human author, it's God himself. 70 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:31,200 And in a world of confusion that we live in, where like competing 71 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,040 ideas and narratives are kind of pulling us in every direction, 72 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:39,680 God's Word reveals who God is, who we are as his creation, and 73 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:44,040 what his plan is for humanity. So this revelation also comes 74 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,560 like, not in the form of these abstract ideas, but through 75 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,920 human history, through the lives of people who encounter God and 76 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,800 are changed by him. And so this story invites us 77 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,640 deeper into understanding God in his heart for humanity. 78 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,320 So as we dive into that today, I'd like to take a moment to 79 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,040 just pray for us in particular, that God would make himself more 80 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,120 fully known to us through his Word today. 81 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,640 Let me pray. Lord God, we thank you for the 82 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,960 story that you have given us, that it's not a mere story where 83 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,880 we are kind of trying to like take all the puzzle pieces of 84 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:21,920 human existence in the world and put them together ourselves. 85 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,880 Instead, we thank you that it's a revelation of who you are, 86 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,720 that we can know you, that we can know how you view us and 87 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,280 what you're doing in the world. God that we can have the 88 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:34,840 security of knowing the God that we follow, that he is faithful, 89 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,640 that he is gracious, that he is patient, that he is steadfast, 90 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,720 that he pursues US against all odds. 91 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,400 And so, Lord, we just pray that you would give us a clearview of 92 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,320 who you are this morning. And that if we came in today 93 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,280 with any anxieties or fears or just like just challenges and 94 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:54,920 difficult things that we're holding, we pray that this 95 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,240 story, this reality of who you are would speak to us and remind 96 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,680 us of who you are and remind us of how you see us and remind us 97 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,880 of where we fall in this grand plan of redemption that you're 98 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:07,120 doing. That there would be a security 99 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,640 and knowing that you are working in our world, that you were 100 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:12,440 working in the light of all the brokenness and all the 101 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,600 challenges and all the pain that we see, that you were constantly 102 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,320 at work and that we can count on you, God, to come through for 103 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,040 us. So we pray that you would open 104 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,520 our eyes to that this morning. We pray that in Jesus name, 105 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:23,280 Amen. Amen. 106 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,960 All right, so, yeah, in case you guys haven't been here the last 107 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:29,560 couple of weeks, I'm going to do a quick recap. 108 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,440 We started our sermon series with the story of creation as 109 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,160 one does. We learned that humanity was 110 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,480 created by a good God whose intent is for humans to live in 111 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,240 his presence and relationship with him and to partner with him 112 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,160 to bring about order and flourishing and creative 113 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:50,120 goodness in this world. But then comes the fall, the 114 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:56,120 tragic descent of humanity into sin, where we basically, instead 115 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,120 of trusting God and living in light of his wisdom and his 116 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,600 boundaries, humanity attempts to seize control, to go our own 117 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,480 way, to kind of become our own. Many gods and one sin has a grip 118 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,880 on the human heart. The downward spiral is rapid and 119 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,960 messy, like one sin begets another begets another, until 120 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,600 the world is just filled with deceit and envy and selfishness 121 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,280 and violence and death. So now we're in Week 3. 122 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,360 And so we're left with kind of a major question, which is, given 123 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,360 the dire state of this world, what will God do next? 124 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,200 Well, the good news is that God's response to humanity's 125 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,160 brokenness is to begin a plan of redemption. 126 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,440 So you're going to hear that word probably a lot through this 127 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,440 series, redemption. So what what do we mean by that? 128 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,920 Well, the 10 second version is that redemption means to be 129 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,440 released from bondage, specifically humanity's bondage 130 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,720 to sin. So God's plan of redemption is 131 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,400 how God sets us free from this cycle of self destruction and 132 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,800 death and brings us into a restored relationship with 133 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,080 himself. And how is he going to do this? 134 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,920 Well, the process starts with God making a covenant. 135 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:07,480 It feels like a very Christianese word, covenant. 136 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,520 I think if I had never become a Christian, I probably could have 137 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:11,240 gone my entire life and used that word 0 times. 138 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:12,640 Maybe you're like, I've used that word 0 times. 139 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,080 I'm not sure what it means. Tim Mackey, the creator of the 140 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,080 Bible Project, argues that covenant should actually be in 141 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,920 the top five words that we think of when we think of 142 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,080 Christianity. Mackie says God's covenant 143 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,000 promises Dr. The whole story of the Bible and are at the center 144 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,560 of the Christian faith. Well, if that's true, then the 145 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,800 answer to this next question is very important, which is what is 146 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,040 a covenant? Here's one definition that I 147 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,440 like. A covenant refers to a 148 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,840 relationship between two partners who make binding 149 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,560 promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. 150 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,680 They're often often accompanied by like oaths, signs, 151 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,440 ceremonies. Covenants define obligations and 152 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,040 commitments, but they're different from a contract 153 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:02,320 because they are relational and personal. 154 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:06,120 So like a commonly used example is marriage. 155 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:08,200 This year I went to six weddings. 156 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,120 So that's a lot, right? But each one of them, a shout 157 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:12,960 out to the people in this room who invited me to their wedding. 158 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,520 I love you. I enjoyed your wedding also. 159 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,520 It was interesting, right? Because each wedding was unique 160 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,680 based on the couple's like culture and personalities, and 161 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,640 yet all of them had like these elements in common. 162 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:28,840 The couple made specific promises to one another. 163 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,800 They walked through a ceremony to symbolize their commitment. 164 00:08:32,039 --> 00:08:33,960 And they came out on the other side with this new bond, a 165 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,240 deeper relationship than before and more clarity on what their 166 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:39,679 commitment entails, a commitment that they would then have to 167 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,440 live out, right. So these are all reflections of 168 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:48,520 marriage as a covenant. As it turns out, God is a God of 169 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,440 covenants. So the big four, as we'll call 170 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,080 them, are God's covenants with Abraham, with Moses and the 171 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,520 people of Israel, with King David, and then what we usually 172 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,760 call the new covenant, which is brought about through Jesus. 173 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,040 So today we're in the first covenant with a man to your text 174 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:06,640 will call Abraham. You probably know him as 175 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,520 Abraham, which is the fancy new name he receives in Genesis 17. 176 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,320 But we learned about this covenant in a couple of places, 177 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,600 but we're going to be in Genesis 12 and 15. 178 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,240 So these two parts that we might call the promise and the 179 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:24,040 ceremony, The promise and the ceremony, you know, it would be 180 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:26,600 really fun if I had like a device that turned pages for me. 181 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:28,680 I don't know, maybe I should just live in the 21st century 182 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:30,560 and not have paper. But I feel like I just, it's 183 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:31,720 tactile. I need it. 184 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,600 I don't know. But in Genesis 12, where we're 185 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,520 starting, God makes a promise to Abraham and it comes up like 186 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,240 kind of out of the blue. Like at this point, all we know 187 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,480 about Abraham is his name, his lineage, and that he's from a 188 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,640 land called ER. And then suddenly out of 189 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,320 nowhere, God speaks to him and says, go from your country, your 190 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,800 people in your father's household to the land that I 191 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,320 will show you. And then God speaks this five 192 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,240 part blessing over him. He says, I will make you into a 193 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,520 great nation. I will bless you and make your 194 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,920 name great. You will be a blessing. 195 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:05,400 I will bless those who bless you. 196 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,640 And whoever curses you, I will curse, and all peoples on earth 197 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,680 will be blessed through you. So this is like a fairly unusual 198 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:14,720 way to introduce yourself to someone, right? 199 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:18,040 Because at this point Abraham does not know the Lord. 200 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:20,040 Like scripture confirms this in the book of Joshua. 201 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,320 It says long ago your father's lived behind the Euphrates, 202 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,880 Tara, the father of Abraham and Nahor, and they served other 203 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:29,720 gods. So Abraham was an idol 204 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,640 worshipper and aside from that, he appears to kind of just be 205 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,240 some random guy. And yet this obscure person has 206 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,520 instantly become the beneficiary of these like outrageous 207 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,560 promises from God. For a man like Abraham and his 208 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,080 time period and his culture, these promises are like 209 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:46,880 basically everything that he could ever dream of. 210 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:48,960 Like I don't know what you would think in your mind is like that. 211 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:50,240 I don't know, like maybe the answer to like that. 212 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:51,920 What would I do if I won the lottery question? 213 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,360 It's kind of like everything that he could imagine getting 214 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,640 out of life is encompassed in these promises that not only 215 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,400 him, but like his whole lineage would prosper and that his would 216 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,000 be associated with bringing about good for the whole world. 217 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,680 And even here in these promises, we see a kind of nod to God's 218 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:12,240 long term plan that God will bless Abraham's family so that 219 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,680 all the families of the earth will be blessed. 220 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:16,120 So that's the plan of redemption. 221 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,560 And it's going to work kind of like a ripple effect where the 222 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:22,440 blessing starts with one man, but then it kind of expands and 223 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:24,960 expands until it has reached the whole world. 224 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:28,080 Now here's something important to notice. 225 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:33,600 When God makes this promise, what does Abraham have to give 226 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,760 God in return? It's a rhetorical question. 227 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,480 It's OK if you don't. Nothing. 228 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,200 God makes these epic promises and then he just stops speaking. 229 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:47,760 Now the next verse does say that Abraham does his God asks him 230 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:50,400 and he leaves his home for a new land. 231 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,640 So there's an important action for Abraham to take. 232 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,600 Like God invites him to go to basically like say yes to these 233 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,640 promises and Abraham goes. But there's no like, exchange. 234 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,320 There's no like, quid pro quo. There's not like God doesn't 235 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,640 require some kind of payment or service like people might expect 236 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,080 the Pagan gods to require. God doesn't ask Abraham to, 237 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,440 like, follow any specific rules. The promises aren't really 238 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,640 contingent on anything except Abraham saying yes to God's 239 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,760 extravagantly generous offer. So kind of make a note of that. 240 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:21,640 Keep that in your mind, and we're going to jump to Genesis 241 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:25,320 15 where we see the ceremony, which is kind of a formalization 242 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:27,960 of God's covenant. So this chapter starts with 243 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,040 Abraham bringing 2 concerns to God. 244 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,840 So first concern, Abraham is no child of his own, which kind of 245 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,840 seems like a major obstacle if God is promising that Abraham's 246 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,240 offspring will become a great nation. 247 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,280 And the second concern is that along with these promises, God 248 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,480 also tells Abraham that he will inherit like a fruitful land. 249 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,840 But Abraham asks, how can I know that that will happen? 250 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,160 Well, in response, God tells Abraham to do this. 251 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,760 He tells him to gather these kind of sacrificial animals, to 252 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,800 cut them in half and place the halves into two piles. 253 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:04,160 It's kind of strange. Then a deep sleep falls over 254 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,600 Abraham and he has a vision. And in the darkness, Abraham 255 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:13,360 sees a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between the 256 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,840 animal pieces. And the text says on that day 257 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,360 the Lord made a covenant with Abraham. 258 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:25,280 What does it all mean? Well, to unpack this, we need to 259 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,640 put on our Bible nerd hats for just a minute and talk about 260 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,080 ancient rituals. So here we go. 261 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:35,160 In ancient Mesopotamia, where Abraham lived, cultures didn't 262 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,240 really rely on the written word as much. 263 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,440 Now in our modern world, like, how would you normally formalize 264 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,280 an agreement? Like you would probably like 265 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,200 write out a document that like has all the terms and then you 266 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:46,520 would sign your names on it, right? 267 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:48,840 Well, what do you do in a culture where most people don't 268 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,880 read or write? Conundrum. 269 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:56,320 Instead, people in Abraham's world would seal a covenant with 270 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,680 a ritual where they would act out the consequences of breaking 271 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:01,000 the covenant. So it's very dramatic. 272 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,480 The animal pieces represent what will happen if the people 273 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:06,680 involved break the covenant. It's kind of a way of saying, 274 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,160 may what was done to this animal be done to me if I do not hold 275 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,480 up my end of the agreement? Now if the covenant was say 276 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,600 between like a king and a servant, one of two things could 277 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,720 happen. Either the king and the servant 278 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,080 would walk through the pieces or just the servant would walk 279 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,320 through the pieces, meaning there would be consequences for 280 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,240 the servant, but like not so much for the king. 281 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,360 So what is happening in the vision that Abraham has? 282 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:39,440 God, as represented by the fire pot and the burning torch, walks 283 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:44,480 through the middle alone. So the king seals the covenant 284 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,440 by himself. There's a teaching that I listen 285 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,560 to by I'm the late pastor Tim Keller that talks about this as 286 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,880 well, and let scholars talk about this as well. 287 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:57,480 But basically this act means that God is saying that he alone 288 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,720 will bear the consequences if the covenant is broken. 289 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:02,800 This is not an even sided agreement. 290 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,200 God alone initiates the covenant. 291 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,600 God alone seals the covenant with this ritual, and therefore 292 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:12,160 God alone is bearing responsibility for bringing his 293 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:16,720 promises to completion. OK, so that's our Bible nerd 294 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:17,920 moment. You can take your hats off. 295 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,080 Something profound and unprecedented is happening here. 296 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,840 But what is at the heart of this story? 297 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,560 Like what can we take away from all of this? 298 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:29,960 Here it is. Here's here's the main thing 299 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:31,240 that we're going to talk about this morning. 300 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,640 Understanding God as a covenant maker should fundamentally 301 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,680 change how we see God and understand his relationship with 302 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,840 us. God's choice to enter into 303 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,640 covenants should shape who we believe God to be. 304 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,400 There's a kind of common refrain I've heard might be familiar, 305 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,360 that the God we see in the Old Testament and the God we see in 306 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:59,120 the New Testament feel like two different gods. 307 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:01,840 I imagine you've like heard that or felt it yourself, right? 308 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,320 Like the feeling we get is that the Old Testament God is a God 309 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,280 of anger and punishment, but the New Testament God, as known 310 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,920 through Jesus is a God of love and grace. 311 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,480 Sound familiar? Feel like that's something I've 312 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,480 definitely heard before. So when I was in seminary, my 313 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,400 Old Testament professor started the semester by saying this, 314 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,800 that one goal of our time together in the Old Testament 315 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,120 was to prove. So all the books that including 316 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,800 the story about Abraham, like all the way from like creation 317 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,040 up until up until Jesus comes on the scene, that that selection 318 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,400 basically that the goal of our time together was to prove that 319 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,560 that dichotomy was a false dichotomy, that the God of the 320 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,080 Old Testament is not less gracious than the God of the New 321 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,640 Testament. They are, after all, one God. 322 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,080 The Bible actually reveals that grace has been there since the 323 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,680 beginning, and God's decision to make a covenant with Abraham, 324 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,120 especially kind of a largely 1 sided covenant, is one of our 325 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:58,160 earliest pieces of evidence of God's extraordinary grace. 326 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,600 And what is grace? Grace is a free gift. 327 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,319 Grace means receiving favor and blessing and love that we did 328 00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:06,200 not earn. And because we did not earn it, 329 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,680 we cannot lose it once we've received it. 330 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:12,200 And that is how God chooses to relate to humanity. 331 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,720 He is profoundly and shockingly and beautifully and unimaginably 332 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,960 gracious towards us. So this is the first take away 333 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,000 that I want us to hold on to. God's grace has been present 334 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:26,560 since the beginning. If you look back to at Genesis 3 335 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,280 where the fall happens all the way through 11 to the part that 336 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,040 we land in today, we basically see, to summarize that whole 337 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,600 story, all that's happening is that humanity is just like 338 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:37,680 choosing evil again and again and again. 339 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:42,480 Like left to our own devices, we are rebellious and selfish and 340 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,760 very short sighted. We choose quick fixes and 341 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,520 instant pleasure over what is good and loving. 342 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,440 We are a danger to ourselves and to one another, and we would be 343 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,920 completely lost if God did not have the heart of a rescuer. 344 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,240 He pursues us as an act of grace. 345 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,840 Even when Abraham is introduced, it says nothing about his 346 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,960 character or his accolades, if he has any, because they're not 347 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,280 really relevant. God doesn't choose Abraham 348 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,280 because Abraham is good. God chooses Abraham because God 349 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,840 is merciful. And it's God's mercy that sets 350 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,600 His plan of redemption into motion and that leads us to take 351 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,520 away #2 because grace is the foundation, God's plan of 352 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,480 redemption is certain. So of the four main covenants I 353 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,920 mentioned that are in the Bible, only one is truly like fully 354 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,680 conditional or or breakable, at least by people. 355 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,240 The covenant with Moses, but that's a sermon for next week. 356 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,640 Every other covenant is primarily unconditional, meaning 357 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:42,640 it's core promises can't really be broken by humans. 358 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,960 Now this doesn't mean that there's nothing for humanity to 359 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:47,440 do. Like if we look at Abraham, he's 360 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,120 invited to leave his homeland and his idols to follow God. 361 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,200 And it's important that he does so to be a participant in the 362 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:56,960 covenant because an agreement has to be opted into. 363 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,520 So our steps of faith matter, our decision to say yes to God 364 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:05,800 matters, our character matters. And also God is aware that he's 365 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:09,840 partnering with wayward humans. So the unconditional part 366 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:11,960 basically means this. Our shortcomings can't stop 367 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:16,840 God's plan. If God's plan relied on Abraham, 368 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,800 then if Abraham made a mistake or struggled with doubt, God's 369 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:22,120 old plan would just get derailed. 370 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,880 But Abraham does make mistakes and struggles to trust God, and 371 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:28,840 tries to force certain outcomes along the way. 372 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:33,080 And yet God fulfills every promise he made without fail. 373 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:38,400 So what if the gifts of reading like the entirety of the Bible 374 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:40,400 is that you begin to realize that any time it feels like 375 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,960 maybe God is not going to show up, maybe he's not there, maybe 376 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,840 he's not going to come through. We discovered that he's actually 377 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,960 working behind the scenes and setting the pieces in place to 378 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,120 draw hard hearted humans towards himself. 379 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,560 And we see this through God's covenants very clearly. 380 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,440 Like God is the one who initiates this relationship with 381 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,400 Abraham. God is the one who blesses and 382 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,320 multiplies his family. God is also the one who 383 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,800 basically guarantees that a savior will be born from 384 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,640 Abraham's line, which is the the heart of the covenant with 385 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,440 David. It's basically that that a 386 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:16,760 righteous king will come from his his land and establish peace 387 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:20,320 on the earth forever. And finally, God is the one who 388 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,000 gives his own Son. To seal the final and the new 389 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:28,200 covenant where Jesus lays down his life to pay our debts, to 390 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,640 cleanse our sins, and to secure the redemption of this world. 391 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,240 So God is the one who does it all. 392 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:37,840 So these two takeaways are major. 393 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,240 God has been. God's grace has been present 394 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:44,120 since the beginning. And because grace is the 395 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:47,320 foundation, God's plan of redemption is certain. 396 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:50,080 So do we see how important this is? 397 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:54,400 Let's look at it another way. So what happens if we don't see 398 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,560 that grace is the foundation? Like what happens if we see 399 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,280 God's plan of redemption as conditional or uncertain? 400 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,720 Maybe it's not going to happen. Well, what likely happens is we 401 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,840 develop an anxious faith, which is an oxymoron. 402 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,520 And yeah, it's a state of contradiction that many of us, 403 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,000 maybe most of us, live out every day. 404 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,960 Like we say that God is our Savior, but then we worry he's 405 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:20,120 not going to come through for us. 406 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,640 We sing songs that God made a way of redemption for us, and 407 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:25,760 yet we act like we can't afford to make a mistake. 408 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,720 That acceptance is dependence on our perfection, which actually 409 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,760 makes it harder sometimes to repent and to change. 410 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,360 We pray for God's Kingdom to come on earth as it is in 411 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:39,080 heaven, but we don't really know if prayer works or that God is 412 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,680 at work. So we strive, we fight to force 413 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:43,840 certain outcomes sometimes like Abraham did. 414 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,080 So this is a question I had to ask myself this week and then 415 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,720 I'm going to ask you now, which is, are you living from a place 416 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,080 of anxious faith? Is there a part of you that is 417 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:57,440 afraid that you were too broken for God to accept you, that 418 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,240 maybe he's not able to bring beauty and renewal out of the 419 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,720 ashes in your life? Or is there a part of you that 420 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,560 looks at the brokenness of the world and on some level believes 421 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,160 that if you if we don't fix it, no one will? 422 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,400 When we see the effects of sin in our world and in our hearts, 423 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,160 it's it's kind of automatic that we go into fight or flight mode. 424 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,920 Like we try to run away and ignore our problems because they 425 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,800 feel too overwhelming. Or we try to fix things by force 426 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,200 by like trying to strong arm the world around us into operating 427 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:25,840 in a way that makes us feel safe. 428 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,120 Does that sound like faith or does that sound like anxiety? 429 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:34,720 The foundation of our faith is not that we are good enough or 430 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,280 strong enough or faithful enough that that God is. 431 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,400 He's perfect in his goodness, He's limitless in his strength, 432 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,760 He's eternally consistent in his faithfulness. 433 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,600 And in a world full of troubles, This is our source of peace, 434 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,760 that God does not give up on us. God does not start something 435 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:53,680 that he does not intend to finish. 436 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,360 So in light of who God is, how should we live? 437 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,160 That's our final take away. The story arc of God's 438 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:07,640 redemption is long, which means that faith requires patience. 439 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,600 So the timeline between God's covenant with Abraham and the 440 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,440 fulfillment of the new covenant through Jesus is about 2100 441 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,720 years. So it's an understatement to say 442 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,680 that God plays the long game. But second, Peter says this. 443 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,320 Do not forget this one thing, dear friends, with the Lord, a 444 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,840 day is like 1000 years and 1000 years is like a day. 445 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,840 The Lord is not slow and keeping His promise as some understand 446 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,800 slowness. Instead, he's patient with you, 447 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,560 not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to 448 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,320 repentance. So if we're going to live a 449 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,920 life, a life of faith, trusting in God's timing and God's way of 450 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,160 doing things, patience is a necessity. 451 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,240 And this is somewhat unfortunate because everything in our modern 452 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,000 world wants to disciple us in the ways of impatience. 453 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,280 We live in an age of constant stimuli and instant 454 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:05,560 gratification. I feel like I've even noticed 455 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,440 that we seem to want to form our opinions as quickly as possible, 456 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:12,160 like we want, like immediate and like compelling answers and 457 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:16,880 solutions, instead of taking the time to develop curiosity or 458 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:21,120 discernment. Our hurry, our dissatisfaction, 459 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:24,160 the reckless way we use our words like weapons, our 460 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,840 resistance to the the slowness required to cultivate wisdom. 461 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,400 All of this is the fruit of impatience. 462 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:39,360 And yet God is patient. He moves slowly because he is 463 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:44,400 motivated by grace and by love. And if we are followers of God, 464 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:50,480 why would we try to outpace him? Do we think we can improve upon 465 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:56,000 God's plan of redemption? Our reckless hurry is kind of 466 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,400 eerily reminiscent of the fall. Like Adam and Eve, we talked 467 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:01,360 about this last week. Adam and Eve are like eager for 468 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:03,480 wisdom. They want to become like wise. 469 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:04,960 They want to become more like God. 470 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,200 But they go about it by opting for a shortcut, like grasping 471 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,160 for control instead of coming to God with their desires. 472 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,400 And at the root of that, grasping for control. 473 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:19,600 And that kind of impatience is a lie, that God cannot be trusted, 474 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,120 that what God said won't happen, that we have to take matters 475 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:26,880 into our own hands. A church. 476 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,720 This is the opposite of what it means for God to be a covenant. 477 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,520 Maker forgot to be a God of covenants. 478 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,840 It means that he's so faithful that even though Abraham and 479 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,400 like generations of his descendants onward continue 480 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,600 making mistakes and doubting God and going their own stubborn 481 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:48,000 way, God still keeps his promise to bless and restore the world. 482 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,240 God has demonstrated time and again that he can be trusted 483 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:54,360 throughout history and in our own lives. 484 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,080 Recently in my community, the topic of testimonies came up. 485 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,400 So I was reflecting on like testimonies from my own life and 486 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,440 so many of them are about God as a provider, Like God coming 487 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,120 through when I had like a like a desperate financial or practical 488 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:12,360 need, when I couldn't pay my rent, when my car got totaled by 489 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:16,040 hit and run, when I needed a job, when I experienced a health 490 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,400 emergency, and the list goes on and on. 491 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,600 And often when I share these stories with people, if I share 492 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,720 them like here on a Sunday, people will be like, oh, well, 493 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:26,760 you know, wow, like God has worked all these miracles in 494 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:28,640 your life. It must help you to have so much 495 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:29,960 faith that he's going to provide for you. 496 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,480 And I'm like, yes, it, it must, right? 497 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,440 Like you would think that it would. 498 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,760 You would think that like the accumulation of all of these 499 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,280 testimonies of God powerfully answering my prayers would mean 500 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,720 that I just like never doubt that he's going to provide for 501 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:45,800 me. That would make perfect logical 502 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:49,360 sense if only humans worked that way. 503 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:54,040 It's it's true that as I've walked with God over the years 504 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,160 that he's worked like 1 miracle after another, that each one 505 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:01,280 kind of peels back the layers of fear and insecurity that I have 506 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,560 about not having enough. But The thing is like those 507 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,640 fears go really deep. Like deep into my past, deep 508 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,800 into my childhood, deep into places in my life where I wasn't 509 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,880 even like conscious of the decision to be afraid. 510 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,680 Like, I mean, that's kind of a weird way of putting it, but 511 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,600 basically, like those are things that that are deeply rooted in, 512 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,920 in the way that I'm wired. But maybe you can relate. 513 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,480 Maybe there are specific areas that you struggle to trust in 514 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,880 God's faithfulness where even though your head says one thing, 515 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,560 like your gut instinctively reacts with fear, like fear of 516 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,480 failure, fear of rejection, of conflict, of powerlessness, of 517 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:45,280 being trapped in uncertainty. I have grown a lot and trusting 518 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,280 God to provide and also I still struggle with fear. 519 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:54,360 But even this is a testimony to God's patience because he didn't 520 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:57,880 give up on me the first time or the second time or the third 521 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,960 time I doubted him. Like, you know, hey, I've 522 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,160 already shown him faithful. Like if you're going to doubt 523 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,880 me, you're on your own kid. His patience is persistent and 524 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,360 radical. So now as I'm looking to the 525 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:15,120 future and I'm looking at any area that I'm tempted to fear, 526 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:18,120 this is the truth that I want to rehearse in my mind. 527 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,720 God has always shown up for me. He is with me now. 528 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,640 He will be with me always. What do I have to fear? 529 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:28,840 Church? What if that was how we operated 530 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,880 in the world? What if that was how we spoke to 531 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:34,880 our fears? If when our anxieties are like 532 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,800 clamoring for our attention, we said, my God is a God of 533 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,560 covenants, He keeps his promises. 534 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,200 He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 535 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,400 So if he was faithful before, he's going to be faithful again 536 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:52,320 and again and again. Fixating on God's faithfulness 537 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,960 helps us to be patient. Patient for him to work in our 538 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,760 lives, patient for him to heal the brokenness of our world. 539 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,080 Patient for him to rework our patterns of sin and to teach us 540 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,480 to trust him. Because God cannot be anything 541 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,160 but faithful. That is who He is. 542 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:13,440 But often it is not until we walk toward God that we discover 543 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,680 He's faithful. This is true for Abraham when he 544 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,120 was called kind of out of out of obscurity. 545 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,400 Abraham learned he could trust God when he took a step of 546 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,640 faith. But Abraham first needed to go 547 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:26,600 and leave his country and his father's house. 548 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,800 He had to actually move toward God and God's promises to 549 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,440 discover that he was walking on a firm foundation that God was 550 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:34,800 going to keep showing up for him. 551 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:40,440 So that feels like an invitation for you today to like know God 552 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,040 as a covenant maker and a promise keeper. 553 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,000 I would invite you to move toward him. 554 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,000 And maybe this means turning your back on an old way of 555 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,960 living or thinking. Maybe it means rejecting the 556 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,240 voice of anxiety that like urges you towards grasping for 557 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,560 control. Maybe it means giving up an 558 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,800 idol, like something you sought comfort and purpose in instead 559 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,040 of God. Ask yourself, where am I 560 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,760 doubting in God's faithfulness and what am I trusting in 561 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,560 instead? Like what if I've been willing 562 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:16,160 to maybe confront or give up in order to follow God in the place 563 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:20,240 that He wants to take me? Today can be the day that we 564 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,960 take that step in trusting Him and discovering just how 565 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:25,440 faithful He is.