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The Last Laugh · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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You have your Bible going to make your way to Genesis chapter
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17 and hold your place there. We'll be there in just a moment.
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What I want to do is something that does a follow up from
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several weeks ago. If you remember our Refocus
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Sunday, it's the Sunday before Palm Sunday where we walk
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through the presentation that we as a team, a Refocus team,
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worked through for the last 6 to 8 months to prayerfully pursue
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some very specific things about where we believe God is leading
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us as a church family and how to fulfill specifically for CFBC to
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fulfill the Great Commission of making disciples and being
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faithful as a body of Christ. So we had a Refocus Sunday.
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We distributed this Refocus launch guide.
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We also took a discipleship survey where we asked 10
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questions and asked you to respond.
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So I'm about to walk you through the answers to this.
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Now, just a little context here. I think it'd be helpful to know
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that there's about 2000 ish people involved in the life of
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our church. You say Kahawa, do you know
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that? Well, because there's about 2000
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members and about 2000 come on Easter.
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All right, so that's about how we know on average about 1200
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show up on any given Sunday and about 800 of that 1200 are in
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small groups. All right, so you got less than
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50% of our total participants in a small group, more than 50%
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come on an average Sunday, about 2000 total 511 took this survey.
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So you're only looking at a sample of 25%.
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And I think you could probably say this is probably one of the
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people who took this are closer to the core of the ones that are
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here week in and week out, most likely.
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All right, So that's it'll help as you interpret the answer.
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So question number one is, do you daily engage the word of
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God? Do you daily engage?
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No is 36% and yes is 64%. Let me just remind you that the
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number one thing you need spiritually is not my sermon.
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I need an Amen. The number one thing you need is
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the meal of the word of God. You feed yourself and the Bible.
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The Bible is so is so it is It is such the primary Jesus says
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you're not going to live by bread alone, but every word that
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proceeds from the mouth of God. Studies show that unless you're
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in the word of God for yourself at least four days a week that
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it's really making no noticeable impact in your life unless you
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get it the majority of the days. Unless you eat the majority of
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the days of the week, you're going to be losing weight
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instead of gaining, right? And I mean that in a good way.
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All right, so all right #2 do you daily spend time in focused
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prayer? It goes up 72% just shy of 3/4
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of our Church of the Representative sample.
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Spend daily time in focused prayer #3 do you attend Sunday
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worship at CFC at least three times a month?
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All right, no, 9%, yes, 91%. So at least of that sample of
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511, those are again probably more of our frequent weekly
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church attenders #4 are you active in a small group for
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spiritual growth? No, 37%, yes, 63%.
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Again, that's pretty representative that less overall
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out of the 2000, less than half, but of that sample, a little
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more than half. You can see the potential we
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have in the life of our church for people to plug into that not
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just gather on Sunday, big group, but to grow in the small
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group dynamic in that community. Accountability, prayer, and more
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focused Bible study and discussion #5 do you tie at
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least 10% of your financial income to your local church?
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This is interesting, right? I don't know who these people
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are or who they're not. I can just know these numbers.
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No, 42%, yes, 58%. And again, that's the frequent
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Sunday attenders I think that we're talking about in the 511.
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But it just goes to show you what if that number of yes were
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to significantly increase? What would the financial
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possibilities be for ministry and mission in the life of our
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church if that number went up significantly, right?
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Amazing. Number six, do you share the
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gospel with a lost person at least once a month?
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Look at the nose. And again, that's probably our
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core. That's probably 5-11 that would
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maybe most likely to say yes. So more than 3/4 of us don't
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share the gospel once a month, 12 * a year with a lost person.
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Now I just want you to think of the impact if that number
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changed. Just think of just people at
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CFBC started at least once a month sharing the life, the
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death, the burial and resurrection of Jesus for the
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forgiveness of sin and eternal life with somebody at least once
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a month. Amazing the potential of what
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impact we could have #7 are you in an active role of service at
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CFBC? Basically almost split right
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down the middle? No is the majority, 45% are in
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an active service role in the life of our church.
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Again, think of the potential if the Holy Spirit gifts were being
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used in the life of our church to full capacity, what our
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church would be like #8 Have you participated in regional,
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national or international mission trip within the last
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three years? Look at the no answer there
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again. Think of the potential in our
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church for people to be mobilized.
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What I mean by that is to go for the sake of making disciples
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beyond your normal Monday through Saturday and Sunday
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routine. What if you went a little
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further regionally or in our city or in our state or in our
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nation or even internationally, just simply for the sake of
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telling people about Jesus? Look at the Army that we have
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waiting to be deployed if we were willing to go right #9 Are
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you personally investing spiritually in anyone else?
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Yes, 67%, No, 33% and #10 Have you ever been personally
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discipled or mentored by another believer?
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32% and yes, 68%. That's just a little insight.
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The reason we did that was to try to get really a baseline for
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where we are as a church so that we can see part of the reason
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why we would walk through a process called refocus.
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Why is it that we want to continue pushing on the
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potential we have as a church to be faithful to the Great
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Commission? Why is it that we want to
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articulate our mission is to love people to life in Jesus
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Christ? Because they need to see and and
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hear and understand the love of Christ for them so they can see
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the life and the salvation and forgiveness and hope that He
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offers. And This is why we have in our
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vision to see our growing community saturated with the
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gospel. We can't force people to believe
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it or receive it, but we can by all means and by God's help, see
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that there's no place in our community where there's not
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access to the truth that can change people's lives.
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Where we work, where we play, where we live, and everywhere in
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between. This is why we've talked about a
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four fold rhythm of gathering, growing, giving, and going to
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where a healthy disciple is going to embrace these four
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things as a rhythm in their life.
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Gathering for worship, growing in a small group community,
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giving of their life sacrificially from time, talent,
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treasure, and beyond. And even willingness to go, yes,
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where you normally live and even beyond.
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Because those things, if absent, are going to mean gaps in our
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lives as disciples of Christ. If you remember on that
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refocused Sunday, I gave you a card that said what's your next
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step? Do you remember what yours is?
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Or if you weren't there that Sunday, do you know maybe what
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your next step is based on that survey or based on gather, grow,
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give and go that God is calling you to as God is calling all of
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us toward further faithfulness for the sake and glory of Christ
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right here in our community and beyond.
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And I pray that you hadn't forgotten about that step.
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Some of you gave me a name and a number on your card and I
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followed up with you. But if you didn't and you want
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to consult with someone or talk to one of us, me or one of the
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pastors about taking next steps, please do continue to pray about
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that and boldly, courageously act on what God has shown you or
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maybe even continuing to show you.
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So I hope that is both a challenge and an encouragement
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to you. Now, back to Genesis 17 and the
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actual message for today. That all was just bonus.
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All right, I know that took 8 minutes in my sermon time, but
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I'm not really paying attention to that.
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But we'll get out on time. All right, So, parents, can you
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identify with me? Have you ever said where are
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your shoes and what did you hear?
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I don't know where. Where's your backpack?
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I don't know where. Where's your jacket?
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I don't know. Where's the library book?
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I don't know. My wife says.
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Where's your glove? Where's their back?
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Where? Where?
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Where is all the stuff? I don't know.
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But how can you not know, right? Yeah, you get the picture,
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right. As human beings, especially
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young ones growing and still maturing, we tend to lose stuff.
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We tend to misplace stuff. We tend to carelessly not know
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what we've done with stuff. But of course, this tendency
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does not completely disappear just because we turned 21 and
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officially become an adult, does it?
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I mean, we still struggle to locate what our phone, our keys,
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our sunglasses, our watch, our wallet.
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All right. I could name so many things that
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I failed to keep up with. I was just, we were having
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dinner with some folks Friday night and the guy was like, I've
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invested in air tags. I've put them on everything and
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everything I own's got 1. He pulled up his app on his
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phone showing me where he's. I was like, dude, that is genius
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right there. I ought to do that so we have
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technology to help us keep up with our stuff.
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Why? Why am I talking about all this?
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Because one of the things that we often misplace, that we lose,
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that we tend to struggle to keep up with, is not just our
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physical things, but quite honestly, one of the things that
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falls into this category is our faith.
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The same thing that we could say trying to rush out of the house.
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Has anyone seen my keys or whatever you fill in the blank?
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There's a lot of days in our lives when if we were being
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honest and saying it out loud, we'd say, has anyone seen my, my
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faith? I don't remember where I put my,
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my faith. I don't know where I've I don't
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know where I've put it. Genesis 17 y'all is an example
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of what God does for us as frail human beings who often struggle
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to keep up with our faith. All right so I want you to watch
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how this unfolds. Listen to the verse the 1st 8
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verses of chapter 17. When Abram was 99 years old, the
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Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty, walk
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before me and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between
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me and you, and may multiply you greatly.
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And then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, Behold, my
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covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a
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multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be
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called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham.
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For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
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I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you
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into nations, and kings shall come from you, and I will
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establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after
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you throughout their generations, for an everlasting
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covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
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And I will give to you into your offspring after you the land of
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your sojournings and all the land of Canaan for an
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everlasting possession, and I will be their God.
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I realize that it might sound like God and Abram are having
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coffee every Monday morning, but that's not exactly the way it's
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going down as Genesis unfolds. What I mean here is that when we
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started Genesis 12, do you remember how old Abraham was?
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He was 75. Now Fast forward 5 chapters
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later and Abraham is 99 years old. 25 years have passed since
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Abram first heard God's promises of land, name, nation,
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prosperity, blessing, and protection.
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All right, so after 10 years of hearing the promise and still no
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offspring, Sarah, if you remember, gets a little creative
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to say the least. Genesis 16 is how that goes.
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Now she takes maidservant Hagar gives to Abram as a wife, says
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we can have a son this way. And Ishmael is born at Abram the
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age of 86. Ishmael is now 13 years, 13
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years old. All that's to say, much time has
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passed and God's promises don't seem to be in a hurry.
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And the that's why I know how to put it, is that Abram's faith is
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on the Fritz. Abram's faith is wavering.
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Abram has forgotten, if you will, where he's placed his
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fate. It's weak.
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And he's wondering, are the promises of God ever going to be
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true? Abram's having days when, if his
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faith were his keys, he'd be asking you, have you seen my You
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ever been there? Ever woken up on a day or gone
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to bed on a day? And quite honestly, if somebody
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asked you where your faith was, you really wouldn't know what to
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tell them. I think that's where Abram was
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when it came to his faith in the promises of God.
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You know, God knows exactly what we need right when we need it.
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And so God shows up, calls a little time out and says to
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Abram the exact thing Abram needs to hear.
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Here's what he says. Abram, I am God Almighty.
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Abram, I am El. Shaddai.
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Now in the last chapter we learned the name of God when
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Hagar was sitting beside a well of water in the middle of the
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wilderness. She felt abandoned, she felt
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lost, she felt forgotten. She felt surely left for dead.
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And there God shows up. God saw her, God cared for her,
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and God drew near to her to draw her back into his plan.
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And she said, you are El Roy, the God who what?
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The God who sees. You're the God who actually
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cares for me. You're the God who actually
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loves me. Like you've not forgotten about
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me, little old me, somebody that I would have never have thought
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God would care about. I realize you are Elroy.
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So we learn a name of God and a truth about God there and here
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again, at just the right moment when Abraham needs to hear a
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word from God, God shows up and says, Abraham, I am El Shaddai,
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I am God almighty. What is Abraham's faith been
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weekend God's ability and power to fulfill the word he spoke to
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him and God shows up and says, hey man, let me remind you of
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who I am. I am the one who's omnipotent.
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I am the one who's unlimited. I am the one that can do
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anything. I am the one for whom nothing is
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too difficult. I am the one that with me all
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things are possible. You know the song my God is so
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big, so strong and so mighty. There's nothing my God cannot do
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for you. Y'all did so much better than
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first service. I'm like, did y'all forget that
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song or not learn that as a that's God.
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That's how should I in a song, Abram, his faith is weak and
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wavering in the fact that God is so big, so strong and so mighty
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that there's nothing that God cannot do.
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So God says to Abram because of here I am Abram, listen man, let
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me try to get you back on track. Here's the two things you need
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to be doing. By the way, this is as relevant
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to me and you today as it was to Abram.
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The number one walk before me, Abram.
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Brother, I am with you always. I know you can't see me.
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I know you can't hear me all the time.
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I know you don't think that I'm there, but I am always with you.
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Abram. I want you to walk before me and
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honor me and all that you do. I want you to live like I'm with
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you because I am and I am Almighty.
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I can do anything. So walk.
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Live your life as if I'm with you.
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Do you sometimes forget to live your life as if God is with you,
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especially when you misplace your faith?
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Forget that God is all powerful. The second thing God tells to
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Abraham is to be blameless. That one's a little more
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intimidating, is it not? Because it kind of feels like,
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oh goodness, God's asking me to be perfect.
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God's saying, don't ever mess up.
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God's saying if you do, watch out.
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And that's not what God's saying by be blameless, God is saying,
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Abram, be wholeheartedly, completely, totally, fully
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surrendered and submitted to me. Abram, what I'm asking you, man,
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I'm not asking you to be mistake less.
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I'm asking you to be all in, totally committed, seeking me,
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loving me first with all you've got.
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I'm asking Abram for you to give me all of your heart.
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So let me make it even more simple, Abram, I'm asking you to
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live like I'm with you. And then, Abram, I'm asking you
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to live like you're with me. This is the way this thing
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works. This is the way walking by faith
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works. This is the way the Christian
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life works. This is not trying to work our
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way into heaven. It's simply living like God is
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actually with us and like we're actually with him.
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And guess what? If God is with us and we're with
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him, and he's almighty, what is impossible for us and God's plan
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in our lives? Anything, Nothing.
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So Abram, live like I'm with you and you're with me.
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Why does God go out of His way to say this to Abraham?
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Here's one God does not want. Let me even more clear.
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The last thing that God wants is for lack of faith to be a
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problem in God's plan for our lives coming to full fruition.
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Let me say that again. The last thing that God wants is
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a lack of faith in Him to be an obstacle, to be a problem to His
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plan for our lives coming to full fruition.
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Because, see, the limitation is not on God's part.
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The only potential limitation could be on our part if lack of
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faith in God's part is present. God doesn't want any lack of
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faith in His part to be present. That could be a hindrance,
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right? And God's going to hit replay on
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His promises to Abram here. I'm just going to highlight one
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of them. God changes Abram's name, right?
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He's promised him offspring. Abram means exalted father, but
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Abraham means father of a multitude like father, not just
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of nation single, but a nation's plural kings, plural shall come
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from you. You see what God is doing for
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Abram and what God does for us who, just like Abram, struggle
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to sometimes keep up with where we've placed our faith is #1 God
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strengthens our faith by divine reminders.
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God strengthens our faith by divine reminders.
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This is a. Pattern in Scripture What did
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God, as a reminder, give Noah when he stepped off the boat as
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a promise he would never do what he just did again?
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What did he give him rainbow, which is a reminder in the sky
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to this day of God's covenant that he made never to destroy
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the earth by flood again. What did God give Moses as signs
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as he's calling in to go to Egypt to give him confirmation
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that God would set his people free.
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Do you remember the three things God gave Moses?
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He allowed his rod to turn into a serpent and back.
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He allowed his hand to go inside his cloak, pulled out leprous
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put back, pulled back out again healed and he allowed him to
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turn water into blood before he even showed up in Egypt.
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What did God do for Gideon when God called Gideon to raise an
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army, God gave him the fleece before that right?
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He consumed the act, the sacrifice that Gideon put before
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God with fire and then he took the fleece and Gideon is like,
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OK God, let's make the fleece wet with dew and the ground dry.
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God did that and Gideon said, God, I need to vice versa that
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can you make the fleece dry and the ground wet?
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And then Guinea said I need more than that.
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God gave him a dream at night, right of the victory.
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What did God do from Mary when the Angel came to her and said,
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behold, you're going to be with child, It's going to be of the
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Holy Spirit. And Mary asked, how can these
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things be? What sign did God give?
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He said, behold, your cousin Elizabeth is what is pregnant.
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She makes a beeline to go visit. And sure enough, just like God
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said, right with the forerunner, John the Baptist, she was with
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child. God wants to strengthen your
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faith with divine reminders. Say, Kyle, where in the world
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should I look for such divine reminders?
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Well, the quite honest answer is anywhere, everywhere and through
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anything, but no place more than right here.
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I cannot tell you how often I need specific direction.
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I need a reminder, I need wisdom, or I need help.
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And in just my daily back to question #1 timing, God's Word,
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God allows me to read something that speaks specific,
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specifically to exactly what I needed to hear.
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Just like God gave Abram exactly what he needed to hear when he
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needed to hear it. To give him the guidance he
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needed to strengthen his faith so he can move forward in God's
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plan for his life. Which is just one of 1001
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reasons you ought to be in the Word of God every day and then
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living life with eyes wide open. Did you realize there's no such
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thing as luck? God is in control.
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Life is not random. And if we'll open our eyes to
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the God who cares, to God who's in control of the God who is
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working all things according to his will for our good and his
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glory, you're going to see God wanting to strengthen your faith
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with divine reminders. Pick up in verse 9 with me, and
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God said to Abraham, As for you, You shall keep my covenant, you
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and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
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This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you
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and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be
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circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the
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flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant
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between me and you. He who is 8 days old among you
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shall be circumcised every male throughout your generations,
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whether born in your house or bought with your money from any
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foreigner who is not of your offspring.
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Both he who is born in your house and he who has bought with
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your money shall surely be circumcised.
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So shall my covenant be in your flesh as an everlasting
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covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is
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not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off
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from his people. He has broken my covenant.
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This is one of the reasons why you just preach through books of
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the Bible and you don't randomly select text because there's
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certain Bible passages you just never pick unless you just walk
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in through the Bible. And yet all of them are
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practical and relevant to our lives.
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I had somebody asked me after the first service.
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Kyle, does that get awkward for you?
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Not really. I don't know if it's awkward for
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you or not, but I'm good if you're good.
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All right, so we're going to show just how practical God's
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word is. Now, if I'm being honest, if I'm
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99 years old and God comes to me, it says, hey, I got a sign
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between me and you. This is going to be the symbol
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of my covenant I'm making with you and yours with me.
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And God said it was circumcision.
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I think I'd look back in God and said, God, you got anything else
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I'd gladly trade like Noah got a boat and a rainbow.
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God, this does not seem fair. All right, But that's not what
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God says, not what Abraham said. So to be serious about this for
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a moment, right? God is giving Abraham and his
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descendants a physical sign of the covenant God was making with
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him, and the sign of God's covenant would be carved into
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Abraham's body in order to be a continual reminder in the most
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personal of ways in his life, in the life of his offspring.
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Why does God choose this sign? The Bible does not explicitly
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say, but I do think there's some insights we can draw to give us
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clues as to why. Couple of the number one,
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physically speaking, the essence of the covenant centered on
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physical offspring to Abraham. Hence the sign.
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I'll stop comments there. Ready #2 Spiritually speaking,
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the sign involved a cutting away of flesh, symbolizing a greater
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circumcision that God was seeking not physically but
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spiritually of the heart, which is also the same surgery that
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God wants to perform on a believer.
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When we come to Christ and we offer our heart and he takes
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away our sinful flesh, right? Fills us with the Holy Spirit
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and says, don't walk according to the flesh, but walk according
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to the Spirit. In other words, God wants to do
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surgery in our hearts to cut away sin and assert his
26:09
righteousness by Christ so that we live with a new heart before
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him. So in this way, physically and
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spiritually y'all the sign of the covenant's not random.
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It actually perfectly fits with the nature of the covenant God
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was making with Abram and those that would be his offspring.
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Now some have asked, hey, if this was so important back then,
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does it save? Is it required for salvation
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today? You can read your New Testament
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and actually the discussion took place quite quite seriously.
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Acts chapter 15 you can read the debate in the early church and
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then what Paul writes in Galatians chapter 6 verse 14 and
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15 makes it absolutely, unmistakably clear.
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Listen to what He says, but far be it from me to boast except in
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the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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In other words, let me never say anything could benefit me that I
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could ever do, except what Christ has done for me in my
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place on the cross. Do you follow Him by which the
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world has been crucified to me, and I to the world?
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For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision,
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but a new creation. Let me tell you what counts,
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Paul says, is you being made alive by faith in Jesus Christ.
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Period. No work that you do or don't do.
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It is faith and faith alone. For by grace you've been saved
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through faith by grace. It is not a work.
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It's not a thing that you can boast in.
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It is a gift of God. The Bible says the circumcision
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saved. The answer is, does faith in
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Jesus save? Yes, this is what the New
28:02
Testament makes clear. It was a sign of the covenant.
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It was not the fate that saved even Abraham and credited him
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with righteousness. The second thing that I want you
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to see and mark down here is that God strengthens our faith
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by physical signs. God strengthens our faith with
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divine reminders, but God also strengthens our faith by
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physical signs. And that begs the question, what
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physical science has God-given us as believers in the new
28:31
covenant to strengthen our faith?
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Let me give you 2. Are you ready?
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Baptism and the Lord's Supper, these are two physical signs
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that God has given us as new covenant people of Christ to
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observe and participate in that strengthen our faith.
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These don't save. These don't wash away our sin.
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These don't give us more grace. These don't give us more favor
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in the eyes of God. But these strengthen our faith,
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and these symbolize our faith and reinforce it #1 baptism.
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I'm not going to read all the text, but you're going to see
29:05
the references on the screen. You can write them down and I'm
29:08
going to give you the principle. We take out of them baptism,
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Roman 63 and four. We learned that baptism
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symbolizes our fate in the life, death, burial, and resurrection
29:20
of Jesus. The reason why we get in the
29:22
water and lay somebody horizontal flat like a dead man
29:25
is because Jesus died tasting death, taking the wage of my sin
29:31
in yours was laid in the grave after dying on the cross.
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But then we don't hold you underneath the water.
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Praise God. All right, we bring you right
29:39
back up because Jesus on the third day was raised back up
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symbolically in baptism. We're showing you've identified
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yourself with the life, death and burial and resurrection of
29:48
Jesus Christ. It's a testimony physically
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signing the gospel that you believe.
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First Corinthians 12/13, we learned that baptism symbolizes
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our union with the body of Christ.
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The conversation we'll have with you when you go through our
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membership class discover first, which is once a month is
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eventually have you trusted in Jesus Christ and have you been
30:10
baptized? Have you done the declaration
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publicly that says I join publicly the body and bride of
30:19
Jesus because there is a way that God has said you do that
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and that's the public declaration through baptism,
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which is why is one of the ways, the most clear way that you
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actually truly, if you will say I am a part of the family of
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God, which is also why it is public, not a private thing.
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Acts 238. We learned that baptism
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symbolizes our cleansing from sin and the reception of the
30:44
Holy Spirit. You receive the Holy Spirit of
30:47
God when you believed the gospel.
30:52
When you go through the water, Cartersville City water doesn't
30:55
wash away any of your sin. OK, but it does picture the fact
31:02
that if you believe the gospel, that is that Jesus lived a
31:06
sinless life for you, died as a substitute for you, and was
31:09
raised victorious over sin, death and the grave for you.
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And there's been a moment that you surrendered your life to
31:15
that truth and called on Jesus to save you.
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If you believe that the blood of Jesus spilled for you on the
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cross, spiritually washed your soul before God, absolutely and
31:28
perfectly clean without spot. The water washing is a symbol of
31:35
that. It's also a symbol of the
31:37
receiving of the Holy Spirit that you received when you
31:40
believed. Now that doesn't mean you're
31:42
always walking by the Spirit or I'm always walking by the
31:45
Spirit, but you received him the the third person of the Trinity,
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a he not an it when you believed.
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Then there's the Lord's Supper, first Corinthians 11/25, the
31:57
Lord's Supper, the partaking of the bread and the cup sign for
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us, the body and blood of Jesus given to us for our salvation.
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It is a physical meal of bread and of the cup representing the
32:11
body and the blood of Jesus that we have entrusted, that we have
32:14
believed on, that we've received spiritually the significance of
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the body of Christ in our place, his blood shed for the remission
32:22
and forgiveness of our sin. When we physically imbibe those
32:25
things, they are not doing to us something magical.
32:29
They are reminding us of what we believed and trusted in by
32:32
faith. It is a physical act.
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It is a physical sign to reinforce our faith in the
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actual body and blood of Jesus for our salvation.
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Obviously, both signs can be empty and completely meaningless
32:48
if not done by faith. Now let's pick up verse 15
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through 21. And God said to Abraham, As for
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Sarah your wife, you shall not call her name Sarah, but Sarah
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shall be your name. I will bless her, and moreover,
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I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall
33:11
become nations. Kings of people shall come from
33:14
her. And then Abram fell on his face
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and laughed, and said to himself, Shall a child be born
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to a man who is 100 years old? Shall Sarah, who is 90 years
33:24
old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, Oh,
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that Ishmael might live before you.
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And God said, no, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and
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you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant
33:36
with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after
33:39
him. And As for Ishmael, I have heard
33:42
you. Behold, I have blessed him and
33:45
will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly.
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He shall father 12, Princess, and I'll make him into a great
33:51
nation. But I will establish my covenant
33:54
with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you.
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At this time next year, God changes Abraham's name to
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Abraham. Now it's Sarah's turn for a name
34:07
change. She is a partner in this
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covenant God is making with Abraham.
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Sarai and Sarah both mean Princess or my Princess.
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She will be the mother of a royal lion again.
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Nations will come from her. Kings shall come from her.
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So what does Abraham do in response to all this?
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Let me be more clear. Does Abram fall down in faith
34:32
and worship God? What does he do?
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The dude laughs. God, me plus her equal baby?
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I don't think so. Abram laughs.
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God says not so fast. I'm not laughing, I'm dead
34:56
serious. In fact, God gets the last laugh
35:00
because guess what? Isaac means laughter does this.
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You want to laugh at me, Abram? Guess what?
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I'm going to give you a son reminding you not to laugh at me
35:14
when I tell you I'm going to do what I'm going to do.
35:16
You ever laughed at God? You ever heard something led by
35:21
the Spirit of God in the direction?
35:23
Laughed at God out loud or underneath your breath?
35:26
God, that's not a good idea. God.
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That's not possible. God, I don't think so.
35:29
God, you got to be kidding me. God, that's funny, right?
35:36
God says, I'm going to get the last slide.
35:39
We, we, we get an idea of where Abraham's heart is when he says,
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oh, that Ishmael might live before you know what this is.
35:47
God, if you'd only bless my plan, it's a good one.
35:51
I've worked hard for this one. God, I've stayed up I don't know
35:55
how many nights. God, it's all written out in my
35:57
journal. If you would just bless this
36:00
plan like the God, this is what I want God, there's nothing
36:07
wrong with this. Surely this is an option.
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You ever done that? Third thing I want you to write
36:17
down is that God strengthens our faith by answered and unanswered
36:23
prayers. God strengthens our faith
36:26
through divine reminders, through physical signs and
36:29
through answered and under answered.
36:31
You know when God let me ask you like this, do you know why God
36:35
doesn't answer prayers sometimes when God has a better plan, when
36:45
God has a better plan, Sometimes God's no to our ask is God
36:53
saying yes to a better plan, No to ours, yes to his.
37:01
God strengthens our faith by answered and unanswered prayers.
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Now let's listen to the final part of the chapter.
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When he had finished talking with him, God went up from
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Abraham. Then Abraham took Ishmael, his
37:16
son, and all those born in his house or bought with his money.
37:20
Every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he
37:23
circumcised the flesh of their foreskins.
37:25
That very day is God had said to him.
37:29
Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of
37:32
his foreskin in Ishmael. His son was 13 years old and he
37:36
was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin that very day.
37:41
Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised in all the men of
37:44
his house. Those born in the house and
37:47
those bought with money from a foreigner were circumcised with
37:51
him. Abram sharpened his knife, grit
37:55
his teeth, and started cutting that very day.
38:01
Abram does surgery all day. That day, Abram obeyed right
38:06
away, all the way. We've heard that phrase before.
38:09
You'll see that principle over and over again in Scripture.
38:11
Mom and dad's. That's when to teach our
38:13
children. Why?
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Because it's the right response to godly good authority.
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And God starts that practice between parent and child.
38:23
All right, and Abraham puts it into practice here.
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Disobedience, it was right away all the way was not easy.
38:29
It was not pain free. In fact it was bloody, but it
38:33
was worth it in the same way that Jesus is.
38:38
Obedience to his Father was also not pain free, was also costly,
38:44
was also bloody, but was what was worth it.
38:52
God strengthens #4 our faith for the sake of our obedience and
38:57
blessing. God strengthens our faith for
39:01
the sake of our obedience and blessing.
39:05
You see, when God gave Abraham the sign of the covenant, he had
39:08
a choice. Let's let's be real honest, He
39:11
could either start cutting or he could be cut off Why?
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Because there was no halfway with God.
39:21
Abram, I want you to live as if I'm with you and as if you're
39:25
with me. I'm asking you to be all in
39:27
because I'm all in with you. There really is no halfway with
39:31
God. There's no such thing as half
39:33
safe. You're either loving God with
39:35
all you've got or you're not. There's no halfway.
39:38
God is asking for him to be all in, right?
39:42
And in so many ways, all in sometimes requires pain and
39:48
blood. Let's be a little more honest
39:51
though. As modern day American
39:52
Christians, most often what it means is sometimes obeying Jesus
39:56
or putting our faith into practice.
39:58
Sometimes means a little discomfort and a little
40:02
inconvenience. And maybe some minor cost and
40:05
oftentimes we as modern day Americans aren't even willing to
40:08
pay those three. And but I'll be honest with you,
40:11
I think when you read your Bible, you have to ask yourself
40:13
the question, if there's not a willingness to be a little
40:15
uncomfortable, to be a little inconvenience, to pay a little
40:19
price, you got to ask yourself, is that real genuine faith in
40:23
Jesus at all? Because there's really no
40:29
halfway with God. God calls us to be all in with
40:34
Him as He's all in with us. What's the point of this
40:37
chapter? Here's what I think it is in a
40:39
sentence. So you're ready, God Almighty
40:41
else should I want our faith to be mighty.
40:48
Why? Because the only obstacle
40:51
between His plan and power in your life is lack of faith in
40:58
His power. That's the only obstacle.
41:01
There's no obstacle with God. He said, oh, should I?
41:04
The question is, do we believe that?
41:07
Do we trust that? Do we have faith in who he is?
41:10
The only issue between God's plan and your life and mine is a
41:13
lack of faith. God wants our faith to be
41:15
mighty. God is building our faith, and
41:18
sometimes he'll build it in such a way He'll stretch us in such a
41:20
way. We want to say God, that's
41:21
funny, but guess what? God's going to get the last
41:24
laugh. He wants to do something that
41:27
only he can get the credit for. We've been seeing that over and
41:30
over and over again. And Abraham learned the hard way
41:36
not to laugh at God, but to laugh with him when God gave him
41:42
a son. Being true to his word, that
41:44
means laughter. John and praised him are going
41:47
to come out. I got a just a couple questions
41:49
I want you to respond to. Number one, is this, where is
41:56
God trying to strengthen your faith?
42:02
Where is there a potential lack of faith that is causing a block
42:09
in God's plan for your life? Let me put it like this.
42:15
This is maybe not how you thought about it, maybe not what
42:18
you're doing, but where? Where are you quote laughing at
42:23
God saying no or no way or God I just don't believe that's
42:29
possible or God I'm refusing to obey.
42:40
What do you, what do you need to do to realize God is with you
42:46
and for you to be all in with him?
42:51
Is that your next step on the refocus card that maybe you've
42:55
set aside or misplaced or know exactly where it is?
43:00
Is it saying, Lord Jesus, I'm choosing to trust you with my
43:05
heart and life today? I've heard the life, death,
43:09
burial and resurrection of your son, Father, but I've really
43:12
never surrendered my life to Jesus.
43:15
Today's the day. Or maybe you've done that, but
43:19
you know what? Your faith has kind of become
43:21
like your keys. You're just not really sure
43:23
where they are. And to get back on track, you
43:28
need to look at God and say, God, I believe you are El
43:30
Shaddai. I believe you are almighty.
43:33
And if you believe that, that has crazy practical implications
43:37
for how you live, if you really believe that.
43:39
So the question is, do you believe that?
43:41
Where are you not believing that?
43:44
Where do you need to say God? I'm choosing to believe today.
43:48
God, I don't want there to be any lack of faith causing any
43:51
problem in your plan for my life.
43:55
Heavenly Father, I pray the that as we worship and respond to you
43:59
in your word today, Father, that we truly believe you are God
44:02
Almighty God, if there's a place you're seeking to strengthen our
44:05
faith, I pray that you'd have our yes, Father, that we would
44:09
trust your plan. We wouldn't laugh at you in
44:11
unbelief, but we would lay our lives before you in worship and
44:14
faith saying God, have your way, your will, not ours.
44:17
God, do something that only you can get the glory.
44:19
Let there be no obstacle in your plan and your purpose for us.
44:24
God, if someone needs to trust you today, may they do it.
44:27
If they need to let something go today, let them let it go.
44:30
If they need to walk forward by faith to help them take the
44:32
step. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
44:34
Would you stand with me? We're going to sing together.
44:36
I'm inviting you to come. As we sing and you respond to
44:39
God's call, you come.