Dive into the story of Abram from Genesis 12 with us, exploring trust's role in his life and the blessings of obedience. We'll uncover the promise of protection and prosperity for those who dare to follow faith, highlighting the significance of God's covenant. This episode also discusses the balance between trust and discernment, essential for personal and spiritual growth.
We wrap up with gratitude and a call to spread kindness. Join us for this powerful conversation on faith and trust and share the journey with others. Let's inspire and uplift our community together.
Come join us at our virtual events monthly. Visit our website to learn more.
Dive into the story of Abram from Genesis 12 with us, exploring trust's role in his life and the blessings of obedience. We'll uncover the promise of protection and prosperity for those who dare to follow faith, highlighting the significance of God's covenant. This episode also discusses the balance between trust and discernment, essential for personal and spiritual growth.
We wrap up with gratitude and a call to spread kindness. Join us for this powerful conversation on faith and trust and share the journey with others. Let's inspire and uplift our community together.
Come join us at our virtual events monthly. Visit our website to learn more.
Music you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you Spotify and Audible and iTunes and iHeartRadio and wherever you watch it. I appreciate you. So let's get into the word. I know, I know, I know it says trust and this is kind of a hard thing for some people, but we're going to lead into this because we do have to, we have to make some changes, okay, so I'm going to, obviously I'm going to share my, I'm going to share the word, because everything is going to be obviously scripturally based, but I wanted to, I wanted to bring us into Genesis 12. All right, so I'm going to share my screen. So I have to say this, y'all, for those who listen to us on the, on the audio versions, because obviously they can't see what I'm doing. But I'm coming into Genesis 12 and I'm going to explain to you kind of why the word and this is the ESV, we playfully called it the HLE version, genesis 12 and verse one. It says now the Lord said to Abram go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you and I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who this, who dishonors you, I will curse, and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Now I'm going to encourage you to go back and read the entire chapter. I want you to do that because what I don't want is anyone to take anything out of context when it comes to scripture, but I just want to show some points of discussion and prayer that we're going to really lean into. When it comes to trust, and I think for a lot of us and maybe you've already gone through this yourself there's a season, there's a time, and there's a time when the Lord is going to maybe show you something. A lot of us we say that's our vision or our purpose, but he'll show you something, and I love how it starts out by saying to Abram at that time go from your country. So you got to leave. Where you are.
Speaker 1:A lot of us are really comfortable. Maybe you're very comfortable in the job you're in and yet the Lord is showing that it's time for you to move on. Or maybe you're in business and he's showing you that it's time for you to grow and expand and you're like I don't want to do that, but sometimes you're the prompting in order for you to get the blessings that you're looking for again, in order for you to soar this year right, whether it be soaring because you want to be more spirit led, or soaring because you want to walk and you're anointing, or soaring because you want to be more obedient and you want to be renewed. Whatever that is for you that you're going to have to shift, you're going to have to make a move and it's going to rest on you trusting God. So I think about myself in this situation again, just to make it put it put into the natural, imagine your Abraham and the Lord is. It's not like he.
Speaker 1:He, you know, created this vision board, if you will, for Abraham and said this is what it's going to look like, right, the word was go. Go from your country and your kindreds, and now you're leaving your comfort zone, if you will, to the land that he will show. So in order for Abraham to even step into that promise right, where he's going to be, where he's going to go, he had to trust God. The word says in verse two I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you. Here's a covenant promise that the Lord was making a God was making that he was going to make Abraham a great nation and he will bless him and make your name great. And so why, you know, I was like, why did he have to tell him all this? Because, again, we're human. And so, even today, as you're asking the Lord to show you what's your next step, and he's telling you listen, I'm going to make of you a great nation, I'm going to bless you, right, maybe saying, you know, just, you're going to have to trust me, I'm going to bless you, I'm going to make your name great. What does it mean to make your name great? Your name opens doors and closes doors, okay, you know. So I want to make your name great. I want to make, I want, I want your, your, your, your brand, if you will. Like people are going to know you before you get to some places, okay, and it's like you're going to be a blessing, and the word says I will bless those who bless you. And so you know, again, here we're having to trust God when he says I'm going to call you out from your comfort zone. I'm going to call you out from where you are.
Speaker 1:And verse three, where he talks about I will bless those who bless you, but wait a minute Anyone who dishonors you. As long as you're on this path, as long as you're aligned to his will, anyone who dishonors you, he will curse. So you don't have to fit, you know, you don't have to try to figure out, lord, can I really trust you in this season? What if they're coming for me? He's got it covered. Anyone who dishonors you, he will take care of and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Your generations will be blessed. But you've got to be able to trust God, and this is such a tough thing to do.
Speaker 1:So let me show you another part of this, this the story, and how it continues, because I thought this again, this is going to help you All. Right, so this is Hebrews now. So I'm gonna go up. I have it right Hebrews 6. And this is the extension and this is now. Remember, abraham became Abraham, and so I'm gonna read out that we're in Hebrews 6, verses 13 through 20. I'm gonna release this word and then we're gonna talk about it.
Speaker 1:13, it says for when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swore. He swore by himself, god swore by himself. He swore by himself to himself saying surely I will bless you and multiply you. And if you're in a season or a situation right now where again we are connected back to the covenant of God, it didn't change. Those of us again we're believers and we're Christians and Jesus followed, like whatever that, as long as you receive Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, whatever you call yourself, okay, this, you've been bought into this covenant, into this promise. And I love how verse 14 just said look straight up. Surely I will bless you and multiply you, so you can build your trust on that. It says in verse 15,. And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. It's not like it happened right away, right? And so a lot of times we don't trust God because we're not seeing things put out immediately. I thought you were gonna promote me. It's been 12 years and the promise wasn't fulfilled, and yet the promise might've been fulfilled in your 13th year, right? So it says Abraham having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.
Speaker 1:For people swear by doing something greater than themselves and all their disputes and oath is final for confirmation, and so a lot of us. Again, you think about swearing by something greater than yourselves, really believing that you're the one who's in control. We're really not right. This is why I always try to remind people it's okay to have an affirmation, but when your affirmations and what you tell yourself is built on your I am, you're the I am, I am amazing, I'm fantastic, the things that you feed your soul, when your affirmations become greater than God, when your affirmations, when you don't even need the strength of God anymore, right, then you fall into trouble, right, you start swearing by something greater than yourself. And again, the oath is a final confirmation, and verse 17 says so.
Speaker 1:When God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise that's us the unchangeable character of his purpose, the word says he guaranteed it with an oath. Remember it said in Genesis, he swore again to himself, to himself, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie right, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to that hope. So for those of us who are, again, we're looking for refuge, we're looking for his covering right, we're looking for his confirmation from God's, confirmation that we have. It's a strong encouragement that we can hold fast to what he said my hope is in Christ, right, and so verse 19 talks about. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul. This is something that doesn't change. I hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain. That's another topic, that's another something we can talk about. What's the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner and become our high priest? Amen, as he intercedes for us behind the curtain, amen. So I'm gonna stop sharing and just come to you and say a couple of things and then we're gonna pray and then we're gonna close.
Speaker 1:The first thing I want to share is when it comes to trust, part of the reason that a lot of us lose trust and again you're gonna have to trust people. If you're trying to soar this year, you're not gonna be able to achieve things. Do the things you know, do all those things you know. Not gonna be able to walk into your blessings if you distrust everybody. Right, because again, god uses people. We are on this plane, right? So we have to operate with people. We have to work with people. He's gonna send your help through a person. He's gonna bless you through a person, and so what you need to do, what we all need to do, is ask for the Holy Spirit to help us discern when it's the right person. It's not always the right person, and that's where we, you know, we fall into distrust. For those of you who've been hurt all of us again, who've been hurt or disappointed because, again, we are human. We do these things right.
Speaker 1:People have their own, you know their own how to put this. They have their own way of doing things right. That's separate from, maybe, what you want, right. They have their own plans and you might not know what it is. Even so, when the Lord sends you someone, you know he'll send you someone for a season or reason or a lifetime, right. So if he sends you someone to help you get to the next level, it doesn't necessarily mean that that person is gonna be with you, you know, forever and ever. Maybe it's a seasonal relationship, but you've got to be able to trust people so you can get to the next level. You're not gonna be able to do and operate Again. For example, if you're in business and you don't trust your clients, then you might want to lose that client, because you're not gonna have the kind of relationship where either one of you can move forward.
Speaker 1:You understand what I'm saying. Same way it is in the spiritual aspect, right, if you don't trust God, you're not gonna get to the next level, because you're always gonna try to figure out. You know what he should do based on what you think he should do, and when the Holy Spirit doesn't respond in the way you think he should, then all of a sudden the promise was broken. So you're gonna have to come to a decision. So the same way I closed out you know, the matters of the heart last week with a decision is the same way I'm gonna leave you with that today as well, because a lot of us are again. We're believers, and we're believers until we don't have to make a decision, until we don't have to take an action. Right, you have to faith, but you have to have an action behind it. So you're gonna have to make a decision.
Speaker 1:Can I trust this person? Lord? Can you show me if this is a person I can trust, even before you go into the contracts, even before you go into the meetings? Lord, lord, would you, you, would you show me? Is this a conversation that I should have. Right, you know, and? And if you are someone who hurt someone, if you broke that trust, then it really is up to you for you to go back and apologize. You've got to be able to make things right. You got to make things right or that's gonna hang over your head. Trust is very hard. It's very hard, but this is something that, again, if you want to keep soaring this year and I showed you in the word it with Abraham Imagine again being told that you're gonna leave your comfort zone, you're gonna leave everything that you know, and I have greater things for you.
Speaker 1:I'm trusting God because that's that's his promise to me, as it is to you. I have greater things for you if you would just let go of the baggage, if you would let go of the old mindset, if you'd let go of the fear and the doubt, if you let go of the worry and just trust me and and he will show you. You know, sometimes I have to ask the Holy Spirit bring it back to my memory, because you know I have a short memory. Bring it back and bring it back to my mermi. And if you just sit back, sometimes I know a lot of you guys, you know, do journaling and, along with your Bible study, just go back to your journals and you can see how much and how many times Did the Lord came through for you and and again, if you that's what you need to do to build up your trust, do that. But ask the Lord to show you you know, give you discernment so you know when to trust, who to trust, and when he tells you it's time to let go of a relationship, it's okay, let it go. It's okay, let it go. That season has come to an end, amen. So pray that encourages. This, encourages this morning.
Speaker 1:Trust is a very tough one, but it's something that we do have to do. If you don't, if you're, if you're a leader and you don't trust your people, you end up become a horrible micromanager and no one wants to work with you or for you, right? So even in business, the same principle applies. You have to be able to trust the people that you're working with, right? If you're, you've had a Broken relationship with a spouse or a partner and you're still not trusting, you know, or forgiving, and that that's a problem. You can't move forward without trust, right? Amen. So he's saying.
Speaker 1:Yet faith in action. Faith is an action. It's scared, but God is able. And I do all these things to Christ, who strengthens me. Right, it's not just me, you know, doing it by myself. I have to go before the Lord and pray and ask him. Lord, you got to help me with this one, right, and and what happens is he starts to Shitcha, change. You get again the mind of Christ, right, he starts to show you different perspectives of thinking through some things. He starts to reveal things, or people start to reveal things to you. Ah, that's why that person is responding in that way, and so it doesn't destroy the trust, it strengthens you. So now you know how to respond in kind, in love, right, in grace, in patience. Right, he starts to reveal those things. You know, if you're someone who had us, you know this was the thing. Right, maybe you haven't trusted people for a long time. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what is it that's broken in me, why I can't trust people, and ask him to heal you from that, and he might show you. Listen, you were the point of the problem. You know people can't trust you, why, right, so start asking that because, again, we are trying to soar.
Speaker 1:This year we're trying to see new things. This year I want greater things for every single person connected to me, whether you're in the prayer ministry or we're in business, or we're friends or whatever. I want people to really win this year. I want this to be a year when we look back at it we're gonna be like 20, 24 was the start of something amazing. You know, there's so much goodness and promises. There's so much good that's happening and we do get lost and caught up in a lot of negative stuff. It's easier to look at the negative right, but there's a lot of good stuff that's happening right now. So make sure that you're celebrating that and don't allow things or situations or misunderstandings to destroy your trust.
Speaker 1:So, lord, we just thank you for showing us this morning about how important it is to trust my God, especially trusting you. We thank you for your covenant promise. Your words do not lie. They don't age out. I thank you, lord, that the same thing that you said to Abraham is the same thing that applies to us now. And, lord, I thank you that you have blessed every single person under the sound of my voice, whether they're watching live or the replay. I thank you, lord, that the same promise that you've given to me, lord God, you've extended through your grace. Lord God, and I thank you that you are blessing every single one of us.
Speaker 1:Lord, would you help us to trust? Would you help us to build up that trust, lord God, would you give us the spirit of discernment so we know who to trust and when to trust? Would you help us to understand when it's time to let go, that we do that in peace and in kindness, or even in business? Would you bless us so that we know how to trust each other, so we can work together? Lord God, would you use us to be those people who are trustworthy, who are other people can trust? Amen. Would you let us be the witnesses of what trusting God looks like, so that we can testify on that behalf? We thank you that you've sent already your Holy Spirit to be with us, to comfort us and lead us and guide us. But will you show us how to trust you? Would you give us those examples and bring it back to memory for those of us who've forgotten what it's like to just trust you? Would you heal the hearts of the men and women who've been broken by trust, lord God Who've been harmed by others. So, whatever type of abuse, lord God, would you heal their hearts and minds this morning so that they won't allocate that kind of distrust to you? Amen. So would you heal those hearts and minds this morning for those who don't trust, so that they'll begin to trust you, god, and I thank you again for this platform. I thank you for this breath of air, I thank you for this opportunity and I thank you for everyone. Now we go into the rest of this week. Lord, I already trust you. I trust you with all my heart and I thank you for everything that you're doing for your people. Amen.
Speaker 1:You know what was something I was thinking about this morning before I came on? That there's some of us that we trust the weatherman more than we trust God. And the weatherman is just forecasting and the weather can change, but yet we literally we trust the weatherman more than we trust God. So when he tells you that you're the head and not the tail, you gotta trust that, believe in that. You've gotta receive that for yourself. When he's put you in that position, on that job, when he's given you that role again, leadership is not a title when he sends you into that arena in the marketplace. You gotta trust him when he's taking you through. These are the promises and this is the purpose and following through, whatever it is when he calls you out of your comfort zone to stretch your faith, trust him. Trust him that all things are working together for your good. And when you really believe that all things are working together for your good, you really can trust him in the face of uncertainty.
Speaker 1:I hope that bless y'all. I know it blessed me. I thank y'all so much for watching Now. I will be back next week. Please don't forget to like the video. I always forget to ask like the video because that helps us. Again. You know our intention is to get the worn out to as many people as we can, and that's all I got y'all. I love you, but Jesus loves you more. Take care. Bye, mark McDonnell, driving.