WEBVTT 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:05.120 Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:06.879 Thank you so much for listening today. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.439 We hope it encourages you and inspires you. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:11.279 Here's today's message. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:13.759 It is so good to see your faces. 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:15.759 For those who are joining us online, welcome. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.079 We're so glad that you're here with us today. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:23.839 And for those of you guys who who came out today, man, I'm I'm blown away, man, at that at the time of this recording. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:31.039 For those who may be checking us out later, man, we we we had in the middle of a monsoon, it almost seems like, but yet y'all still showed up at church. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:32.640 Y'all the real OGs right now. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:35.439 Give it up for yourselves for coming in the church. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:42.560 And and there's a moment, there's something that I that I that I forgot to mention, and I'm completely I'm sorry for doing that. 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:44.240 I want to pray really quick right now. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:45.520 There's something that's really important. 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:59.200 At 1 p.m., um the Philadelphia Eagles, God's team, is playing against the Tampa Bay demonic, um, I mean the security. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:02.560 Um we know that the Eagles are God's team. 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:03.439 Thank you so much, Corey. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:03.679 Thank you. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:05.120 Please escort her out. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.200 There's another church for her down the street. 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:12.000 Um, this is this is God's house that we believe in making sure that we support God's team. 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:15.920 Um I I heard word. 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:21.359 Uh every time I have these moments, my man Sean always comes through with his Pittsburgh um regalia on. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:26.319 And so I do want to pray now, because you know how we always say we're believing God for what he's gonna do in the future? 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:30.079 Let's go ahead and pray that God comforts him now for the loss that they're gonna experience today. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:33.519 Um, we're believing God's peace and blessings uh to be with you. 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:35.040 Um but let's let's jump into it. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:36.799 I'm I'm really excited about today's word, man. 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:37.439 I really am. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:42.079 If you have your Bibles, um I want you to join me in uh Genesis chapter 15. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:46.879 While while you're turning there, I want to uh remind you that we're in our make room series. 00:01:47.040 --> 00:02:00.159 And and the idea of this series is really built off of the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 30, where John the Baptist, the forerunner, the one who kind of set the tone for Jesus to come and perform his ministry, he makes the statement when Jesus comes on the scene. 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.079 He says that I must decrease in order for him to increase. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:09.199 The ultimate thought for us in this series is this if we want to see more of God, it has to be less of us. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:14.479 It is so hard for us to experience an overflow of God if we are full of ourselves. 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:16.159 So we need to make room. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:22.080 Look at the things in our lives that we need to audit and to edit so that way we can make room for what God has for us. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:26.159 We truly believe that when we make room, we make progress. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:32.159 So it's now picking up here at Genesis chapter 15, looking here at verse number one, the the Bible says this. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:41.919 Sometime later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, and he said to him, Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you and your reward will be great. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:48.080 But Abram replied, Oh Lord, what good are all of these blessings when I don't even have a son? 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:55.280 Since you have not given me any children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household will inherit my wealth. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:03:00.479 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:07.680 Then the Lord said to him, No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:15.919 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:19.120 That's how many descendants you're going to have. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:26.319 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness because of his faith. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.960 I want to pause there to kind of set a precedence here. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.840 This is this is the first instance that we see in scripture. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.240 Again, I mean we're Genesis, so we're only one chapter in. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:39.280 But this sets the tone that righteousness is found in faith and not in works. 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:45.520 Abraham, if you're familiar with the story of Abraham, you often may hear songs like, Oh, Abraham who had many sons. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.240 You may hear about Abraham being the father of the faith. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:59.120 The reason why we make that statement is because we see for the first time in scripture that that true salvation, that true righteousness is not found in behavior, it's found in belief. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:01.680 And because we believe, it changes our behavior. 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:09.039 It's a radical idea that that religion somehow has gotten wrong, where we often make people believe that you have to behave in order to belong. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:14.000 But the kingdom of God says that you belong well before you behave because of faith. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.319 Abram had set the tone for what that looks like. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:25.759 So now here at verse number seven, it says that then the Lord told him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Kaldines to give you this land as your possession. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:31.360 But Abram replied, Oh sovereign Lord, how can you be how can I be sure that I will actually possess it? 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:40.079 The Lord told him, Bring me a three-year-old heifer, uh, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, turtle dove, and a young pigeon. 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:44.480 So Abram presented all these things to him and killed them. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:49.279 He cut each animal down the middle and laid them in halves by the side. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:51.680 But he did not, however, cut the birds in half. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:54.639 I know that's a little grotesque, it's a little barbaric, it's old testament. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:56.240 Thank God Peter wasn't back then. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:57.839 But but here's here's the point. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:02.079 The point was that God was trying to establish this idea of what a covenant is. 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:05.680 Whenever a covenant was established, it required the cutting of something. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:10.879 And then what would happen is God would come in and he would walk in the middle of the sacrifice. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:17.360 And what he was saying is, if I don't fulfill my word, what has happened to the animals, let that happen to me. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:27.600 That was the way of God saying, I'm so committed to what I'm saying that as we slaughter these animals, if I don't come through on my promise, then let what happened to those animals happen to me. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:38.800 This is why when we see the ultimate, um, the ultimate culmination of Jesus' death on the cross, it should give us some encouragement because Jesus' death on the cross was the ultimate culmination of the perfect sacrifice. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:48.879 So when we come to church, when we have moments where we're feeling a little bit weak, we should be encouraged in knowing that if God doesn't fulfill what he says he's going to do, then what has happened to Jesus is going to happen to him. 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:50.480 That's encouraging. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:58.879 That's how covenants are established, that God is so, so faithful to his word that he's willing to literally put his existence on the line if he doesn't follow through. 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:06.800 Aren't you grateful that we serve a God that is willing to send such a strong message to us and saying that I am for you and that I am with you? 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:15.519 Verse number 11, our last verse, it says this, and some vultures swoop down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:28.399 Today I want to talk to us a little bit about those moments when when the word of God, the person of God, the leading and prompting of God encounters our reality and it requires us to make some adjustments to bring ourselves into alignment. 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.560 If you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.160 My topic for today is entitled Shift Gears. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:34.959 Let's pray. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:37.439 Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word. 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:38.959 We thank you for your people. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:43.199 We thank you for this community, and we thank you for moments like this where we can come together and honor you. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:50.480 Lord, I pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you, open ears to hear you, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.600 Holy Spirit, we invite you uh to challenge us, to confront us, to encourage us, and to lead us. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:57.360 It's in Jesus' name that we pray. 00:06:57.680 --> 00:06:58.319 Amen. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:00.399 And amen. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:13.759 I've been I've been thinking a little bit about just different moments in my life that I consider to kind of serve as milestones as I'm trying to do a better job at communicating to my children different things that I found important when I was coming up. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:19.040 And I still remember vividly that that moment when I feel like I shifted into a new dimension. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:25.279 And that is when I went to the car dealership and bought my first brand new car, no co-signer, all on my own. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:26.480 Boy had good credit. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:32.240 And it was 1996 to be exact, and it was a Volkswagen Jetta. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:34.079 You couldn't tell me nothing. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:39.120 Cream interior, sunroof, had the rims, had the system, had the speakers you could hear for blocks. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:39.920 That's how I got Megan. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.839 Megan saw me and was like, okay, that's gonna be my husband. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:45.279 Like it was, you, your boy, your boy was your boy was on one. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:53.519 But so I I remember that moment when I when I knew that I wanted to go and get this vehicle, but I also knew that I wanted to get a stick shift. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:55.600 Anybody in here remember what a manual transmission is? 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:57.920 Stick shift, anybody old enough to remember what those are? 00:07:58.079 --> 00:07:58.560 Very few. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:00.639 If you Google it, it'll show you what that looks like. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:07.439 Um, but a manual transmission is where you actually have control of the power, but it requires you to put some things into gear. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:08.319 Here's the problem. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:17.120 I I didn't know how to drive a stick shift, but something in my mind told me that when you have manual transmission, that when you can drive a stick shift, that then you are indeed a real man. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:21.759 I felt like it was something about it that's like anybody can drive an automatic, a real man can drive a stick shift. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:24.000 So I went to the I went to the library. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:26.319 Um anybody remember what libraries are? 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:28.000 A couple of us, couple of us. 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:31.199 Um so if you imagine Google, put it in a building, that's what libraries were. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:39.440 So at the time there was no Google, so I went to um a library and checked out a book on how to actually drive a manual transmission. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:40.960 Like that's how dedicated I was. 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:44.480 So I read the chapters on it, understanding the sequences and nuances of it. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:45.360 So then I'm ready. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:50.399 I go to the car dealership, I'm talking with the um salesman, and I say, Okay, this is the car that I want. 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:53.440 This is exactly what I'm looking for, um, but I don't know how to drive it. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:54.720 He said, Oh, no problem. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:59.759 So he takes me to the back parking lot and he allows me to drive around while I'm trying to figure it out. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:04.399 I'm butchering this clutch, I'm I'm grinding the gears, I'm stalling out nonstop. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:06.480 Like it was it was absolutely awful. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:10.559 But I finally begin to kind of eventually get my get my rhythm. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:12.159 Um, I get into second gear. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:17.120 I'm able to get into third gear, but because like we're in a back parking lot, you can only go um but so fast. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:18.399 So I figured that all out. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:20.559 I'm like, okay, he's like, are you ready to sign the paperwork? 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:23.440 I'm like, yes, but not for that car because that clutch is done. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:25.600 Go get me another one, and then I'll meet you inside the office. 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:26.879 And he absolutely did it. 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:28.240 So we sign the paperwork. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:29.679 I'm filled with so much excitement. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:32.960 I feel like a grown man, and now the moment of truth happens. 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:37.279 I'm pulling off the lot and I'm thinking to myself, what in the world have I done? 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:42.000 I have a 45-minute drive and I have no clue of how I'm gonna get home. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:44.559 I have no idea, honestly, what I'm doing. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:47.120 Like this is literally where the rubber hits the road. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:55.840 I pull out and and I'm and I'm driving and I'm figuring out first gear, get into second gear, and then I'm I'm stalling out sometimes because I'm forgetting to hit the clutch when I'm coming to a stop. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:57.759 It's it's a it's a messy process. 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:01.200 But then the most terrifying thing in the world happens. 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:09.120 And that is that moment when you find yourself on a hill and somebody is all up on your bumper, like, bro, give me six feet. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:11.679 I know we're not in the middle of the pandemic, but give me a little bit of space. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:19.679 So now I'm on this hill, this car is really close up on my bumper, so I gotta put my foot ultimately all the way on the gas to try to get out and I spin out. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:22.960 It's like fast and furious before they went into space. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:28.879 Um okay, so so so I'm this I'm I'm I'm so I'm trying to figure it out. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:32.000 So I'm I'm driving and I'm like, okay, I'm I'm getting my sequences down. 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:34.960 But then there's this other moment where I had to get on the highway. 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:43.279 And here's the thing up to that point, I've gotten fairly decent at the hills, I got fairly decent at stopping and not stalling out, but now I gotta get onto the highway. 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.879 And so I get onto the highway, I get it into third gear, and your boy is good. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:49.759 I take my hand off the wheel, I mean, off not off the wheel, that would be terrible. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:53.919 I take my hand off of the stick shift, and now I'm driving. 00:10:54.080 --> 00:11:01.600 But as I'm driving, I'm recognizing now I'm trying to keep up with traffic, and the engine starts getting louder and louder because I'm not in gear. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:05.120 So I didn't realize that, hey, it goes beyond third gear. 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:06.320 So I'm like, oh, snap. 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:13.919 So like after a while and the car is like shaking and and and like things that a new car should just not do, I finally realized, oh, there's other gears I gotta shift into. 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:17.759 So I shifted to fourth gear, fifth gear, and then things got a lot smoother. 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:26.480 See, when I was reading the books, all the things that I read, I was I was intellectually trying to check off all the boxes, but when it came to shifting gears, I just had to feel it. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.559 There's some things you just gotta feel it for yourself. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.840 That it doesn't translate on books, it doesn't translate in what other people say. 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:33.440 Like you just gotta feel it for yourself. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:39.600 So I am grinding the gears, but I finally got to a place where I learned how to feel when it was time to shift gears. 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:44.720 Because here's the important thing about shifting gears you have to shift gear to engage where the power is. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:57.120 See, when you're when you're not in the right gear, the problem is there's another power, there's another, there's another thing that you have access to, but as long as you're in the wrong gear, you're capping out your potential. 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:13.600 The truth of the matter is I recognize that there's many of us that we have recognized that there's moments in our lives that we are not in gear, that there's areas of our lives where we're in neutral, there's areas of our lives where we can't seem to get out of second gear, and no matter what we try to do, it seems like we're stuck there. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:30.080 But I believe that my assignment here today is to encourage you that it is time for you to shift gears, that God has given you permission to shift gears, that grace, you have the grace to shift gears, that there's a moment that we all recognize where you just gotta feel that I can't stay here any longer. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:31.840 I can't be in this place any longer. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:34.159 It is time for me to shift gears. 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:37.279 I have to shift gears to engage where the power is. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:40.960 This is what God is ultimately encouraging every single one of us. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:49.519 And I believe I'm talking to one of three people, those of us who are in neutral, where we're not in any gear, and we're just allowing the winds and the waves and the hills to determine our momentum. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:57.919 I think there's other of us who are maybe in first gear, second gear, but we can't seem to get out of that gear that we're in, that gear of comfort, because God wants to do a new thing in us. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:08.720 We're not engaging the power of God, but I also believe there's some of us who are in a gear too high, stalling out on the verge of burning out because we're trying to we're trying to accomplish something that God didn't give us the grace to do. 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:13.519 It's possible to be out of gray out of gear when our ambition outpaces our grace. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:19.759 And just because you have to downshift to engage where the power is, doesn't mean you have to downgrade your dreams. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:26.799 Sometimes you need to right size where you are to engage where the power of God is instead of allowing your ambition to outpace grace. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:31.919 But I believe that God has sent me here to tell you this it is time for you to get it into gear. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:36.720 It is time for you to begin to move forward, it is time for you to shift gears. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:42.559 This is really ultimately what we're talking about when we look at this passage that we find ourselves in. 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:48.559 That we find ourselves looking at Abram, who up to this point has had a very challenging life. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:55.440 He was called by God, he was called to do some amazing things, called to have uh children and all the impact he was called to do. 00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:00.639 But ultimately, everything that God called him to do became the very areas that he faced resistance in. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:04.720 He was dealing with tension with his family when God said you're gonna have an increase of family. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:08.080 He was dealing with tension with resources when God said you're gonna be abundantly blessed. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:18.080 Is it interesting that there's moments where we hear a word from God and then we begin to recognize that the very thing that he promises that he's gonna give us is the thing that seems the most absent right now. 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.240 Abram's at a point where he's he's understandably exhausted. 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:29.840 Abram's at a point where after many years of waiting for the promises of God to come to fruition, that he just hasn't seen it in his life. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:33.600 He just came back from going to war and he's understandably exhausted. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:39.440 So when God speaks to him, when God shows up to him, God begins the conversation by doing a couple of things. 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:42.799 The first thing he does is he reminds him that he's blessed. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:46.080 But Abram can't reconcile the word of God with his reality. 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:52.399 But then God begins to follow up with this statement I am the God who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:54.399 Here's why that's so significant. 00:14:54.559 --> 00:15:00.240 Because God was giving him coded language to say, remember when you were trapped in paganism and you were away from me. 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:04.480 Remember when you were destitute, remember when you didn't have any promises. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.039 I'm the God who led you from a place of bondage. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:09.120 I'm the God who led you to a place of victory. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:11.679 I'm the God that led you through Egypt, that gave you provision. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:19.360 I'm the God that also allowed that even when your nephew Lot was taken hostage, for you to successfully go and be victorious and retrieving him. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:25.039 I am the same God who has brought you through all these other seasons, and I'm the same God that is with you right now. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:29.679 I believe that is a message for somebody right now, because right now we are looking at what we don't have. 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:34.240 But I believe that I'm here to tell you that he's the same God that brought you out of that broken relationship. 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:40.320 He's the same God that brought you healing, he's the same God that gave you the job you had before, so he's gonna give you the job that you're gonna have next. 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:44.080 That he's the same God that has brought you through things that you never thought you would survive. 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:47.679 He is the same God, and those are the things that we anchor our faith in. 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:52.399 That if God did it for them, if God did it then, then God is with me now and he's gonna do it for my future. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:53.919 He is the same God. 00:15:54.639 --> 00:16:03.440 This is the this is the moment where Abram is now confronted with the power and presence of God, and God begins to speak some words to him, that's gonna require him to have to shift gears. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:09.840 I believe that this is a a description of what happens with with Abram, but I believe it's also a prescription of what we need to do. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.159 I want you to write these three things down that I think can be an encouragement for you. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:19.679 Here's the first thing that we gotta do if we're really trying to make room for God and shift and get things into gear. 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:21.679 We have to shift our walk. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.039 We have to shift the way that we walk. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:33.120 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 7 says that we walk by faith and not by sight. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:39.360 That's the instruction of God's word that there's there's a place where we walk by faith and not by sight. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:48.799 You know, as I'm I'm looking at my my life right now, and this past Friday we had uh the privilege of celebrating my son Caleb's 18th birthday. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.879 That that boy's a man now. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:52.240 That's right. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:56.240 He's at that age now where you gotta start chipping in type vibes. 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:02.320 And but but for me, it's it's it's wild to me because I still remember when we when we brought him home. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:09.200 And and I remember just like this growth process, and one of the things that that I vividly remember is when he first learned how to walk. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:11.039 But I mean he was a he was a terror. 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:11.920 Let's just be clear. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:16.400 He was a terror, like he was all over the house just tearing stuff up, and he completely skipped the crawling process. 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:22.079 Like Meg and I thought we had a little bit more time, but he skipped crawling, went from his back to straight running through the house, ransacking everything. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:27.200 And so I remember those moments where he was completely fearless, like unstoppable. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:28.960 You couldn't tell this boy nothing. 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:32.400 And so even when he would look at the steps, like he's like, okay, good, I got that. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:33.440 But it's inevitable. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:36.319 Every parent's fear, but also every parent's reality. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:44.319 There's a moment where you're not looking, you turn your head for a second, he's up on like the second step, and then he's not paying attention in his little infant way, and he falls down. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:50.400 And when he falls down, like it's immediate, like it's like the biggest crisis, where like we're wondering if we need to rush him to ER, none of that stuff. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:51.680 He just slid on the step. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:53.039 But he was so scared. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:54.799 He's so small, he was so scared. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:56.960 But but here's the fascinating thing that took place. 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:03.519 I remember since that moment, even at a young age, his brain was like, cool, steps mean pain. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:13.039 So where he used to walk so confidently around our house, the steps became this thing, this object that was that was interestingly enough a reminder of where he experienced pain. 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:16.799 So where he used to walk confidently, he began to walk in fear. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:26.559 Isn't it interesting sometimes in our lives where if we experience enough pain, if we experience enough disappointment, it changes the way that we walk around things. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:34.400 Like if you're in, if you have, if you've experienced like a heartbreak in a relationship, it changes the way that you walk around relationships. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:39.680 If you've experienced betrayal, it changes the way that you interact with people. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:46.000 Your your walls begin to go up, and then we begin to make statements such as this I will never let anyone hurt me like that again. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:48.799 I'll never let something like that happen to me again. 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:50.720 I'll I'll never go through something like that again. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:56.880 Like I've learned from it, I've grown from it, and I'm gonna put these boundaries in place to ensure that it never happens again. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:00.480 While I understand that, here's the problem that that's connected to that. 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:04.319 The problem with that is what we've just done is we've created an inner vow. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:08.319 And what an inner vow is, is a promise that doesn't include the grace of God. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:18.400 So then we have this vow, this commitment that even when God sends people into our lives, we're making them pay the bill that their past has already made the bill for. 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:27.279 We're making them pay for the sins of the past, we're making them pay for the pain of the past because we have these barriers and it changes the way that we walk around things. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:33.599 Abram from Genesis 12, he hears a word from God and immediately gets up and begins to follow God. 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:43.279 But after experiencing enough disappointment, when God confronts him again, Abram is like, Look, man, I followed you, I left, I left the call deeds, I left the home of my father. 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:45.119 I got I've I followed you. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:48.880 But now that I've dealt with so much disappointment, I'm walking differently now. 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:58.559 I'm walking more cautiously now, I'm walking more fearfully now, I'm walking with a little more anxiousness now, I'm walking with a little bit more, um, with a little bit more hesitancy now. 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:09.039 And now what can happen in those moments is where we used once to have this idea is that I walk by faith because God said it, we begin to say, I will walk once I see it, and then I'll believe it. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:14.079 When I see it, then I'll start walking in it, and then when I start walking in it, that's when I'll start to believe it. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:20.160 But the the will of God for all of our lives is that we are called to believe it and walk until we see it. 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:22.720 Such a huge difference. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.279 We have to change the way that we walk. 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:28.960 We have to shift into being people that walk by faith. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:33.599 The question that I have for you what is the thing that you need to shift the way that you walk in? 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:49.599 Whether the barricades that you put into your life because of past pain that has changed the way that you walk, or you don't walk with confidence, you don't walk with boldness, you don't walk with anticipation, you don't walk with anticipation, you don't walk with well, you don't walk with a vision for the future, you're walking fearful because of the pain of the past. 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:51.759 And I believe that's not the God's best for your life. 00:20:52.079 --> 00:21:01.039 God wants you to have wisdom, he wants you to certainly consult other folks to give you a perspective of what he wants to do in your life, but he doesn't want us to walk by fear, he wants us to walk by faith. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:05.440 We're gonna have to shift into being people that changes the way that we walk. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:10.480 The second thing I want to share with us is that we have to shift our mindset. 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:13.599 We have to shift our mindset. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:23.920 Romans chapter 12, verse number two says that do not be conformed to the image of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.359 Let me give us a breakdown with that, what it's ultimately saying. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:30.160 We are made in the image of God. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:37.200 But what it says is that after we live long enough, we then begin to be conformed into the image of the world. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:39.279 Here's what that ultimately means. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:44.000 To be conformed means to be molded to the pattern, molded to the pattern. 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:51.279 So when we were created, we're created to be a representation of God's love, his character, his nature to a world that needs to see it. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:58.799 But after we live long enough, we can then begin to compartmentalize and begin to fit into the molded patterns of the world. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:02.240 We begin to Live according to the patterns of our parents. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:06.960 We begin to live according to the parents that to the patterns of our philosophies. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:10.960 And dare I say, we begin to live according to the patterns of our politics. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:16.160 We allow those things to then begin to cause us to be conformed to the image of the world. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:21.839 But the Bible says that we are called to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:24.720 It's actually talking about our mindset. 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:30.079 Because our mind is what we think, our mindset is how we think. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:32.079 How we think. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:33.920 How do I think about these things? 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:38.480 It's not what I think in a moment, because it's easy to convince someone to change their mind in a moment. 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:43.680 Changing their mindset is changing the way that someone thinks altogether about a specific thing. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:52.559 If you talk to anyone who may have been walking with God for any period of time, they may have had a mind set on one thing, but then after enough time, they begin to change their mindset. 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:53.839 I see this differently now. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.359 I think about this differently now. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:57.839 I have a different perspective on this now. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:59.680 Our brains are so powerful. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:01.119 They're like supercomputers. 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:09.119 And what ultimately happens after much repetition, what ends up happening is our brains create these neural pathways that are a reflection of our behaviors. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:16.319 But the Bible says that if we have unhealthy pathways, unhealthy exposure, it creates unhealthy patterns. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:23.759 But the Bible also instructs us that it's possible to create new pathways, to create new patterns, to have a new way that we think about things. 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:27.680 But that only happens through repetition and adequate exposure. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:36.400 We gotta see something different, and then we have to repeat it over and over again, and then it actually carves out a new neural pathway in order for us to begin to establish new rhythms. 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:39.759 And they literally say that it's 21 days to establish a new habit. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:40.880 Maybe you've heard that before. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:43.759 What that means is it's establishing a new mindset. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:46.079 Where the first day you go to the gym, it's awful. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:52.960 But after you've been doing it consistently, your mindset shifts, and then what you used to hate becomes something that's a rhythm that for you to do. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:57.519 This is why we engage God's word daily, because it helps to renew our mindset. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:02.240 This is the reason why we're connected to community, because it allows us to re-engage our mindset. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:12.160 This is why, even in this season of pandemic, we have so many folks that when a pandemic shut down going to church, it changed people's mindset on the value of gathering together with believers. 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:23.599 So now we're in the process of trying to help people to re-engage and shift their mindset and understanding the value of coming together with the body of saints instead of allowing that season of the past to be the way that we think. 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:25.519 God has called us to gather together. 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:30.319 It's making sure that we understand that we have to renew our mindset. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:34.400 See, the thing is that Abram had a very linear mindset. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:41.920 He's looking at his reality and he's saying, I'm getting old, I don't have a child, so I'm gonna have to adopt somebody else and allow them to inherit everything that I have. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:47.119 But God says, I need to show you something different, I need to give you a different perspective. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:52.240 So God walks him outside and then tells him to look up into the sky. 00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:58.319 That God had to expose him to something different because it's so hard to have dreams beyond what you've seen. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:07.359 So God had to expose him to something different to give him a different mindset, to begin to establish his vision beyond just thinking the way that he was thinking. 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:15.680 What many believe is that because there was no light pollution, that when Abraham looked up into this night sky, that he would have seen over a trillion stars. 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:19.440 That's inclusive of the Milky Way galaxy and the Adramada galaxy. 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:20.799 Imagine that for a moment. 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:27.119 Abram was so busy thinking about the one child he was looking for, and God was saying, I literally have trillions for you. 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:31.680 Isn't it beautiful to know that God's dream for us is bigger than our dream for ourselves? 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:36.559 Isn't it amazing to know that God's vision for us is so much bigger than our vision for ourselves? 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:39.839 That God's vision for us is always going to be bigger than our comfort. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:42.480 God takes him outside and tells him to look up. 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:46.240 I got so much more for you, but you have to change your mindset. 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:48.799 You have to change the way that you think about some things. 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:51.119 It's so hard to have a vision in a dark room. 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:55.680 So God takes him out of his comfort zone and shows him something beyond he can ask or think. 00:25:55.839 --> 00:26:03.759 This is what Paul's talking about when he says, Eyes haven't seen and ears haven't heard, and neither has entered into the hearts of men what God has prepared for those who love him. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.599 I believe that that's a prophetic word for some of us right now because we've been in neutral. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:11.440 There's been some things that we've downsized a little bit and we began to downgrade our dreams. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:15.759 But just because the job didn't work out, because the business didn't work out, stop thinking so small. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:19.359 God is saying, I want to get you out of your comfort zone and I want to show you something bigger. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:25.759 Look up into the sky, fix your eyes on Jesus and allow that to be the foundation that fuels your dreams and your imagination. 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:28.000 This is what God is inspiring His people to do. 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:32.720 I want you to shift the way that you walk, but I also need you to shift your mindset. 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:36.160 Here's the third and final thing I want to share with us. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:39.680 That we also need to shift our ways. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:42.240 Shift our ways. 00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:48.480 We all have ways that we like to do things, we all have ways that we like to function. 00:26:48.880 --> 00:27:02.079 But many of us know, according to Jeremiah chapter 6, verse 16, that God's ways are not our ways, that God's thoughts are not our thoughts, that God's way of doing things is always gonna be different than our preferred way of doing things. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:06.640 If you look at the teachings of Jesus, it's always going counter to the culture. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:13.680 When you look at his teaching of Beatitudes, he actually starts the phrases off like, You have heard it said this, but I say unto you this. 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:23.599 What he's doing is he's saying that you have a way that you've been told you're gonna accomplish these things, but let me update your program and let me show you the way that it's actually going to come to pass. 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:28.160 He says, I have a different way that I want to show you how things are going to take place. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:35.119 Changing, changing our ways, understanding that God has a different methodology than what we have. 00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:40.480 I I remember in my house um a few months ago where I caught myself trying to help out around a house. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:47.119 So I decided I took it upon myself, I'm gonna do the dishes and I'm also going to wash all of the clothes. 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.359 Big mistake. 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:52.720 Because apparently there's a right way to do it. 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:55.039 And by right way, I mean Megan's way. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:59.279 And apparently, Megan's way in the right way seems to be beautifully synonymous. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:00.720 It's interesting how that works. 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:07.680 Um, so I do it my way, but then there's a moment where Megan comes home and she's like, What in the world has happened? 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:12.400 Again, scripture, there's a way that seems right, but it ends in destruction. 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:15.680 Everything that I thought was a good idea, it turns out that it wasn't a good idea. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:18.480 I thought putting the dishes up this way was good enough. 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:20.480 No, apparently there's a certain way you gotta do it. 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:21.839 Hanging the clothes up aren't good enough. 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:23.920 I gotta color code the hangers that they get hung up on. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:27.759 Like, you guys pray for your pastor because it's not easy in a Pittman household. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:29.519 There's a way to do things. 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:34.240 I'm talking to some of my husbands out there who were too afraid to show me, but I know in solidarity you're with me. 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.759 Those things, those moments, there's one because this wife isn't here. 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:39.839 Um I know what you're doing. 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:40.559 I know what you're doing. 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:42.000 I won't even let her know it was you. 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:45.279 Um but there's a way that seems right. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:50.319 As funny as that is, there's so many ways that we think seems right in our own lives. 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:58.240 There's ways that we think are the best way to do things, but God will often interrupt our regularly scheduled program and say, okay, that's great, but here is my way. 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:00.559 My way is always going to be the better way. 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.680 Abram was used to doing sacrifices up to this point. 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:05.200 He's done them multiple times. 00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:10.400 He's actually accredited for being the individual who's built the most altars where sacrifices took place. 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:17.200 He's had his own rhythm and method of doing them, but in this instance, God tells him specifically the way that he wants it done. 00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:23.680 Bring me the cows, bring me the goat, bring me the ram, bring me uh the pigeons, and bring me a dove. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:25.200 And this is how I want it done. 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:28.240 This is the way I want it done. 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:32.240 Abram was no longer able to just do it whatever way he wants. 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:36.640 Sometimes I think that we allow grace to negate discipline. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:39.680 The grace of God is there, so that means I can do whatever I want. 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:42.559 God is a God of grace, but he's also a God of standards. 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:46.720 There's a way that he wants things done, there's a way that we honor him. 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:55.599 There's this moment where Abram lays out these sacrifices before God and is meant to usher in the presence of God. 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:58.000 But something very interesting takes place. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:05.599 Scripture says that that birds of prey sweep down and they begin to try to eat the carcasses. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:09.759 Birds of prey, they're they're they're they're nourished on death. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:14.880 It's not life-giving, like I eat and I'm nourished by the things that are causing destruction. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:16.960 They they're nourished on toxicity. 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:19.839 Now, stick with me for a moment. 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:26.000 Abram had laid these things out to give it to God, but it brought in the attention of the enemy. 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:33.039 Have you ever had a moment where you've laid something out to give it to God, but it seems to attract the enemy's attention? 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:37.519 You've you've laid your marriage out to honor God, but the enemy seems to swoop in on it. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.359 You've you've laid your finances out to honor God, but the enemy swoops in on it. 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:44.480 You you've laid your time out to give it to God, and the enemy swoops in on it. 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:55.039 Even our appetites during this time of fasting and praying, we lay it out to give it to God, and literally every commercial dealing with every food that you've ever wanted to eat all seems to inundate us all at the same time. 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:59.200 Here's the point the enemy is attracted to the things that belong to God. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:11.920 The Bible says that when Abram sees this, that he recognizes that the enemy is trying to consume what's supposed to bring God glory, and he makes a decision, a calculated decision, to drive the enemy away. 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:16.960 He he didn't go onto he didn't go onto Facebook or Instagram to consult a bunch of opinions. 00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:20.480 He he didn't go onto Google, he didn't consult what anybody else had to say. 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:26.079