WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:05.280 So in the last couple of weeks, we've if you have a Bible, we're going to be in Genesis 12 and 13. 00:00:05.300 --> 00:00:12.320 the last couple of weeks, we examined first how God called Abraham out of the land of, er, he and his family and 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:14.380 Abraham had a faithful response. 00:00:14.820 --> 00:00:16.700 He was faithful to that response. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:24.920 But then as you continue reading in chapter 12, you see that the wills quickly begin to fall off of God's or 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:28.600 Abraham's, uh, following God's call. 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:35.080 they on their way, they come to a place called Haran, which is a was a place that was very comfortable to them. 00:00:35.080 --> 00:00:37.320 They had the same kind of cultural lifestyles as ur. 00:00:37.760 --> 00:00:40.680 And so they just kind of, I think all of us have done that. 00:00:41.180 --> 00:00:45.570 We get to a place and you begin to justify, maybe we'll just hang out here for a while. 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:53.180 And so even though he was called to the land of Canaan, so he was called out of ur to the land of Canaan, he and his family settled 00:00:53.180 --> 00:00:53.740 in her. 00:00:54.020 --> 00:01:01.380 And God graciously, began to move on him and get him out of that and back to the to 00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:02.740 his call to the land of Canaan. 00:01:03.740 --> 00:01:07.940 and as he was going into Canaan, he heard that there was a famine in the land, in the land of Canaan. 00:01:09.060 --> 00:01:14.340 And so with his eyes and with, what he saw was the best thing to do. 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:18.700 He has a family and all these people looking to him to support for his support. 00:01:19.100 --> 00:01:23.660 He began to see, well, God called me to Canaan, but there's a famine. 00:01:23.660 --> 00:01:24.800 So maybe we should just go to Egypt. 00:01:25.220 --> 00:01:25.540 And so. 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:28.580 Abraham takes his family into Egypt. 00:01:29.220 --> 00:01:33.080 And there, Abraham's wife Sarah is there. 00:01:33.180 --> 00:01:34.460 She's beautiful. 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:35.860 And he begins to think, you know what? 00:01:35.860 --> 00:01:40.100 Pharaoh, the leader of Egypt, might think that, you're very attractive, Sarah. 00:01:40.100 --> 00:01:45.170 So maybe you should just tell him you're my sister so my life will be spared. 00:01:46.080 --> 00:01:49.480 Not exactly the message to be preached on Valentine's weekend, right? 00:01:50.720 --> 00:01:53.400 So a little lack of integrity there. 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:55.540 And so they do that Pharaoh sees her. 00:01:55.540 --> 00:01:56.220 She's beautiful. 00:01:56.320 --> 00:01:57.060 She brings him into the house. 00:01:57.260 --> 00:02:05.080 But graciously and mercifully, God continues to in spite of Abraham's disobedience, he continues to work 00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:05.870 in his life. 00:02:06.580 --> 00:02:13.620 And miraculously, as we found out last week, delivers him and his family from his bad 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:16.250 the consequences of his poor choices. 00:02:16.720 --> 00:02:16.940 Right? 00:02:16.940 --> 00:02:21.700 God smites Pharaoh with all these different plagues and stuff and. 00:02:22.760 --> 00:02:24.300 Farrell starts looking around going, what's going on? 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:28.620 He ends up finding out that Abraham set this thing up about his wife, Sarah. 00:02:28.640 --> 00:02:29.980 And so he's like, just leave. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:30.860 Go. 00:02:31.260 --> 00:02:31.640 Right. 00:02:31.720 --> 00:02:37.390 So God mercifully and gracefully delivered Abraham and his family out of the consequences. 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:41.440 And then we pick up today at the beginning of Genesis chapter 13. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:48.400 this is Abraham coming out of Egypt and going back to what he was originally called for, right? 00:02:48.940 --> 00:02:50.670 Taking his family to the land of Canaan. 00:02:51.480 --> 00:02:52.900 And so we'll pick up the verses here. 00:02:54.640 --> 00:02:59.400 In Genesis 13 one says, Then Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.020 He, his wife, and all he had in lot with him. 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:07.980 Lot's his nephew Abraham was very rich in livestock, silver and gold. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:15.700 He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and AI, where his tent had formerly been, 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:18.350 and so on his way he was in Iran. 00:03:18.440 --> 00:03:25.460 He had stopped in a place between Bethel, and I built an altar to the Lord in back in Genesis 12, and worshiped the 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:26.060 Lord there. 00:03:26.220 --> 00:03:27.020 But he was in the wrong place. 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:35.900 But he has gone back to where he originally started, before he left Haran and bypassed 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:41.440 Canaan and went to Egypt instead, still turning away from God's call to Canaan. 00:03:41.880 --> 00:03:46.890 So he went back to the place where he followed him, to the site where he had built the altar. 00:03:46.940 --> 00:03:48.420 And Abraham worshiped the Lord there. 00:03:50.540 --> 00:03:57.620 And it goes on to say, now lot, who was traveling with Abraham, also had flocks, herds, and tents, but the land was unable to support them as long 00:03:57.620 --> 00:03:58.240 as they stayed. 00:03:59.640 --> 00:04:03.200 Together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together. 00:04:04.200 --> 00:04:10.080 And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abraham's livestock and the herdsmen of lot's livestock. 00:04:11.440 --> 00:04:14.300 Now lot, who was traveling with Abraham, also had flocks and herds. 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:22.340 And then Abraham said to the lot, please let us not have quarreling between you and me and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we 00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:23.440 were we are relatives. 00:04:24.760 --> 00:04:26.160 Isn't the whole land before you? 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:27.480 Abraham asked lot. 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:29.510 He says separate from me. 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:31.520 If you go to the left, I will go to the right. 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:33.460 If you go to the right, I will go to the left. 00:04:34.900 --> 00:04:37.500 So lot chose the entire Jordan Valley for himself. 00:04:38.440 --> 00:04:42.180 Then lot journeyed eastward and they separated from each other. 00:04:42.860 --> 00:04:44.620 Abraham lived in the land of Canaan. 00:04:45.080 --> 00:04:45.920 That's where he belongs. 00:04:46.820 --> 00:04:50.810 But lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom. 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:54.860 Now the men of Sodom were evil and sinning greatly against the Lord. 00:04:56.700 --> 00:05:02.680 After lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abraham, look from the place where you are. 00:05:03.080 --> 00:05:10.420 Look north and south and east and west, for I will give you and your offspring forever all 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:11.300 the land that you see. 00:05:12.140 --> 00:05:14.760 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:21.840 That is a lot of offspring, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:32.140 So here's this picture of God graciously and mercifully rescuing Abraham and his family 00:05:32.140 --> 00:05:39.240 out of Egypt due to Abraham's poor choices and lack of integrity and 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:39.990 all those things. 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:41.640 And. 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:43.960 delivering him to the land of Canaan. 00:05:43.960 --> 00:05:50.560 And then we see there's still issues and trials and tribulations going on in Abraham's life, in spite of following God's call. 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:51.680 And so we can see that there. 00:05:52.860 --> 00:05:56.480 But I just want to back up a moment, and we want to try to apply these things to our own lives. 00:05:57.340 --> 00:05:57.560 Okay. 00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:05.180 And the first way I want to try to do that help you guys do that is just kind of give you a personal illustration of what happened to me. 00:06:05.260 --> 00:06:09.170 I got the Lord, uh, opened my eyes. 00:06:09.520 --> 00:06:11.140 the gospel was preached. 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:17.060 I recognized that in my own strength and my own righteousness, I was nothing for God. 00:06:17.140 --> 00:06:21.640 I could do nothing in my own to work my way to a relationship with God. 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:27.800 And I had to trust and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:34.860 That Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for my sin, and on that cross God poured out his wrath 00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:41.030 for my sin and delivered me that I would get Christ's righteousness instead. 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:44.640 That was preached to me. 00:06:45.940 --> 00:06:52.320 And, I often say it was kind of like a body slam that day back in 2004. 00:06:52.620 --> 00:07:00.520 I had tried most of my young adulthood to pursue after God by trying to clean up my own act, doing 00:07:00.520 --> 00:07:02.640 the things that I thought I needed to do. 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:03.800 So then he would accept me. 00:07:04.940 --> 00:07:12.020 And when the gospel is preached, I realized that there was nothing I could do, that I just had to turn and place my faith and trust in 00:07:12.020 --> 00:07:14.470 Christ and his accomplished work on the cross. 00:07:14.780 --> 00:07:15.320 Cross alone. 00:07:15.940 --> 00:07:18.810 And when that happened, I became very zealous. 00:07:18.960 --> 00:07:22.250 Most people who knew me back then would say overly zealous. 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:23.470 You know what I mean? 00:07:24.960 --> 00:07:32.300 one of the most amazing things that happened to me, because when that happens, the scriptures say that the Spirit of God comes in and seals 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:34.900 you to God and adopts you into his family and gives you a new heart. 00:07:36.100 --> 00:07:38.220 And so you're made alive unto God. 00:07:38.280 --> 00:07:43.040 Your separation from God is now been joined back to him through the accomplished work of Christ. 00:07:44.760 --> 00:07:51.840 And when that happened, this book, this Bible that I've carried around, carried around all my life up until 00:07:51.840 --> 00:07:52.240 then. 00:07:53.020 --> 00:07:54.840 I could barely get through a chapter without falling asleep. 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:56.600 Became alive. 00:07:58.740 --> 00:07:59.980 The words were just jumping out. 00:08:00.280 --> 00:08:01.260 It just was amazing. 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:05.480 God, the spirit was just illuminating me to his truth. 00:08:06.180 --> 00:08:13.220 Everywhere I read and very early on in my walk after being saved, I think 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:19.360 my pastor was preaching on Hebrews 11, but it got me focused in on Hebrews chapter 11. 00:08:19.400 --> 00:08:23.420 And a lot of people call this it might be in your Bible, the Hall of Faith of the chapter of Faith. 00:08:23.780 --> 00:08:28.240 It has a list of all these people who by faith follow God and did all these marvelous things for God. 00:08:28.580 --> 00:08:33.720 And again, I was this overly zealous guy who had just been saved by the grace of Christ. 00:08:33.780 --> 00:08:35.650 And I said, I want to be that guy. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:37.640 I want to do great things for God. 00:08:37.780 --> 00:08:38.640 I want to be a man of faith. 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:41.020 I want to be one of those guys. 00:08:42.760 --> 00:08:49.880 But the problem was, is I was thinking it was me who did it, and it was in my power 00:08:50.060 --> 00:08:57.240 and in my strength that I would get all this faith, that my faith, if I just worked hard enough, my faith would increase and I'd be this 00:08:57.240 --> 00:08:58.260 great person of faith. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:00.880 Just like these people that are listed in the Hall of Faith. 00:09:01.680 --> 00:09:02.490 And I was terribly wrong. 00:09:04.380 --> 00:09:07.720 As we examined the life of Abraham. 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:09.920 I guess I didn't read that. 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:10.400 Did I? 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:12.060 Go back? 00:09:12.680 --> 00:09:18.530 So here in Hebrews 11, this is the section that talks about Abraham's great faith, this great person of faith. 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:24.840 By faith Abraham went, he was called, obeyed, and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:27.270 He went out not knowing where he was going. 00:09:27.660 --> 00:09:33.620 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob coheirs of the same promise. 00:09:34.380 --> 00:09:38.860 So if you're going to parachute into the New Testament and into Hebrews chapter 11, you see all these people of faith. 00:09:39.260 --> 00:09:45.020 What I was doing is I was parachuting in, and I did not know the Old Testament background of who Abraham was, his story and what he had gone through. 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:53.840 Because Abraham wasn't this great man of faith, this super human being who was perfect, and all this righteousness we see 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:55.300 in Genesis 12. 00:09:55.900 --> 00:09:57.060 He was far from that right. 00:09:58.020 --> 00:09:58.540 He had faults. 00:09:59.320 --> 00:09:59.880 He fell short. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:01.660 Guess what? 00:10:01.660 --> 00:10:02.600 He's just like you and I. 00:10:04.160 --> 00:10:04.640 We all fall short. 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:10.470 We all can't follow God's golf call perfectly in our own strength, on our own power. 00:10:11.940 --> 00:10:15.340 And so Hebrews 11 shows Abraham is this great man of faith. 00:10:16.180 --> 00:10:23.180 But we see through the scriptures that Abraham's faith was grown in him not by his who 00:10:23.180 --> 00:10:26.570 he was, or his own righteousness, or his own intestinal fortitude. 00:10:27.520 --> 00:10:34.520 It was grown through looking to God and trusting in God's promises through his trials and through 00:10:34.520 --> 00:10:35.060 his tribulations. 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:40.920 That's ultimately what Abraham's growth Abraham's faith grew out of. 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:49.620 Learning to rely on God and His strength and his promises through the trials, instead of relying 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:50.840 on our own strength and fortitude. 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:53.900 And so how do we apply that to ourselves? 00:10:54.880 --> 00:10:56.720 That happened thousands of years ago. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:10:58.920 Is this really relevant for us today? 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:00.760 Why we say it is? 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:08.760 Because as we look into this scripture, we see several things that happened in the life of Abraham that caused his faith to grow. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:16.500 And so if we desire to have a great place to grow, have a greater faith grown in us, and a greater reliance 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:23.140 on God in our own lives and our own walks with the Lord, it's not in our own strength and our own power. 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:28.720 It's just as Abraham is has done. 00:11:29.380 --> 00:11:33.560 He goes to the source of the power to grow in faith, and that is the Lord. 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:40.140 So the first thing we see here, if we want to increase our faith, is we need to have a repentance, a life of repentance. 00:11:41.400 --> 00:11:44.420 So Genesis 13 three says, he went. 00:11:45.680 --> 00:11:51.780 That's Abraham to the place between Bethel and AI, where his tent had formerly been, to the site where he had built the altar. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:54.780 And Abraham worshiped there, the Lord there. 00:11:57.140 --> 00:12:00.640 So it's funny how the Lord miraculously delivers them out of Egypt. 00:12:01.380 --> 00:12:01.900 What does he do? 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:03.130 He goes back. 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:06.520 To where he went to the fork in the road. 00:12:06.560 --> 00:12:06.660 Right. 00:12:07.560 --> 00:12:11.500 He went there was on his road to his call to go into the land of Canaan. 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:12.330 He had a fork in the road. 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:13.240 He had a choice to make. 00:12:13.920 --> 00:12:15.520 Do I go where God has called me? 00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:16.270 Where there's a famine? 00:12:16.340 --> 00:12:20.180 Or do I, by my own sight, make my own decision and go to the land of Egypt? 00:12:21.380 --> 00:12:24.870 He goes back to that fork in the road and he doesn't go back. 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:28.460 And he says, doesn't say, I'm going to pick myself up by my own bootstraps. 00:12:28.780 --> 00:12:32.080 I'm going to do a better job, and I'm going to be stronger for my family. 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:34.200 I'm going to increase my faith in God. 00:12:34.900 --> 00:12:35.440 What does he do? 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:38.760 He goes and turns and worships the Lord there. 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:42.180 So important for us. 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:49.680 So important for us that we have to understand that our increase in our faith and reliance on God is not out of our own power, but out of 00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:51.120 the strength of the Lord. 00:12:51.400 --> 00:12:55.000 And how we get that is as we turn our eyes and worship the Lord. 00:12:57.840 --> 00:12:59.300 It's called repentance now. 00:13:00.520 --> 00:13:05.870 We could have a very serious theological debate on the true definition of repentance and what that truly means. 00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:14.040 if you ask 50 people what the definition of repentance is, repentance is, you're going to get 78 answers, right? 00:13:14.180 --> 00:13:15.900 It's different. 00:13:15.900 --> 00:13:23.680 But if you just look at Scripture and allow and see what God is trying to do, what God desires from us, from his people, I 00:13:23.680 --> 00:13:25.520 think it's reduced down very simply. 00:13:26.380 --> 00:13:31.220 He wants us, just like Abraham, to realize we're in a spot in our lives where we can't. 00:13:33.020 --> 00:13:34.160 Proceed without God. 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:38.120 The choices we've made have put us in a terrible situation. 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:39.980 What does Abraham do? 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:41.720 He doesn't try to clean himself up and do. 00:13:42.160 --> 00:13:44.800 He returns and just turns to the Lord. 00:13:45.920 --> 00:13:50.130 And that's what repentance is, ultimately the most simple form. 00:13:50.280 --> 00:13:52.340 And the evangelical world concentrates. 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:57.880 Repentance is usually in the, in the time of salvation where you're walking one way, you're living in the world. 00:13:57.880 --> 00:13:58.360 Maybe you're. 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:01.920 You don't believe in God, or you have defined God in your own terms. 00:14:02.400 --> 00:14:04.580 You're living a world that just pleases you. 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:11.840 And then suddenly someone who loves you gives you the gospel, and you're encountered with the Christ who has come 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:13.880 to save you because of your wretchedness. 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:17.080 And you have fallen short of God's ultimate law. 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:18.980 And he lived that for you. 00:14:19.180 --> 00:14:23.420 And so you stop going in that direction and you turn to the foot of the cross. 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:27.700 You turn to God and trust in Him and His accomplished work. 00:14:28.540 --> 00:14:32.640 And so the evangelical world has that form of repentance, pretty much nailed down. 00:14:34.180 --> 00:14:40.640 But what I've grown as I've grown in my walk with the Lord, I've seen that repentance is must be a continuous thing with us. 00:14:41.280 --> 00:14:44.200 Because although I've been given a new heart, I also have this old heart. 00:14:44.640 --> 00:14:46.820 And this old heart wants to wander from the Lord. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:49.280 It wants to do its own thing. 00:14:49.300 --> 00:14:50.480 It wants to be its own God. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:51.700 It wants to serve its own self. 00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:54.580 Am I the only one that has that right? 00:14:56.180 --> 00:14:58.460 I have a new heart that wants to follow after God. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:00.110 And so we have this fight going on. 00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:05.360 Paul mentions it in Romans seven of his the fight that was going on inside of him. 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:12.840 And so what I need to do is have a continual attitude of repentance where I'm seeing that I'm choosing these things, doing these things. 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:17.500 My angry outbursts are my own way because I want peace in my house. 00:15:17.520 --> 00:15:18.450 I don't want to be disturbed. 00:15:18.660 --> 00:15:20.420 So I'll just raise my voice a little bit. 00:15:20.420 --> 00:15:21.940 And all my kids know to go running. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.060 Right. 00:15:25.260 --> 00:15:28.180 But what I need to do, and that would be the simplest thing to do. 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:29.230 And it works. 00:15:29.900 --> 00:15:34.380 But God gets no glory out of that because anger is not a fruit of God. 00:15:36.140 --> 00:15:38.770 What I need to do is have a continual attitude of repentance going. 00:15:40.020 --> 00:15:40.930 I've had a long day. 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:44.020 I am really frustrated and upset right now. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:45.480 My kids are going crazy. 00:15:46.520 --> 00:15:49.960 But I choose to turn to God. 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:51.600 Just a quick prayer. 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:54.700 God help me serve my family the way you've called me to be. 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:56.630 Help me answer. 00:15:57.480 --> 00:15:58.000 What the soft answer. 00:15:58.920 --> 00:16:00.220 A soft answer turns away wrath. 00:16:00.780 --> 00:16:03.140 Help me be, serve my wife. 00:16:04.260 --> 00:16:07.140 As Christ says, serves the church and loves the church. 00:16:07.140 --> 00:16:08.580 Help me love those things. 00:16:09.040 --> 00:16:16.260 So my Christian walk is really this walk of continuous repentance, where I'm fighting the old way and I'm turning to 00:16:16.260 --> 00:16:19.160 God, and I'm not trying to do it in my own strength and my own power. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:20.360 I'm turning to God. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.260 And what I'm really doing in those times is I'm choosing to worship him. 00:16:24.160 --> 00:16:24.530 Am I not? 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:28.040 I'm not my own God. 00:16:28.160 --> 00:16:30.290 I have a God who's called me to serve my family. 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:38.240 And so as I turn from doing it my own way and I turn to God as an act of worship, I serve my family. 00:16:40.280 --> 00:16:40.700 Does that make sense? 00:16:42.920 --> 00:16:45.880 That's what worship is ultimately. 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:48.600 It's turning from our doing it our own way. 00:16:49.180 --> 00:16:53.360 That's what repentance is, turning from our own way and turning to God and allowing him to work through us. 00:16:54.700 --> 00:17:01.800 Joel, this Old Testament passage here, roughly 800 years after Abraham, he's writing to the children of Israel who have 00:17:01.800 --> 00:17:05.599 at this point pretty much wandered and walked away and turned their back on God. 00:17:05.619 --> 00:17:12.960 And he's writing, pleading with them, that there's a sudden or certain destruction that's going to come and that they must turn 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:13.780 back to God. 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:21.480 And this is just a beautiful passage when I think about repentance, this is where I where I go, because it ultimately sees shows 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.319 what God desires from his people. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:26.040 Even now, this is the Lord's declaration. 00:17:26.780 --> 00:17:28.960 Turn to me with all your heart. 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:31.900 With fasting, weeping, and mourning. 00:17:32.560 --> 00:17:34.620 Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, right? 00:17:34.620 --> 00:17:35.620 The Old Testament traditions. 00:17:35.700 --> 00:17:40.380 When people got upset and there was something going on, they would rent their clothes, tear them. 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:43.420 He's like, quit, stop it with the outward stuff. 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:45.600 Tear your hearts. 00:17:46.800 --> 00:17:47.820 God's worried about the heart. 00:17:48.340 --> 00:17:51.240 God's worried about what's going on in the inside and why. 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:54.180 And return to the Lord your God. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:54.940 Why? 00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:57.700 For he is gracious and compassionate. 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:01.180 Slow to anger, rich and faithful love. 00:18:02.100 --> 00:18:04.260 He relents from sending disaster. 00:18:05.660 --> 00:18:09.730 If you're a child of the God this morning, this is your father. 00:18:10.860 --> 00:18:11.680 This is your creator. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:19.200 He desires his people to turn to him in times of trials, not in their own strength, but 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:23.480 turn and lean and trust in Him and His promises and then his power. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:27.700 That's the basic essence of repentance. 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:30.580 Abraham. 00:18:30.840 --> 00:18:37.880 The second point here is Abraham turned right, went back to his place, his special place, his altar, where he would worship 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:38.400 the Lord. 00:18:40.080 --> 00:18:41.440 and he did that. 00:18:42.320 --> 00:18:44.980 And that's what God calls us to do as well. 00:18:45.760 --> 00:18:48.800 But we have to make sure we bring it into the New Testament context. 00:18:50.320 --> 00:18:57.500 Right back in the Old Testament, the Old Testament was full of places, special places set aside for the worship of the Lord, altars. 00:18:57.540 --> 00:18:58.860 Abraham as an example of the altar. 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:05.060 Then later there's the tabernacle and the temple, these special places that people would go to worship God. 00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:11.440 They also set aside certain holidays, special times of the year where people would really focus on worshiping God. 00:19:12.760 --> 00:19:15.780 Okay, but the New Testament, there's a whole new reality going on. 00:19:17.700 --> 00:19:18.000 Right. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:24.200 All those things were foreshadows the things that were to come and the complete restoration of the kingdom in Jesus Christ. 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:26.100 Those were just pointing towards something. 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:30.140 And so the Messiah, Christ arrives on the scene. 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:38.780 And he begins to demonstrate his kingdom and to teach of his kingdom and all those wonderful 00:19:38.780 --> 00:19:43.600 things that the New Testament Gospels have for us, his teachings while he was walking here on earth. 00:19:44.700 --> 00:19:49.290 There's a specific circumstance in John four where Christ is walking through the land of Samaria. 00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:56.740 And if you know the Old Testament history, the Samaritans and the Jews were always they were like they were kind of related, and they were always battling back before one 00:19:56.740 --> 00:20:00.320 the other one thought, they were better than the other. 00:20:00.320 --> 00:20:02.300 And so there was this constant battle going on. 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:11.420 And so Jesus is walking through this time, through this foreign land of Samaria, and he encounters a woman at the well, and they begin to talk about 00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:12.840 the Messiah that was to come. 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:14.800 And this is a whole nother sermon. 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:15.500 So I'll have to be quick. 00:20:16.300 --> 00:20:20.040 But, basically she asked Jesus. 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:24.180 She goes, hey, look, all Samaritans, we worship Jesus on this special place up here on the mountain. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:32.260 You Jews, you guys worship down in the in the in the in the temple, down in Jerusalem when the Messiah comes, where are we going 00:20:32.260 --> 00:20:32.900 to worship him? 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:42.040 And Jesus tells them and tells us. 00:20:42.040 --> 00:20:42.040 It's not about a place anymore. 00:20:42.040 --> 00:20:42.780 A certain special place or a certain special time. 00:20:43.820 --> 00:20:50.760 He says to her, but an hour is coming and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth. 00:20:51.620 --> 00:20:53.790 Yes, the father wants such people to worship him. 00:20:53.980 --> 00:21:00.200 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:01.900 No longer. 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:09.180 The New Testament has progressively revealed that God no longer desires his people to go to a special place to 00:21:09.180 --> 00:21:10.160 worship him. 00:21:10.760 --> 00:21:17.800 It's what happens when we're saved is we're sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we're told that we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, that God 00:21:17.800 --> 00:21:20.540 Himself dwells within the hearts of his believers. 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:28.600 And that's a key imperative that we need to understand for us to be able to worship in spirit and in truth. 00:21:30.040 --> 00:21:35.340 And the context of that is John chapter three, where Nicodemus comes to Jesus says, we know you're from God. 00:21:35.760 --> 00:21:37.120 How can we have a relationship with God? 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:41.390 Basically, and very much paraphrasing here, he says, you must be born again. 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:50.460 Those are the things that are born of the flesh is flesh, but those things which are born of the spirit, the spirit, the spirit must make you alive to God. 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:51.840 You must be born again. 00:21:52.340 --> 00:21:55.340 That's the context in which John chapter four is speaking of. 00:21:56.440 --> 00:22:02.360 We have to be born of the Spirit of God before we can ever worship in spirit and in truth. 00:22:03.340 --> 00:22:05.940 But when that happens, that new heart, God desires us. 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:10.840 He says in the Old Testament, I will put my law in their heart and they will worship in that regard. 00:22:11.340 --> 00:22:18.050 This new heart desires to seek after God, and we desire to do it with our wholeness and fullness. 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:25.640 And so it's not about a special place or a special time, but it's about a body of work, of worship. 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:32.780 John Piper writes this true worship comes only from spirits made alive and sensitive by the quickening of 00:22:32.780 --> 00:22:34.300 the Spirit of God. 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:37.420 God's spirit ignites and energizes our spirit. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:38.840 It's being born again. 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:41.300 And it's great definition here. 00:22:41.300 --> 00:22:45.100 So the essence of true worship is not external but internal. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:46.400 It's not about a place where you go. 00:22:46.520 --> 00:22:50.880 It's not about a, homage that you go to go and worship. 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:52.040 It's internal. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:54.930 It's about your heart, all of your heart. 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:55.420 Right. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:02.740 Thou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, heart and head, emotions and thought, spirit and truth. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:07.940 Whether we're talking all of life as worship, Romans 12 one or corporate gatherings for worship. 00:23:08.320 --> 00:23:13.180 So we've met here today and we've worshiped, we've done worshiping, we've sang worship songs, right? 00:23:13.180 --> 00:23:14.720 We're worshiping our God and Creator. 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:22.540 We're now opened up God's Word, and we're expounding, hopefully God's Word, and we're worshiping him in that regard. 00:23:23.620 --> 00:23:30.780 But what Christ is saying here in John four is that the whole entire life, because God, the spirit as well as the believer, 00:23:31.460 --> 00:23:32.720 it should be a life of worship. 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:36.300 It's not about a special place or a time of year. 00:23:36.900 --> 00:23:38.660 It's about every aspect of life. 00:23:39.360 --> 00:23:40.380 Romans 12 one. 00:23:40.380 --> 00:23:47.000 That's Paul, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. 00:23:51.060 --> 00:23:52.080 It's about a life of worship. 00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:55.090 Not just these times. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:55.540 It's. 00:23:57.060 --> 00:24:03.060 New Testament declares it's good to meet together, edify each other, build one another, sing songs, hymns, spiritual songs. 00:24:03.060 --> 00:24:06.520 All these things that we're doing today are great and important and needful. 00:24:07.940 --> 00:24:15.400 But we also need to be cognizant that because of what Christ has done and the spirit living within us, that 00:24:15.760 --> 00:24:19.540 he desires all of our life to be a life of worship. 00:24:20.580 --> 00:24:27.720 And so those times when I choose not to be angry towards my kids, but choose instead to speak with the soft answer and to serve them and put my 00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:29.540 own issues aside. 00:24:29.540 --> 00:24:31.940 I'm ultimately worshiping God. 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:34.040 In spirit and in truth. 00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:38.220 Truth also very important, right? 00:24:38.220 --> 00:24:38.990 God's revealed word. 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:40.070 We can't just have emotion. 00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:45.900 We must have it filtered through God's revealed revelation found in the canonized scriptures. 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:47.640 Jared Wilson. 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:55.600 I love this all the Christian life is worshiped whether the Christian be in prayer, study, work, meals, conversation, love and romance, or even sleep. 00:24:56.680 --> 00:24:57.420 Huh? 00:24:57.560 --> 00:24:59.980 I don't know how you can worship God sleeping, but apparently he can. 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:01.780 But look at this. 00:25:01.820 --> 00:25:02.260 This is great. 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:04.180 What if we treated life? 00:25:04.300 --> 00:25:05.480 So this is a question to all of us. 00:25:06.260 --> 00:25:13.280 What if we treated life from the momentous occasions to mundane ones, as opportunities to respond to who 00:25:13.340 --> 00:25:15.020 God is and what he has done? 00:25:16.860 --> 00:25:17.440 What would our life? 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:18.550 How would it be different? 00:25:21.800 --> 00:25:25.480 And the amazing thing is that's what originally we were created for. 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:28.980 And as you look at the Garden of Eden, God walked with Adam and Eve. 00:25:29.540 --> 00:25:30.410 It was relationship. 00:25:31.060 --> 00:25:34.220 Adam and Eve were completely dependent on God for everything. 00:25:35.560 --> 00:25:36.720 That's how we were created. 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:42.000 And so if we are in accordance with how we were created, guess what happens? 00:25:42.320 --> 00:25:43.660 The fruits of the spirit begin to be manifest. 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:51.380 That joy that you always want in your life, the peace that you desire in your family, those things, those attributes, the fruits of the spirit will be manifested as 00:25:51.380 --> 00:25:58.520 we look to God and, cooperate with him as he desires to walk with us, as 00:25:58.520 --> 00:26:02.320 we, turn our lives over for a life of worship. 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:10.480 What if we treat a life from the momentous occasions to the mundane ones, as opportunities to respond to who God is and what he has 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:10.740 done? 00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:17.180 We have an opportunity to worship God through our lives, every moments of our lives. 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:22.290 The third point here is learn to trust in God's plan and promises. 00:26:23.620 --> 00:26:30.620 So we see that Abraham fell drastically short of God's call, but God graciously and mercifully saved him from those consequences 00:26:30.620 --> 00:26:31.800 got Abraham back. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:36.360 Abraham repented and went back to where he should have went and followed God's call. 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:37.240 He worshiped God. 00:26:37.520 --> 00:26:39.660 He looked to God for power and strength. 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:44.080 And we see a very different Abraham in Genesis 13. 00:26:46.660 --> 00:26:49.060 But we also have a contrast here with the with lot. 00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:52.080 Lot is his nephew. 00:26:52.560 --> 00:26:53.720 They're together. 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:53.900 Remember? 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:55.380 Their herdsmen were fighting back and forth. 00:26:56.740 --> 00:26:59.600 So he says Abraham says, why don't we split up? 00:26:59.800 --> 00:27:00.440 You got we got to separate. 00:27:01.560 --> 00:27:04.430 Now the first thing we see is that Abraham was the oldest. 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:05.160 He was the elder. 00:27:05.380 --> 00:27:07.240 He had the right to choose. 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:09.340 He could have said, lot, you're going this direction. 00:27:09.340 --> 00:27:10.140 I'm going this direction. 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:11.390 But he didn't. 00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:12.380 Why? 00:27:13.580 --> 00:27:15.840 Because he was now trusting in God and God's sovereignty. 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:21.800 He had done his own, made his own choices, done his own thing. 00:27:22.560 --> 00:27:25.980 In Genesis 12 and it led to disastrous circumstances. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:31.060 He was now worshipping God, looking to God and allowing God to work those things out. 00:27:31.460 --> 00:27:33.680 He was trusting in God and His promises. 00:27:34.260 --> 00:27:36.100 At this point he said, Lord, you choose. 00:27:37.360 --> 00:27:38.480 And so we have a contrast here. 00:27:39.320 --> 00:27:39.900 What does Lotte do? 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:42.580 Lotte looked out and saw that the entire Jordan Valley was far. 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:44.360 Xoar was well watered everywhere. 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:51.740 So instead of considering what God has said, or considering or finding, wisdom and going to Abraham 00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:53.030 and says, what do you think I should do? 00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:55.430 You know, I want to be godly in this choice. 00:27:57.020 --> 00:28:04.060 The scriptures declared that he started looking around and saying, what's the best with my own physical eyes, that I can see what's going to satisfy me 00:28:04.060 --> 00:28:04.300 the quickest? 00:28:05.820 --> 00:28:06.900 So we are a contrast here. 00:28:07.260 --> 00:28:10.750 God or lot looking up with his own eyes. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.440 And he sees he picks the land that looks the best, right? 00:28:16.780 --> 00:28:18.960 In that valley is the city of Sodom. 00:28:20.520 --> 00:28:26.300 And as we follow this story out with Lotte, we know that choice to reside there. 00:28:27.460 --> 00:28:30.990 Led to destruction and disastrous circumstances for he and his family. 00:28:32.380 --> 00:28:33.030 But look at the contrast. 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:39.920 Abraham completely trusted in God and his sovereignty, relying on God that God had promised him what God had promised him. 00:28:40.320 --> 00:28:43.980 He looks to God and look at his what happens to him? 00:28:44.040 --> 00:28:51.160 The Lord said to Abraham, look from this place where you are looking north and south, east and west, for I will give you and your offspring forever the 00:28:51.160 --> 00:28:51.960 land that you see. 00:28:52.840 --> 00:28:56.040 And he goes on to say, I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:06.100 As we follow this story along, we understand that the Abrahamic Covenant comes and out of Abraham comes the Messiah, the 00:29:06.100 --> 00:29:06.640 Christ. 00:29:08.300 --> 00:29:15.290 And the gospel that flows from him, that all who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will be adopted. 00:29:15.860 --> 00:29:17.780 And Adam added into God's kingdom. 00:29:19.040 --> 00:29:23.050 And Abraham descendants will be as the dust of the earth. 00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:24.580 It's amazing. 00:29:26.020 --> 00:29:30.640 As Abraham trusts in God and his promises, he relies on him. 00:29:31.520 --> 00:29:35.950 And so we see two very different stories lot in his own power. 00:29:36.060 --> 00:29:40.000 Our own strength looks out, sees what's best for him at that particular time, leads to destruction. 00:29:40.520 --> 00:29:47.260 Abraham instead relies on God, relies on God's promises, and Abraham's lineage continues today. 00:29:49.560 --> 00:29:52.530 Through local New Testament churches such as this one. 00:29:55.940 --> 00:29:56.890 So I did something very. 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:01.870 The my main era when I first got saved and went to heavens. 00:30:02.300 --> 00:30:04.440 Hebrews 11 and said I wanted to have a lot of faith. 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:05.960 I wanted to be one of those guys. 00:30:06.460 --> 00:30:07.920 I wanted to be on fire for the Lord. 00:30:08.260 --> 00:30:09.860 I wanted to be this great man of God. 00:30:09.860 --> 00:30:11.840 With all this faith is that I stopped reading. 00:30:12.780 --> 00:30:14.720 I just stopped at the end of chapter 11. 00:30:15.520 --> 00:30:22.020 Because if I want to went to Hebrews 12, I would have seen the source in which our faith can grow. 00:30:23.120 --> 00:30:30.380 He says, therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses whose the large cloud of witnesses, all 00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:33.600 those people in chapter 11, all those people who were. 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:43.020 Not adding up where it had problems just like us, but continued to and allowed God 00:30:43.020 --> 00:30:45.220 trials and circumstances in their life to grow. 00:30:45.280 --> 00:30:52.380 Their faith in God ultimately ended up getting their names written down in the New Testament because of their faith, because of not who 00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:57.180 they were, but because of the person and people or the person that they were placing their faith in. 00:30:57.980 --> 00:30:58.600 And that is God. 00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:00.860 So they are a cloud of witnesses. 00:31:01.100 --> 00:31:08.360 We need to look to him, look to them, look to Abraham to see that yes, we may not be perfect, but as we look to God 00:31:09.360 --> 00:31:13.240 and rely on Him and His promises, it is he who will increase our faith. 00:31:13.520 --> 00:31:14.000 It goes on. 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:21.420 Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us. 00:31:22.100 --> 00:31:24.580 And here it is, keeping our eyes on Jesus. 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:28.620 The source and perfecter of our faith. 00:31:30.740 --> 00:31:33.800 Our Savior is the victor. 00:31:35.040 --> 00:31:35.910 He is our superhero. 00:31:36.260 --> 00:31:37.020 He is our conqueror. 00:31:39.320 --> 00:31:42.720 Christ came and has vanquished the our sin problem. 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:44.140 He has overcome it. 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:53.260 And as the writer of Hebrews says, we are to look to him because he's the source and the perfecter of our faith. 00:31:54.180 --> 00:31:58.960 Your translation might say, he's the author and perfecter of our faith. 00:31:59.580 --> 00:32:01.620 It is Christ who authors your faith. 00:32:02.040 --> 00:32:03.420 It is Christ who perfects your faith. 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:11.460 And as we look to the life of Abraham, we see that God doesn't just give us a bunch of faith, but he allows trials and circumstances in 00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:15.960 our life to, as we look to him and trust in him to increase our faith. 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:18.110 Just as Abraham did. 00:32:21.500 --> 00:32:25.540 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:35.280 It's just an amazing thing to know that as we look to him, as we look to our victor, as we keep 00:32:35.280 --> 00:32:41.900 our eyes on him, he's the one that gives us the grace, the ability to increase our faith and trust in him. 00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:47.540 And so we're all posed with certain circumstances and trials and tribulations in our life. 00:32:48.760 --> 00:32:55.330 And so the question has to come is when we enter into those trials and circumstances, it's really easy to keep our eyes on Jesus. 00:32:56.100 --> 00:33:00.840 I think all of us would admit when the sun's out and there's no storms in life, right? 00:33:00.840 --> 00:33:01.580 Everything's happy. 00:33:01.580 --> 00:33:02.760 The bank account has money in it. 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:04.060 Everything's good. 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:05.540 Right? 00:33:06.020 --> 00:33:07.120 I'm a good Christian, then. 00:33:07.120 --> 00:33:08.420 But when the storms come. 00:33:09.600 --> 00:33:10.460 When the storms come. 00:33:12.100 --> 00:33:19.100 My natural tendency is to take my eyes off of the author and perfecter of my faith and trust in 00:33:19.100 --> 00:33:21.520 my own strength and my own power. 00:33:23.840 --> 00:33:28.220 And so as we look to the story of Abraham, we see how important it is. 00:33:29.960 --> 00:33:33.260 To look to Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith. 00:33:35.360 --> 00:33:42.700 The ironic thing is during those times when there's no storms in life, if we're not changing our paradigm, the way we look at life as a means 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:46.450 of my life should be all about the worship of God through my actions. 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:52.640 And as I choose to follow God and trust in him instead of pleasing my own self, I'm actually worshiping God. 00:33:53.140 --> 00:33:58.280 And I'm doing these things because I love them, because this is what he's done for me, all these great things. 00:33:59.520 --> 00:34:02.590 If we're not doing that and pursuing that and the storms come, we're not rooted. 00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:04.340 Right. 00:34:04.500 --> 00:34:11.760 If we're pursuing those things and seeking God and keeping our eyes on Jesus during the times of where there's really no trials or circumstances, we're 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:12.670 rooting ourselves. 00:34:13.949 --> 00:34:17.540 We're gaining a greater glimpse of Christ. 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:19.679 We're increasing our faith in him. 00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:26.980 And then when the trials and circumstances come, we can't be blown away because we're rooted and grounded 00:34:27.840 --> 00:34:30.659 in the promises and the power of God. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:34.330 This is my favorite, one of my favorite promises. 00:34:36.040 --> 00:34:36.830 This is Christ. 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:44.719 Just before he's getting ready to ascend into the heavens, to sit at the right hand of the father, to be our great High priest, 00:34:44.780 --> 00:34:46.760 forever making intercession for us. 00:34:47.040 --> 00:34:51.360 As Hebrews says, the disciples are starting to understand what's going on. 00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:52.530 And so they're starting to get worried. 00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:55.500 And he's like, hey, your heart must not be troubled. 00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:58.180 Believe God, believe also in me. 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:00.600 In my father's house are many dwelling places. 00:35:01.580 --> 00:35:06.600 If not, I would have told you I'm going away to prepare a place for you. 00:35:07.540 --> 00:35:13.490 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to myself. 00:35:13.900 --> 00:35:17.060 So that where I am, you may be also. 00:35:19.900 --> 00:35:26.160 Our faith and keeping our eyes on Jesus isn't about making this life better. 00:35:26.420 --> 00:35:33.560 It's about putting our faith and hope on the life to come in Christ, our eternity and dwelling place with him. 00:35:34.260 --> 00:35:35.280 Will there be no more sorrow? 00:35:36.160 --> 00:35:36.730 No more tears. 00:35:37.580 --> 00:35:38.030 No more death. 00:35:39.540 --> 00:35:44.500 This eternal existence where God will be among us and he will be our God, and we will be his people. 00:35:46.100 --> 00:35:47.170 That's what we hope for. 00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:53.970 That's what we look to Jesus for, to give us the grace to get through the trials and tribulations so that our faith may increase. 00:35:54.580 --> 00:35:57.160 And as we trust in him, his power and his promises. 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:02.490 That they may be real in us as we look for his return. 00:36:04.020 --> 00:36:04.380 And. 00:36:05.380 --> 00:36:10.020 What he's purchased for us through his wonderful gift given to us on the cross.