The Beginning of Our Faith | Genesis | Full Experience

Well, hello, welcome to CCV, how are we doing? It's good to see you all, it's good to be together. I want to invite you to stand with us and just to set the tone for our time together today, I want to read just a little bit of Scripture for us to lean into. This comes from Colossians chapter one, verses 15 through 18. This is about Jesus. This comes from the Message Translation. This is what we're here to do. It says, we look at the Son, S-O-N, we look at Jesus and we see the God who cannot be seen. We look at the Son and we see God's original purpose in everything created, for everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels, everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and He holds it all together right up to this moment. Love that part, right up to this moment. He's with us in the joy, He's with us in the heartbreak, He is above the noise of the world, He's above the news, He's above tragedy and we believe that He holds the whole world in His hands. So I want to invite you, as we sing together now, we call on His name, we believe that He can do absolutely anything and everything. God, we give you this time, we're grateful for who you are.

As we sing these words of truth and we celebrate who you are, will you be with us? We love you and we trust you, let's hear it and we pray. Every battle you've already won, we've already won. Come on, we sing. Every battle you've already won, we've already won. Show me one thing you can do, show me a mountain you can move. Cause He's the God of the breakthrough and anything is possible. Show me one thing you can do, show me a water you can pump. Cause He's the God of the breakthrough and anything is possible. Oh, it's possible. There is a kingdom that's advancing at the speed of light. And in His kingdom, every dead thing is bound to rise. Oh God, our Redeemer, He is faithful to revive. Oh, He will revive. Yeah, show me. Show me one thing you can do, show me a mountain you can move. Cause He's the God of the breakthrough and anything is possible. Show me one thing you can do, show me a water you can pump. He's the God of the breakthrough and anything is possible. Oh, it's possible. Oh, now all of my fear, I will turn into praise. Shake off despair as I sing out your name. A victory dance, I will dance out in faith. I will crush disappointment and break every chain. Oh, now all of my fear, I will turn into praise. Shake off despair as I sing out your name. A victory dance, I will dance out in faith. I will crush disappointment. Show me one thing, show me one thing you can do.

Show me a mountain you can move. He's the God of the breakthrough and anything is possible. ♪ He's the God of the breakthrough ♪ ♪ Anything is possible in You alone ♪ ♪ Show me one thing that's too hard ♪ ♪ Show me why does it get hard ♪ ♪ He's the God of the breakthrough ♪ ♪ Anything is possible, oh it's possible ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh in You, all things are possible ♪ Amen, hey church, we'd love to sing a new song together today. Would you lean in, would you sing it with us, would you join your voice with ours as you catch on and sing it together, come on. ♪ I feel You in the sunrise, the heat upon my skin ♪ ♪ I see You in the night sky, when the stars are glowing ♪ ♪ I hear You in the wind blows, the leaves are rustling ♪ ♪ There's nowhere that I could go that You haven't been ♪ ♪ There's nowhere that I could go that You haven't been ♪ ♪ That You haven't been, we sing holy, holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ I can't help but to sing it, You alone are worthy, yes ♪ ♪ I can't help but believe it, take a look around ♪ ♪ Look at all You've done, God it's always been enough ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yes ♪ ♪ If this was it then that's enough, thank You Lord, hey ♪ ♪ Thank You Lord, hey ♪ ♪ I find You in the details of every fingerprint ♪ ♪ The presence of a Father that's closer than a friend, yes ♪ ♪ Yes, in the crying of my baby, the laughter of the kids ♪

♪ There's nothing that I could find that You aren't already, yes ♪ ♪ There's nothing that I could find that You aren't already, yes ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, I can't help but to sing it ♪ ♪ You alone are worthy, yes, I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ Take a look around, look at all You've done ♪ ♪ God, it's always been enough, holy, holy, holy, yes ♪ ♪ If this was it then that's enough ♪ ♪ Oh, You've always been enough Lord, yes ♪ ♪ It's enough, cause You're enough, as He was believing ♪ ♪ I've seen enough, it's enough, cause You're enough ♪ ♪ I'm living in the promise, I want to come, yes ♪ ♪ It's enough, cause You're enough, as He was believing ♪ ♪ I've seen enough, it's enough, cause You're enough ♪ ♪ I'm living in the promise, I want to come, yes ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yes, I can't help but just sing it ♪ ♪ You alone are worthy, yes, I can't help but just sing it ♪ ♪ I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ Take a look around, look at all you've done ♪ ♪ God it's always been enough ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yes ♪ ♪ If this was it then I'd see none ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ If this was it then I'd see none ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ If this was it then I'd see none ♪ Hey, thank you Lord. God, we believe that to be true in this place. You've always been enough for us. You've always been faithful. As we continue to sing and celebrate

we set our hearts and our minds on that. You never change. ♪ I'm calling on the God of Jacob ♪ ♪ Whose love endures through generations ♪ ♪ I know that you will keep your covenant ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the God of Moses ♪ ♪ The one who opened up the ocean ♪ ♪ I need you now to do the same thing for me ♪ ♪ For me, for me ♪ We sing together. Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my God, I need you. Now I need you. Oh rock, oh rock of ages. I'm standing on your faithful land. On your faithful land. ♪ I'm calling on the God of Mary ♪ ♪ Whose faith will rest upon the lowly ♪ ♪ I know with you all things are possible ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the God of David ♪ ♪ Who made a shepherd boy courageous ♪ ♪ I may not face good life, but I've got my own trials ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my God, I need you. Now I need you. Oh rock, oh rock of ages. I'm standing on your faithful land. On your faithful land. This faithful God. Never changing.

You heard your children. You healed your children. You are the same God. You are the same God. You answered prayers back then. And you, you are the same God. You are the same God. You were providing. You are providing. You are the same God. You are the same God. You moved in power. God moved in power. You are the same God. You are the same God. You are a healer. You are a healer. You are the same God. You are the same God. You were a Savior then. You are my Savior now. You are the same. ♪ God, You are the same, God, oh God, my God, I need You now, I need You now, oh how I need You now ♪ ♪ Oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, oh God, my God, I need You, oh God, my God, I need You now, how I need You now ♪ Oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, oh ♪ You are the same, yesterday, today, and forevermore, You are the same, God Hey man, CCV, we love worshiping together with you. You can have a seat. If I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, my name is Leo and I get to serve as one of the pastors here at our Peoria campus. Thank you so much for being here with us today and a huge shout out to all of you who are joining us online. Well, as we get ready to take communion together, I want to read this passage from 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

On this passage, Paul is walking through communion with the church of Corinth and this is what he says, starting in verse 23. For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord Himself. On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and said, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant between God and His people, an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you're announcing the Lord's death until He comes again. You see, and every time I read this passage, there's one line that always just sticks out. On the night He was betrayed. You see, Jesus knew what was coming to Him. He knew the betrayal. He knew the pain. He knew the cross and He didn't run away. He broke the bread. He gave thanks and He brought His disciples together to the table. He set the table, not only for them, but for us as well. And communion is not just about remembering His sacrifice. It's also about declaring. It's about announcing that Jesus, that He lived, that He died, that He rose again. In a few verses later, Paul continues and he says that we ought to make sure we examine our hearts before we take the bread and we drink the juice. And what that means is that this time is not for us to pretend. So whatever it is that we have inside our hearts, this bitterness, anger, doubts, this is the time for us to bring all those things to Jesus. All of our needs, all of our fears, everything to His table. Because that's what He wants. You see, CCV, I believe that communion is not for perfect people who have it all together. Communion is for broken people like me who know that we need a Savior. So during this time, as we take the bread, we remember His body being broken for us. As we drink the juice, we remember His blood being shed for us. And we declare that He has set the table for us. Would you pray with me? Father God, thank You so much for sending Your one and only Son to die on the cross for us, Lord. Thank You that through His life, His death, and His resurrection, Lord, now the table has been set. And that there's an invitation for all of us. It is in His mighty name that we pray. Amen. Written & Directed by Written & Directed by Director of Photography Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by

Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by Music by CCV I want to share a quick story with you about one of our students You see, back in 2023, Cannon, he gave his life to Christ, he got baptized, and then the next summer, summer of 2024, he went to high school camp, and his life was completely changed. Jesus did something in this dude that he just set him on fire, and everyone noticed. His coaches noticed, his friends noticed, but more than anything, his parents noticed. So much so, that a year after, two years after Cannon got baptized, on the same date, Cannon stepped back into the baptistry right here at the Peoria campus with both mom and dad, and he had the honor of baptizing them both. Now, here's something that I want to tell you guys. This isn't just one story. Across the whole entire valley, we have kids and students who are sharing the gospel, who are sharing Jesus, and more than that, they are living it out. And the reason why I'm sharing this with you guys right now is because today we're opening camp registration. So, for our kids' camp, students' camp, and special needs camp, registration is open right now. $50 will reserve your spot. Now, as a pastor, as a dad, as a friend, let me encourage you. If you have a kid or a student, make sure that they're there. Their community, their life,

their faith will never be the same. We cannot, here's the thing, we're not able to tell you right now that they'll be less messy. We just can't help you with that. They're just going to be messy all around. But their community, their lives, their faith will be transformed to a level that you will not recognize them. So, again, make sure you sign them up right now today. $50 will reserve their spot. If you have any questions, our team out in the Next Step Center will be able to answer those, whatever questions you might have. Now, over the last few years, we've also had major highlights, and one of them has been the Nights of Worship. Has anybody been a part of Night of Worship before here at CCV? That's right, man. The Spirit of God has been moving not only here at the Peoria campus, but really across the valley. And we have something new that we want you to be a part of. Okay, February 25th and 26th, we're hosting here at the Peoria campus a CCV Music live recording. Okay, it's two nights of just us worshiping Christ together and if you are wanting to attend, here's what we're asking of you. We want you guys to pull out your phone right now and register. We want to make sure that we know how many people are coming. We want to make sure that we keep both of those nights safe and we are ready for whoever is going to show up. It's going to be incredible. And again, all you have to do is register. Go ahead and scan the QR code and any questions you might have, our team will be ready for you as well. Now, I hope you guys brought your Genesis book with you because we're continuing with our Genesis series. Pastor Mark Moore has an incredible message for us as we go into week four. . . . . . . .

♪♪ Have you ever come into church and you start looking around and thinking, I don't think I have what they have. This is me, I'll stand backstage or I'll watch people worship and I think, wow, they're really like, they're feeling it. Hands are raised, eyes are closed, a tear on the side, and I'm like, I don't feel like that. What is wrong with me? Or maybe you watch someone pray and you just go, I think they're actually talking to God because like it's right across the table from them and not always, but often when I pray, I feel like, am I talking to the air or is like anybody out there? Can anyone relate to that? Or maybe you see someone and they tell a story, it's like, man, I went to work and I shared my faith and a lot of people hounded me for it, but this one guy, we got baptized and it was incredible the stories that I see all around. And sometimes it's just not me. And I wish it was, but there's a gap. Anyone feeling this? There's a gap between where you are and where you want to be. Spiritual FOMO is real, folks. Now let's just be honest. We're looking at other people's highlight reels, not their real life, so there is that, but there's also a reality that there are people

further along in their faith than we are and sometimes we want to get there, we want to have what they have, but we're just not there. So here's what I want to ask. What's keeping you here from getting there? I'll tell you what it's not, I know what it's not. It's not your past. Like I sinned in my past and I screwed up my marriage or maybe I did some horrible things and so I don't think that I can ever have a future because of my past, not true. I don't care how deep a pit you dug, God's grace is deeper still. I don't care how wide you've roamed in your prodigal journey, God's grace is wider still. So it's not your past that's keeping you from your future. You want to know what it is. My best guess, there's probably several things, but my best guess that the biggest barrier that you have is not fear out there. Oh, there's giants in the land. There's this big temptation. That's not the fear out there. It's the comfort right here. Our fear of losing what we have is actually greater than the hope of gaining what we don't. And social scientists have done some deep dive studies on this, it's called loss aversion. And they've even quantified how much more

you are averse to loss than you are hopeful for gain. It is two to one, two to one. You're twice as afraid of losing what you have than you are hopeful for what you gain. So what that means is, let's say, I want you to risk 50 bucks. Once you risk 50 bucks, how much would I have to offer you to gain for you to risk 50 bucks? 60, that's not doing it, not even close. 70, nope, not there. 80, nope. Until I say, if you risk 50, you will gain 100, you're not budging. And here's why that's a problem spiritually. Because, and this is where some of us are right now, you think, I want to be at church every week this year. Like, I want to be committed to the body of Christ. But I think my girlfriend will break up with me if I did that. Or maybe some of you are thinking, I believe God is, he will out give me. I believe that, I want to be generous. In fact, I want to go, I want to tithe. First 10% goes to God, commit my finances, Lord, you're Lord of all my life. But your spouse is like, oh no, no, we're not doing that. Or maybe for some of you, it's like, I see all these people around and they've got these kids shirts and these volunteer shirts with kids and students and it looks like

they're having a blast and I feel like, I feel like I can contribute in that way. I want to volunteer, but that would screw up my weekends. Your fear of losing what you have is probably the biggest barrier for gaining what you want, even spiritually. And that's what I want to talk about today through the lens of one of the big figures of the Bible. In fact, he's one of the most important three people of the Old Testament, maybe the most important person in the Old Testament. His name is Avram. Now you know him as Abraham because God changed his name. His faith was so consistent for so long that he earned a new name with God. Avram means father, exalted father. Avraham means the father of many nations. So how do you go about getting a new name? We're gonna be in Genesis chapter 12 and chapter 15. If you have a Bible, join along in the journey. Verse one, the Lord had said to Avram, leave your native country and your relatives and your father's family and go to the land I will show you. Here's what God is asking. I want you to leave two things, country and relatives. Place and people, I want you to give it up. Now that's a big ask. For you and me, that would be a big ask, right? For the ancients, it's even bigger because your family was your social security.

Your place was your identity. So if I give up my people and my place, who am I? I would need a new name because I would become a different kind of a person. That's what God is asking and it was a lot to ask. So there has to be a big promise on the other side and it was big. In fact, it was bigger than big. Verse two, I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. Look at that. Avram, I'm gonna make you a nation. Not just, I'm not just gonna have you have kids, like you're gonna have a bunch of kids. Later, he'll say, sands of the seashore, that's how many kids you're gonna have. Stars of the sky, that's how many kids you're gonna have. You're gonna be a nation, but not just any nation. You are going to bless others. In fact, you're gonna bless all the families on earth and as we sit here today, that's exactly what has happened. You realize that Avram became the most influential human of human history and you go, what about Jesus? Actually, he's more influential than Jesus because everyone who follows Jesus looks to Abraham as the father of our faith.

But in addition to Christians, there's also Jews. He's the father of the Jewish nation. There's also Arabs and the Muslim faith. He's the father of them as well through a different son, but he is uber influential. This is the promise that God made to him, but you got to leave your family and you've got to leave your country. Did he? Kind of. When God gave this promise to him, he was about 70 years old. So he's not a young buck, he's up in age. So leaving and walking clear across the Middle East, that he lived in Ur of the Chaldees, which we today call Iraq. And he's called by God to go to a country. Where am I gonna go, God? And God just says, I'll show you on the way. Really? And you're gonna have kids. And he goes, really? Like I'm 70. Okay, that's a big problem. The big problem is Sarah is about the same age. And look, if you're a 70 year old woman, you don't expect to get pregnant. Like there's a shelf life of that and it's way past its due date. And she's going, I don't know.

She actually laughed at God later. So God says, you're gonna get pregnant. Yeah, right. But God's good to his word. God is asking for a big thing, but promising something bigger. And that's true for you right now. If God is asking you to, he doesn't ask you to take a leap in the dark. He asks you to take a walk in the light. And if he's asking you to take a next step towards your faith journey, I promise you what's on the other side is bigger than you ever imagined. This promise to Avram, it has blessed the whole world, but not at first. If you walk this journey with Avram, you'll realize he didn't exactly fully obey God, at least not immediately. Because it says that he took his family to Haran. Haran is actually in, is still in the country where he lived. It's just the very Northern border. So did he take steps? Yeah, baby steps. And he got all the way to the border and goes, yeah, I'm gonna stay here for a while. Oh, by the way, his dad died in Haran, which means he brought his dad with him. Well, I thought God said,

I want you to leave your family and your country. Yeah. all his family, he had his dad with him. He didn't leave the country completely, he's still in Haran. But after his father died, through these, this is just like my life, it's probably like yours as well, where you're taking steps, you're making progress, but not as quick as you'd like. The journey of Abraham to full faith was over 30 years. Don't be so hard on yourself. Yeah, you need to take steps, but it's not gonna happen overnight. God doesn't want you to master a miracle, he wants you to master the mundane, right here today. What's your best next step? So he's there at Haran, his dad dies, he goes, okay, now I will leave. Now I will obey God, I'll take my next step. He takes one next step, and now he's out of the country. And he brought Lot, his nephew, with him. He still has got family with him. Which God said, leave the family! But he brought Lot, his nephew. And Lot caused Abraham a lot of trouble. This is a problem for all of us. You don't have to be perfect in your faith. Just take your next step in your faith. He was about 75 years old when he left Haran. And he then goes into the promised land,

which we now call Israel. But I want you to see the title that Abraham, how he's described in Genesis chapter 15 and verse six. Avram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. Now when we see the word believe, we think about our head. Yeah, I believe that to be true. That's true. But never did faith in your head take you one step further to your goals in life, never. It's not what you believe in your head that matters. You gotta drop it 12 inches so it's in your heart. You don't just have to believe in your head. James says even the demons believe does them no good because it doesn't change their life. It's gotta be something you feel, something you love, something you live. But to be honest, it doesn't matter if it goes from your head to your heart. It will not take you on your next step in your journey towards your goal. It is not until you actually let your faith sink all the way down to boots on the ground that you can take a step. Some of you are thinking, man, like I really want my prayer life. I believe that if I talk to God, he'll listen. And I believe that he will say yes to my prayers. And then you let it drop to your heart. You go, oh, I feel like I feel God.

Does you no good until you take the next step of praying, of reading your Bible and actually being diligent in your faith journey. You might say, but I really want to, like I wanna make God the Lord of my finances. Okay, good, you can believe that he's generous and you can feel like you have compassion for it, like you want to be generous as well. But until you budget, it's not gonna make any difference in your life. You might say, I really believe that I should be living for others and not for myself. Like I should be serving somewhere somehow. I believe, I know that in my head, that the happiest people are those that are outward facing, not inward focused. I believe that. And now I feel, I see these kids and students ministry. I see the special needs ministry. I see people parking cars. I was like, good on them. But until you take a step of faith and begin to serve, you won't be any step closer to the goal that you want for you. This is so important. In fact, this definition of faith is so important that this verse, Genesis 15, six, is quoted almost verbatim in the New Testament in the book of Romans. Read this comparison.

For the scriptures tell us, Abraham believed God and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. When Paul talks about this in Romans four, he's describing the model that Abram set for us to follow. This is our life. This is the goal that God wants for all of us. The problem is, man, I struggle with that. I don't always have faith that gets cleared down to my feet. Don't get me wrong. I believe in Jesus with every fiber of my being. I believe in my head. I feel it in my heart, but I don't always walk it. And it reminds me of this guy that Jesus met. He had a son who was demonized, tortured by this demon. And he brings the son to Jesus' disciples. Jesus wasn't available. He was up on a mountain praying. So he brings the son to the disciples. And they can't get the demon out, no matter what they try. prayers, their incantation, whatever they did, it didn't work. Jesus finally comes down the mountain and this father, you can imagine if your kid was demonized and you get to go talk to Jesus, you go, Jesus, listen, if you can, help my son. And she's going, what did you just say? If I can? At that point, Jesus had walked on water. What do you mean, if I can? He had raised the dead.

What do you mean, if I can? He had cleansed leper and made blind eyes. What do you mean, if I can? And some of us are saying the same thing to Jesus. Jesus, if you can, help my marriage. Jesus, if you can, give me the faith to believe this. Jesus, if you can, he can. The question is, will you obey? He turns to the father and says, all things are possible for those who believe. And what this man says next, this is my prayer. Even today, the father instantly cried out, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief. Your faith doesn't need to be perfect. It doesn't need to be forward facing. You don't need to take leaps and bounds. You just need to take a next step. And if you have the tiniest faith that you plant in the ground, at boots on the ground level, it will grow. If you have a mustard seed, it will grow, but you have to water it by putting it into practice. And Abraham, this is the story of his life. I mean, he followed God, but not perfectly. Not until the very end. And we're gonna talk about chapter 22 next week. God calls him to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, the promised child. God made good on his promise. And Abraham was willing to do it because he believed God.

He's not there yet. In fact, right now in chapter 15, look at verse two. Oh, sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since you've given me no children, Eleazar of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit my wealth. He's trying to help God out, to give God an out. I know you made this big, audacious promise to me, but listen, just let Eleazar take the blessing. And God's going, no, that's not what I said. I said, I'm gonna bless you. I'm gonna bless the entire world through you, so no hard pass on Eleazar. That was attempt number one. Attempt number two is in chapter 16. Abraham is now about 90 years old, and they still have no kids. And so his wife, Sarai, comes to Abraham and says, listen, honey, I've got an idea. It was a terrible idea. I got an idea. Since I'm not getting pregnant, why don't you sleep with my handmaid, Hagar, and we'll have children through her? Now guys, I need to clarify something for you. If your spouse comes to you with this idea, hey, why don't you sleep with my best friend? Just say no. It will not end well.

In fact, the children of Hagar and Sarah are fighting still even to this day. It was a bad idea. And God says, hard pass on Ishmael. I'm gonna bless the world through your son, Abraham, Sarah, you are going to have a child. And he can't believe it. So he says, God, I'm gonna need some evidence. I'm gonna need like a token of loyalty here. Can you prove to me you're gonna do this? And he actually asked God in verse eight, Abraham said to God, oh, sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it? Now you might think, you nincompoop, don't test God like that. That's not what God said. God is asking Abraham a big thing. And when Abraham asks God, can you give me any assurance? God said, yes, yes I can. Here's what I want you to do, Abraham. I want you to get five animals. I want you to get a heifer, I want you to get a goat, and I want you to get a ram. That's a male sheep. And I want you to take those three animals, I want you to cut them in half. And then I want you to get a pigeon and a turtle dove. And you're not gonna cut them in half, they're just birds. So lay them on each side.

So that's what Avram did, he cut the heifer in half and he moved one half to one side and one half to the other and he did the same thing with the ram and the goat and turtle dove and pigeon and laid them out there, this dead carcasses and of course the buzzards are going, hey, free lunch. So they come in and all day long he's shooing off these birds. Let me tell you why Avram's doing this. This is not a sacrifice to worship God. This is a covenant that he is signing. Now when we sign a contract, we do it with pen and ink on paper. They did it in blood, through a sacrifice. And what Avram is saying to God is, okay, I get it, I know what you're asking me. You're asking me, the Hebrew term is to cut a covenant. You cut them in half and you walk through the halves of the animals that you cut and that symbolically says, if I break this covenant, may it be to me as I have done to these animals. You can do to me what I've done to the animals. So he's shooing off the birds, darkness falls. It's dark and Avram lays down to go to sleep. The birds are gone. And in the darkness, he starts to dream and these are night terrors, not just nightmares. He's terrified in his dreams. And suddenly he wakes up to this bright light and the light, it's the presence of God.

The light passed between the halves of the animals and Avram watches as God passes through the cut covenant. And God was saying to Avram, if you break this covenant, I will pay the price. May it be to me, if you break the covenant, may it happen to me as it has happened to these animals. And 2000 years later, that is precisely what happened to Jesus Christ on the cross. And each week at CCV, we remember this sacrifice with a little cup of juice and a little piece of bread. You're asking God for evidence that he will do for you what he promised. You have the same evidence as Avram that God himself passes through and spills his blood because of the mistakes we've made. He's already paid the price so that you don't have to. And that's what the Bible calls grace. So we think that it's all about my faith. Like if I'm gonna get from where I am to where I want to be, I have to have faith. I have to be obedient. No, it's not about your faith. It's about God's faithfulness. All you have to believe is the faithfulness of God. And he has been faithful day by day and decade by decade. He's proven himself again and again and again. He is faithful to his own covenant. And the Bible describes this in Romans chapter four and verse 16. Listen to how Paul puts this idea.

So the promise is received by faith. It's given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses. If we have faith like Abraham's, for Abraham is the father of all who believe. Do you believe? Do you believe that God will always give you the promises he made if you follow the covenant that he established? I know, I feel it too. Like I'm not there yet. I'm still like that father with the demonized son. I believe, but help me on my own belief. I want this to encourage you that you don't have to do it all at once. Faith is not a light switch that suddenly turns on. It's a muscle that you exercise and build over time to go from where you are to where God is calling you and promising you to be. What does that actually look like? Well, around here, it kind of looks like Kenny. Kenny, for years, had an addiction to alcohol. He was an alcoholic. And he and his wife finally said, we gotta beat this thing, we gotta over it. And so Kenny took the steps to become sober. And it was so cool because he and his wife, as he became sober, renewed their vows at our Anthem Campus.

It was a joyous occasion. But three months later, he relapsed. And so now he's back at square one, but he didn't give up. He resolved to continue to do what God had called him to do. And he got sober again. And as of today, Kenny not only is three years sober, he leads the addiction recovery group on his campus at Anthem. This is what it looks like to have faith. Thank you. Kara is a mom of three. She attends our Peoria campus. Two of her children, she shared her story online. It was so inspiring. Two of her children are non-verbal. They're special needs kids. And she puts them in our special needs ministry. Do you know how hard it is to raise a special needs child? Because I don't. I see these parents struggling. I see the tension in the marriage. I see the joy as well, but man, it's hard. But Kara is just one foot in front of the other doing the next best step for her three kids, two of which have special needs. It looks like one of our group leaders at the Verado campus, faithful, godly man. He's one of the hosts of, we've heard about groups around here. He hosts and leads a CCV group.

But he does it with a limp. I mean, all of us walk with a limp. It's sometimes spiritual, sometimes physical, sometimes emotional, but his limp is because of cancer. He has faced the full fury of cancer. And because of the treatment that he's had to undergo, and there's been a lot, he sometimes has to have medical equipment attached to his body. But you would never know it. If you met him on campus, you wouldn't know it. He hides it well. He lets his light shine with his group. He's still serving in spite of the circumstances. And the cool thing about his story is he's not just serving as a group leader at Verado. He has another group in the community. They're high school boys at the local high school. He is the character coach of the football team. That's what it looks like to have this imperfect faith that just keeps taking the right next steps. It looks quite a bit like Erica. When Erica was nine years old, her father was tragically killed in a car accident. Nine years old. I don't know how she came to this conclusion, but it would have been easy for Kara to walk away from God because of the death of her father. But at nine years old, it had to be the Holy Spirit. She said, I am not gonna let the death of my earthly father

drive me away from my heavenly father. And she determined that she was gonna follow him. And sure enough, last year on our surprise campus, she was baptized. She's now 13 years old. She's got a long journey ahead of her, but she's taking next steps in the right direction. It doesn't have to be a miracle. God doesn't want you to do a miracle. He wants you to do the mundane today. What's the next step for you? On every campus, we have these next step centers and we have staff and volunteers alike at the next step centers just to have a conversation. No pressure, no threats, just what's your next step? What's the next best thing that you can do for God? I know some of you don't have faith to believe what you really want from God. Like you're still in Ur of the Chaldees and you're looking to get to the promised land and you don't know how to get there, but could you get to the border? Could you just get that far? And maybe you're gonna stay there for a while until some things get worked out in your heart, but what's your next step? Some of you are saying, the pain that I have, I cannot believe that I would ever be able to release it to God. Okay, so you can't believe that, but what can you believe?

Can you believe enough to join a group so that at least you don't bear that pain alone? Some of you, you can't believe for your marriage. God, could you ever fix him? Could you ever get her to repent? If you can't believe for your marriage, could you at least believe for you? Maybe God can't fix them, but could he fix you? Could you do some self-care to make sure that you are healthy and that you are in a right place with God? Some of you have a closed door, and you've been praying for years for God to open this door. You've been earnestly begging him for a child, and there's no child. You've earnestly asked him for a job, and there's no job. You've earnestly asked him for a partner in life, and there's nobody. Could you believe, if you can't believe in the door that's closed, could you believe in the door that's open right next to it? Maybe you'll never be married, or maybe you'll never be married again, but could you become the person the person you're looking for is looking for? Maybe that's your next step. Maybe you can't have children, but maybe adoption is the next step for you, or maybe foster care is the next step for you.

If you can't believe in the door that's closed, could you believe enough to walk through the door that's open? That's what God's calling you to do, but it's gonna take resolve. That's our word for the year, resolve. Your faith journey is not about perfection. It's about next steps. It's about doing the right next thing right now. That's resolve, and I got to look into this word, and I noticed it's actually made up of two parts, re and solve. As you take your journey, just like Abraham, Abraham had a problem. He's gotta leave his country, gotta leave his family, and he solved part of the problem, but then there was another problem on the other side of that, and so he resolved to solve that problem, and next to that was another problem. This is our life, folks, one after another, a challenge after challenge after challenge, and some of the problems are imposed on you, and some of the problems are self-imposed, but do you have the resolve to resolve the problem, whatever that problem is? Just say, God, I know I'm not where I want to be, but I'm also not where I'm gonna be. Your best life is always on the other side of your next step, so what next step are you gonna take for God's sake,

for your sake, and if we read the story of Abraham, for the sake of the world that is to come, God's calling you not to have a faith in your head or your heart, but to let it sink down to boots on the ground. Holy Father, we do believe. Help us in our unbelief, for whatever the next step is for each one of us, would you prompt us with your Holy Spirit? Would you let that come out our mouths so that as we say it, we could then live it? We pray this in the name of Jesus, amen. Let's go make Jesus famous. We pray this in the name of Jesus, amen.