The Wait And The Walk | Jon Laurenzo | Full Service

with Good morning, Church for the City. Will you rise as we prepare for worship this morning? For those of you that are new here, welcome to Church for the City. We're so glad that you're here. If that's you and you're watching online, there's a digital connect form that you can click, you can fill it out, you can take steps like baptism, child dedication, sign up for open house, which is next week, by the way. If you're here in person, we'd be happy to do the same with you at the connect table in the lobby. Church, I have the honor of opening a word with you this morning. We're going to take a look at Psalms 6 verses 8 through 9. It's short and sweet. It's by King David. It's a prayer of desperation. He says, the Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. The reality is someone either prayed you in here or you prayed and now you're here. Right before 8 and 9, David's praying against the evildoers. He's saying, get away from me, you evildoers. He's anguished. He's troubled. He says, the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. If there's only one thing that you take into these next three worship songs, let it be this. The Lord has heard your weeping. The Lord has heard your prayer. You see, David's praying in desperation. Why? Why does that matter? Because desperation is a proving ground for a miracle. And I believe, church, that the Lord wants to do a miracle in our midst this morning. So let's prepare our hearts for worship. Let's pray together. Father, we come to you in desperation because we believe, God. We believe that you're greater than our mistakes. We believe that you're greater than what we walked in here with. God, we believe that you're greater than complacency. God, bring these dry bones to life. Rear our hearts and get us ready to experience you in a way that marks us and changes us. Jesus, you are enough. We love you. It's in your heavenly matchless name we pray. Amen. Let's sing in worship. It was hard, but you were working. It was painful, it was hard, but you were working. All things for my good. Couldn't feel you at the time, but you were working. Full of questions, wondering why, but you were working. All things for my good. When I look back over my life and I think how good you have been and my soul sings, great is, great is your faithfulness. When I get your love on my mind, I get grateful all over again and my soul sings, great is, great is your faithfulness. Through the valley, through the storm, you are working. I will worship all the more. Because you are working. All things for my good. When I look back over my life and I think

♪ See how good you have been and my soul sings ♪ ♪ Great is, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ When I get your love on my mind I get grateful ♪ ♪ All over again and my soul sings ♪ ♪ Great is, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ And my soul sings, great is, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh your faithfulness ♪ ♪ You're making way ♪ ♪ You're turning around, you're turning around ♪ ♪ Don't know when, don't know how ♪ ♪ But you'll always do it somehow ♪ ♪ You're turning around, you're turning around ♪ ♪ Don't know when, don't know how ♪ ♪ But you'll always do it somehow, yeah ♪ ♪ You're turning around, you're turning around ♪ ♪ Don't know when, don't know how ♪ ♪ But you'll always do it somehow, yeah ♪ ♪ You're turning around, you're turning around ♪ ♪ Don't know when, don't know how ♪ ♪ But you'll always do it somehow, yeah ♪ ♪ When I look back over my life and I think ♪ ♪ How good you have been and my soul sings ♪ ♪ Great is, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ When I get your love on my mind I'll be grateful ♪ ♪ All over again and my soul sings ♪ ♪ Great is, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ You're turning around, you're turning around ♪ ♪ Don't know when, don't know how ♪ ♪ But you'll always do it somehow, yeah ♪

♪ You're turning around, yes you will ♪ ♪ You're turning around, don't know when, don't know how ♪ ♪ But you'll always do it somehow, yeah ♪ Thank you, Jesus. Come on, just lift him up, praise. Come on, did you come ready to praise Jesus this morning? Come on, did you come with a hallelujah on your lips today? Come on, let's worship. Yeah. As you behold. ♪ Behold the Lamb of God on the cursed cross ♪ ♪ The weight of every sin laid on His shoulders ♪ ♪ He made me trade, wrapped in all my shame ♪ ♪ Forsaken everything for my forgiveness ♪ ♪ No greater love than this ♪ Sing hallelujah, lift it up. ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ We praise the Lamb upon the throne ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Come on, church, deep within. ♪ ♪ Deep within the grave ♪ His broken body laid ♪ The darkened sword ♪ That held the worst defeat Come on. ♪ But Jesus proved it wrong ♪ The deathless overcome ♪ And all the angels shouted His risen ♪ The tomb was rolled

♪ Meanwhile Sing it out, hallelujah. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ We praise Him above the grave ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Come on, just give them a praise in the house today. ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Soon a day will come ♪ The skies will open up ♪ And on the clouds we'll see the Lord descend ♪ The gates will open wide ♪ The dead in Christ will rise Come on. ♪ And He will make His glory everlasting ♪ Behold the Lamb of God Hallelujah. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ We praise Him above the grave ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ We praise Him above the grave ♪ We praise Him above the grave ♪ Above the grave ♪ Hallelujah Sit a bit up.

Hallelujah. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Hallelujah ♪ We praise the Lamb upon the throne ♪ Hallelujah Come on, can we give Him praise today? Hallelujah. We wait for You, Lord We wait for You, Lord For Your justice and mercy Revival in our city We wait for You, Lord Come on, sing this with me. Christ our King Be enthroned, be lifted high Christ our King Be forever glorified We wait for You, Lord Oh, we wait, we wait for You, Lord You're healing the broken, rebuilding the ruined We wait for You, Lord Christ our King, be enthroned, be lifted high Christ our King, be forever glorified Christ our King, be enthroned, be lifted high Christ our King, be forever glorified My name is James. Before I knew Jesus, I was deep in addiction. It wasn't just a stroke. I was baptized as an infant, but over time God has been patiently working in my heart, leading me to understand the significance of baptism in a deeper way.

He has shown me that being baptized as an infant is different from choosing baptism when you are truly understanding its meaning. Dying to the old self and being raised to life in Christ. Attending church was simply something I had been taught to do, not something that I had yet learned to live. I had never read the Bible or formed an intentional relationship with my Lord. I was merely going through the emotions. During summer school, I met a sweet friend who began talking to me about my faith. I felt comfortable sharing with her as we formed a special bond. She gave me my first Bible and I remember praying in my office for the first time without it feeling awkward. After many invitations, I finally attended her church and left that day feeling changed. For the first time, I heard the message straight from the Bible and I knew immediately that this was where I wanted to be. While I do not remember my first message, many since have become vital in my walk today. And not long after I had started attending, I fully committed my life to Jesus. After developing an intimate relationship with God, I began to understand what the Bible means when it says you become a new person. I would have never imagined where my walk with God would have led me. I now look forward to each day as he and I sit at his feet and read the Bible together. I no longer wonder if something is missing. What was missing has been found through Jesus Christ. If you want to be bold in Jesus Christ, baptism is one way to earn your stripes. I hope my testimony encourages you to commit to walking with God, who will always provide for you. Just ask. Today I am going public with my faith. Melissa, Jesus said every disciple should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And because of your confession of faith, I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. And according to Scripture, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Oh. Come on, sing this out with me.

Hallelujah. All the hopeless come to Jesus. Let the dead come back to life. Can you hear the people singing? Hallelujah. Let your glory fill the city. Every nation strive and turn. Can you hear the people singing? ♪ People singing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Let your glory fill the city ♪ ♪ Every nation try their turn ♪ ♪ Can you hear your people singing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be enthroned, be lifted high ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be forever glorified ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be enthroned, be lifted high ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be forever glorified ♪ Come on, all the voices. ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be enthroned, be lifted high ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be forever glorified ♪ Come on, it's a good day to be in the house, amen. Hallelujah. Well, hey, church, it's great to be in the presence of God, yeah. Hey, before we get into the message,

we wanna get to know the people around us, what we call a minute to mingle. Let's go ahead and do that as we prepare for the message. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I want to see you Well good morning are you blessed to be in church this morning We know spring is coming because even first service is getting a little friendlier look at you guys mingling a little bit, this is great A little more Sun out there. I if we haven't met my name is Tyrone I have the opportunity to be on the team here and I just want to once again Thank you for worshiping with us. Thank you for joining us this morning. I hope you feel welcome I hope you haven't already experienced the presence of God we we truly believe that that each time we gather God has a unique and Powerful move in place for us that we never get to the point where we want this to be routine We never get to the point where we're just checking the box We gather because the Living God wants to move in us and with us each time we come together And so thank you for joining us with that I'm just very briefly gonna share some verbals and actually get out of the way this morning First of all, I do want to invite all the men men. Can I see your hands? Can I see your hands men Larry are there you are there you are if your hand is up go ahead and keep it up I know you're you're tired. You've been working all week and all the things, you know, you cut the grass yesterday morning If your hand is up the men's breakfast is for you, it's a it's for you February 21st Next Saturday right here on campus right here on site. There's a men's breakfast. Please plan on attending There's always good community good fellowship and always a good message that's preached and shared I believe that we we get better together Life change happens in the context of community. So please men tap the disc in front of you You can click the link if you're watching online stop by the connect table go to the website

But there's a number of ways to register for the men's breakfast. I don't know if Chris is in here Oh Chris our production director. He's our men's director as well. He's doing an incredible job with the men's ministry So proud of what he's doing also our kids Academy our kids Academy Which is our five day a week preschool right here on campus is taking registrations as we prepare for Next the next school year starting in the fall So if you have a three through pre-K, five-year-old, please find out more information so that you can be a part of that program. Also, next Sunday, the 22nd, the team will actually be out on the lawn after each service if you wanna go ask questions about the preschool. Remember, you have options of a half day and a full day. The teachers are fully certified, and we use biblical curriculum through ABECA. So it's a great program if you have kids or grandkids in that age range. Also, I wanna thank you for your generosity, and I want to commend you for your wisdom. For those that were here last Sunday, we had Quarterback Sunday. If you've never experienced that, we actually donate to the United Way. And the way we donate is you choose which team you think is gonna win the Super Bowl. And I would like to say that CTC, as our pastor always says, is a smart church, because you chose the winning team, the Seahawks, and it was great.

But also, most importantly, just by way of bringing your change, we get to give a check to United Way for over $3,000. So thank you for your giving. Thank you for your generosity. And lastly, and definitely not least, thank you for your generosity in making City Youth Conference happen. City Youth Conference was an incredible, incredible weekend. Over 400 students gathering in this building just lifting up the name of Jesus. There was salvations, there was rededications, chains were broken, community was built. It was incredible, and I do have to honor our youth and young adult directors, Freddie and Elisa, for doing an incredible job. Thank you for leading so strong. Thank you for your faithfulness, and here's the deal. As many of you know, Elisa's baby was due on the first night of conference, and this is how I know that she's a good, obedient baby. She knew, stay put until conference is over. If you're still sitting there with that baby in your belly next Sunday, then we're gonna say she needs to start listening to mom and dad and come on out, but she did good for now. But instead of telling you more about it, we're gonna actually watch a recap. Today's the day that we get to just glorify Jesus for what he did, the sacrifice he did on the cross.

It's so beautiful, and we in this room, we know what the freedom of Jesus is like. We know what the cost was for his death, and we get to walk in that, and there's gonna be so many people right now. We have, what, 400-something people coming in. Not all of them may know Jesus, but you know what? We get to reflect Jesus in God's presence in this room, and they're gonna truly experience what the freedom of God is like and the Christ that he gave, and it's gonna be such a beautiful weekend. Jesus, we thank you for today, Lord. We thank you. We lift your name upon high upon this place, Lord. I pray that they may have a revelation of who you are, Lord. We pray tonight, Lord, that you soften hearts, you heal hearts, Lord. We pray that you break chains, you break strongholds off of people tonight, Lord. We pray you do the miracle working power of your blood tonight, Lord. So, Jesus, we pray you move in each and every single person. God, we pray you move in the worship. We pray that in every element of this conference, Lord, you are there and you are moving, Father. So tonight, we lift up every volunteer. We lift up every service team member. We lift up every speaker tonight, Lord. Your name we pray, amen.

Holy is a heart cry, it's a journey, it's a transformation, it's walking something out past salvation and into something new, it's what you're supposed to belong. It's my home. It's our church, and you have our proposal. It's my life. And with one word, we invoke Jesus Christ for salvation. Jesus Christ, you are here and you're here ... Gosh, scary, seriously, it's what you're supposed to belong to. It's the family that you belong to. Now, somebody needs to hear me say one more time, not because you're perfect, but because you received mercy, you made a mistake. God already knows that, and yet, he wants you to do this. This is my salvation. This is my healing. This is my foundation. This is the only thing I build my life upon. There is a God that lived and died for you and would love nothing more than to show you who he is tonight.

No stages were harmed when those kids all came flying up here. Thank you for your generosity, those type of life change moments that you viewed just now on that recap are because of your generosity, because of your prayer, because of your willingness to invest in the next generation. So, I wanna pray. I'm gonna pray for our lead pastor. He's actually ministering in Texas this weekend. So we're praying for him to minister powerfully and to be protected and used by the Lord. And then I'm gonna bring up our speaker. So Lord, we thank you so much for the opportunity to be in your house, for the opportunity to worship you, to lift up your name. We thank you, Lord, that your presence is already here. We're thankful, God, for all the things that we get to celebrate and all the things that we're anticipating for you to do. Lord, for every volunteer, for every bit of the serve teams, even for every first-time guests that have walked in this room, God, we ask for your protection. Lord, for an encounter with you. Lord, for strength, for endurance. Lord, we thank you for the divine interactions

that'll even happen here this morning. Lord, we ask that you prepare our hearts to receive the word, be with our pastor as he travels. Lord, minister through him, help him to lead well, help him to preach well. We ask that you get him home safely. Lord, thank you for every person that chooses to give. We ask, Lord, that you bless the generosity of the people. We ask that you continue to give us wisdom, give us strength and understanding as we lead in the ways that we believe that you're calling us to do. Lord, we pray for every single local church in our community, Lord, that is preaching the Bible. We pray that you strengthen churches in our city. We pray that you lead churches in our city in wisdom and decision-making. God, we know that we are not called to do this alone. So we ask that you be there with our brother and sister churches here with us. Lord, as we transition this service, we ask that you posture our hearts to prepare for the word, posture our minds to receive what you want us to receive. We honor you, we lift you up in Jesus' name, amen. And so it's my honor to bring up our speaker today. He spoke last night. He also gave an incredible leadership session yesterday in the afternoon. He is no stranger to us because he is family from Vacaville.

Many of you guys know Pastor Dave and Pastor Jude Jr. and Pastor Tim Biddle and many that have come from the Father's house. And so we're gonna welcome him as a brother and not a first timer here at CTC. And so all the way from Vacaville, California, can you stand to your feet as we welcome my brother and friend, Pastor John Lorenzo. Good morning. Are you doing well today? Good. It's good to see you, man. You can be seated in here. I'll make you stand again in a second. So we're gonna do some aerobics this morning, get our blood flowing. It's good to see you today. My name is John and it was an honor to be at Youth Conference. Isn't it amazing what God's doing in young people's lives in this church and this generation? I'm thankful for churches that believe in young people, that believe in the next generation. And right away when I walked in, I was like, oh, this church is like family to me. I do come from California, but whatever part of California you think it is, is not what you think, okay?

I know we're the ones that are buying your houses and driving up all the prices and stuff like that. But I live in a place called Vacaville, which if you don't speak Spanish, it literally means cow town. So that's where we live and we're blessed to be part of a church called The Father's House. And it is family, Pastor Dave and Donna send their love today. And also I wanna honor your pastors. Are you thankful first for Pastor Tyrone in Virginia? Do you love them? I don't know if they're watching online, but I said it last night when I was a young man, I used to really look up to preachers that were charismatic and all these different types of leaders. And the longer I go in life, I just look up to men and women that have built amazing churches, that kids respect them, that have been faithfully responding to the call of God. And you have some amazing pastors. When I ran into him a couple of weeks ago at our church conference, he put a hand on my shoulder and was like, son, I'm excited for you to come. I'm like, dad, are you my dad too? I don't know. This is, but I love them.

And are you thankful also for Pastor Tyrone and Karina? Do you love them? They're amazing. And I do wanna show a picture of my family. They're not able to be with me today, but I believe we have a picture. That is my wife, Natalie. And then I have three daughters. So you can start interceding for my sanity, my bank account, all of it right now, all the girl dads know. So that's my wife, Natalie. Our oldest daughter, her name is Ava Noelani. She's my wife's like carbon copy. My second daughter, her name is Nina Lulu, and she's as crazy as she looks in that picture. So you better pray for, I already know what I'm going back to. My wife's been alone with them for two days. So I'm not tired. I'm gonna get to work when I get home. And then we have a baby. His name is Lola Joy, and she's just turned a year old. And so we're blessed. My wife, if you can't tell, she's Chilean and Paraguayan, and I'm Italian and Japanese. So my kids are confused. I either say we're gonna raise the most confused children or the most scholarship children on planet earth. I'm checking off every single box on that list, okay?

So even if you don't know me, man, I'm like all of you guys, right, have a cousin that married that white dude, and that's who I am, okay? in the family, so I'm a part of it right now. And it's an honor to be here today at this church. And I wanna preach to you a word called the weight and the walk. I'm gonna preach out of one chapter of scripture in Genesis in 13, out of the life of a man named Abraham. And we get to this part of Genesis. Abram has been introduced to us the chapter before. Abram is one of the most important figures of the Bible. He is the patriarch of both the nation of Israel, of the faith of the Jewish people. But in addition to that, the New Testament will tell us that every family on earth, not just Jewish families, but every family on earth will be blessed through Abraham's life. And in Genesis chapter 12, God speaks to Abram and tells him that he is to leave a land of his father, that he is to leave the land that is comfortable and go to a land that God will show him. Oh, right away, I'm gonna start preaching to you. Isn't it interesting that God tells Abram to go without all of the details? I'm really good at going when God gives me details and God's really good at saying, I'm not gonna do that. Abram gets told to go and he says, go to a land that I will show you.

So he settles in the land of Canaan, which will become the promised land. He has a brief stint down in Egypt. And then in Genesis chapter 13, which will be our primary text today, we are going to read together. So if you would stand one more time, read the preaching of God's word today. We're gonna read seven verses to begin. It says, so Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and lot with him into the Negev. Now, Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. That's gonna be really important for where we go today. When Abram returns to the land from Egypt, he doesn't go to where it's easiest. He doesn't go to where it's most beautiful. He doesn't go to where it's most fertile. He says he goes back to the place that God spoke to him the first time. What an idea that when a transition comes in our lives, the place that you ought to go back to is where you heard God's voice the clearest. We continue on and it says, and Lot his nephew went with Abram.

He also had flocks and herds and tents. So the land could not support both of them dwelling together for their possessions were so great, they could not dwell together. And it says there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. And at that time, the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. See the tension of this text is offered to us in these verses that these two men that God has blessed and made wealthy are shepherds. They're agriculture people and it's actually just a literal problem. It says that the land cannot support both of them. And then here's what we get in verse eight and nine and then I'll let you sit back down. It says, then Abram said to Lot, let there be no strife between you and me and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen is for we are family, we're kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you. Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left. You can be seated here this morning. I wanna talk to you for a moment for the time that we have together about vision and about knowing the will of God for your life. As I've been in pastoral ministry now for close to 15 years

which I know is not as long as some but it's long enough to notice some recurring patterns. And I would say that one of the most crucial and important questions that people will set up meetings with me about or will come to the altar is they're asking for God's direction for their life. And I'll just tell you where I'm headed today. I believe that in Genesis 13, we are offered two types of decision-making. We are offered decision-making that comes from the spirit, being a man or woman of the spirit and decision-making that comes from being a person of the flesh. And I believe today that at CTC here on a Sunday morning in February, God has called every single one of us to be people that make decisions from the spirit, amen. So why don't we pray together? Jesus, we thank you Lord that your word is alive and well. God, we thank that your spirit is in this room. And if both of those things are true, God, then we can believe for an on-time in-season word today. God, we didn't come to sing songs or just to have fun times. God, we came to hear from you. So would you speak to us in your name, Jesus, amen, amen. I've just learned in life, we're not as good at making decisions as we like to think we are, okay. And especially for the men in this room,

men, we are not as good. making decisions as we think we are, okay? And this begins at a young age. Like when we are young, our brains are not actually formed correctly. I've been a long time in youth ministry and there's actually scientific evidence that the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that is good at making decisions in teenage men of God is not quite formed yet. And so it's not there's like a scam against you. Insurance costs more because they're like, y'all make dumb decisions with cars. That's why we don't let you, we make you pay more. And I have a lot of stories I could tell, but one of those stories where I learned this lesson came when I was 16 years old. Now, I grew up in a very small town north of Seattle, Washington, like farm town. I had to drive through dairy farms and corn fields to get to school. And it wasn't my favorite place to grow up, but something I learned that I did enjoy about it is that from my school parking lot, you could make it up to the ski resort, one of the best ski resorts in the state of Washington in about 45 minutes. Now, you may ask how I learned this, how fast we could go up there. And it all came from realizing that,

hey, we drive now and going snowboarding sounds a lot more fun than going to school, shockingly. Now, to the young people that are in this room, this is like, I'm not that old, but this is like back when you could get away with a lot. Now, this is before you could track people's phones. This is before the Life 360 app and all these different things that the young people in our youth ministry go through now. Back in the day, they wouldn't even send out emails about missing school. The only thing that would happen is that you would get a phone call home and it would say, hey, a student missed one or more periods today. So let's just say you had a younger brother. They got home before your parents got home from work. As long as you let them know to go delete the voice memo before your parents got home, you were good. And so let's just say this may have become a pattern for me during snowboarding season. And at one point, again, because my brain wasn't fully formed, my friends and I were in the car driving up and we got this idea. We were like, hey, why do we go through the trouble of having someone delete the voicemail? Why don't we just take turns calling the attendance office for each other to call each other out of school?

16 years old, voice cracking. I sound like a dad, totally, right? So we think we're brilliant. We call each other out of school and we're like, man, best idea ever. And so we get up to the past and it's one of those amazing days. If you've ever been skiing or snowboarding, it's a bluebird day. I remember I took a lift called Seventh Heaven up to the top of the mountain and I am sitting in the snow. I'm strapping on my board. I'm like, man, what a great day. And my phone starts going off and it's my mom. And my mom, she calls me. She says, hey, where are you? And I go, mom, I just stepped out of class. What are you talking about? She goes, try again. It's never what you wanna hear. Go, well, you know, I might not be in class. Something else might've come up. She goes, yeah, where are you? And I go, I'm on the mountain. I'm about to go snowboarding. She goes, good, you better enjoy it. It's the last time you're gonna leave the house for a while. Which is like such brilliant mom tactics.

It's like, it ruined the whole day. Like, I did not have a single good run in the rest of the day. It's just lingering in the back of my mind, the wrath of God that is gonna come down from my mother. Of course, I finally give up. I go home. I get grounded. I get my license taken away. All the stuff that goes on. And I think back on those times. And I like to think, you know, after all of these years, I've just gotten so much better. But the reality is, is that you and I stumble towards good decision-making in life sometimes. Now, I wanna give you two caveats to this message to begin with when it comes to hearing the voice of God. The first one is this. God has grace that is sufficient for your and my decision-making. This message is not supposed to cause fear or anxiety or worry. I do believe that when there's three elements in your life, the word of God, prayer, and community, they're almost like those bumpers that are at the bowling alley, right? If you got those things in your life, you're gonna bump to the left and to the right, but you're eventually gonna end up at the pins. God's banner of grace is over our decisions.

In addition to that, the second caveat I will give you is you don't need a word from God to stop sinning. Sometimes I'll talk to people. They'll be like, man, God, what do you think about, you know, this unethical thing I've been doing in business? If you need a word, I just gave you one. Stop doing it. God, do I need a word from you to stop having lunch with my married coworker? If you need one this morning, I just gave it to you. Stop doing it, okay? So with both of those things being our caveats, that God has so much grace for your decision-making, and two, that you do not need a word from God to, heaven's open moment to stop operating in sin. What do we do with the reality of our day-to-day life? When new jobs open up, when there's new enlistment opportunities to being sent to another base, what do we do when we have to make decisions about where our kids are going to school? What do we do when we're faced with trials, when we lose a job, when there's a death in the family, when all of the reality, the things that make up our lives happen? And I believe that Genesis 13 is gonna lay out a blueprint for some really simple ways that you and I this year in 2026 can make decisions from the spirit. This contrast is very specifically made

between Abraham and his nephew, Lot. Abraham, like we said before, he is the patriarch of our faith. However, what's fascinating is the New Testament, it will say about Abraham that he never wavered concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in the faith as he waited on God and gave glory to God. However, when you read Genesis, I'm like, Abraham, you wavered in your faith constantly. Genesis is a whole book about all the times that you wavered in your faith, which ought to give you some encouragement today that God has grace for the times that you waver, that he looks upon your life and will look at you at the end of times as we stand before the judgment seat, and he will look at you through the grace of his sacrifice of his son, Jesus. Abraham wavers all the time, and isn't that true for us? We are the scatterbrained, prone to wandering, people that bump, get nicked, scrapes and scars as we stumble our way into the promises of God, ultimately being propelled and motivated by the promise of God, which is that he will set us up in the place that he would like us to be. So that's all great, but what about today? How do you set yourself up in a way to be a person that makes decisions from the spirit?

The first way I think is very obviously shown to us in this passage, it's this, you have to go back to Bethel. Remember what it said in the beginning of this passage, he went back to the place where at first he had heard God's voice, at first he had made an altar to the Lord. Now, today you have found yourself at church at 8.30 in the morning, you are a spiritual person. So I'm gonna guess today that you are at least vaguely interested in what God has to say for your life, or at minimum, your girlfriend or your wife is very interested in what God has to say for your life. Think about what it's saying in this passage, that when we are set up to see a man that makes decisions from the spirit, all of it as a foundation is that it began in the presence of God, that it began in the house of God, that it began being influenced by the wisdom of God. I don't believe it's an accident. What a difficult question to ask, God, what is your will for my life? And what a silly thing that we do that we have fractured our lives to where there are secular decisions and spiritual decisions in our life. I actually think that we get those things wrong all the time. Like for some reason, if you are in here and you don't do ministry, you think that your career and your work, oftentimes when I talk to people, is a secular thing.

How silly that is when the first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and to multiply and then to go into the world and have dominion over it. Now, that word dominion has more to do with cultivating, has more to do with using the gifts that God had given them in creation to make new things. So how silly would it be if we got up here and said, yeah, because you don't do ministry, because you're retired, hey, this one and a half hours that you're in a week and that you're at pursuit, you're at prayer and you're at group, that's all that God cares about. And the other 40, 50, 60 hours that you spend, that God, it's somehow secular in your life. That's not what God thinks. I think God cares deeply what you do with your life. God cares deeply what you do with the hours that he gives you on this planet. That's not secular. That's spiritual. And then sometimes I think we over-spiritualize things that God doesn't care about at all. God, what translation of the Bible is the correct one? Like, yes, there's some that are more accurate than others. I know that pastor, I'm sure has taught you on this, but overall, I think God's just happy that you're reading the Bible. God, I need a word.

You need to tell me what team I'm supposed to serve on. They're talking about this mission strip. God, I need a word. Can I tell you, it's just good for your soul to serve people. Like the worst thing that happens if you join a serve team without a word is that someone who needs some help gets some and you make a friend. And we're like, God, I need open heaven. I need a word. No, I think we get these things backwards. And when decision making moments come in life, I think that you need to have well tread on paths of where you know that you need to go and the people you need to talk to in order to hear God's voice. You need to have Bethels in your life to say, man, God, this decision is coming up and I've got to do that. Years ago, I was preaching in Washington State where I grew up and I didn't have a huge memory that I'd been to this camp, but I'll never forget. I was the young man and one of our youth leaders that was with me were walking over to the sanctuary and I was walking by and I saw this little chapel and I got floored. I was like, man, this is where my intern retreat was when I was 18 years old. And I walked into this chapel

and man, I just felt God's presence in that place. And I was taken back to being 18 years old and sitting in that chapel. And guys, I was a radical 18 year old. I remember going to that altar and saying, God, whatever. If he had told me in that moment to sell everything I had, move to China, move across the world and be a missionary, I would have done it. Now, I also owned like four things, so that would not have been that hard, but I felt in that moment, even in my 30s, the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart and saying, do I still have your yes like that? That's what Bethel is for, to take you back to the place that you heard God's voice in the beginning. And isn't it funny that the older we get and the more we go in life, we mature our way right out of radical faith. Oh, I could have done it when I didn't have responsibility, when I didn't have the kids and the mortgage and the employees that are looking to me and the people and the team I have to manage and the unit I'm in charge of. Yeah, that all sounds good, John, but what about me right now? Regardless of age, God has called us to radical faith. That when he speaks, my response is yes. That when I get a word from the Lord, my response is go. Do not forget, my friends, that Abraham is 75 years old

when God speaks to him for the first time. And he's gotta go back to his Bethel and see if God still has his yes for him. So then we begin to contrast Abraham, a man of the Spirit, that goes to Bethel with Lot, a man of the flesh. 13 and 10, this is what it says. And Lot lifted up his eyes, he saw the Jordan Valley. It was well-watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, the direction of Zoar. This is before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, there's an interesting thing that happens in the Hebrew where it says that Lot lifts his eyes up and looks to the land, but when we get Abraham's description, it says that Abram lifted up his eyes and looked to the Lord. So I want you to understand something. At face value, what Lot is doing is not technically wrong. He is a shepherd, so he looks out at the valley and says, oh, there's grass and there's water there. In this passage, this verse gives us a great breakdown. It says he looks up. The Jordan Valley was well-watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord. Praise God, that sounds awesome. But then there's some pretty intense foreshadowing that happens. It says, like the land of Egypt. Well, that's not as good. Egypt is a place of slavery.

Egypt, although a fertile place, was the place of Israel's slavery. And then if you know the story, it says in direction of Zoar. That's a bigger uh-oh. That is where the biggest, worst part of Lot's life happens. And then we get the biggest uh-oh of all. It says, this is before the Lord chose to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. It's hard to put in words how destructive this moment for Lot's life is, this decision that he makes. A proverb that I learned when I was a young man and committed to memory, Proverbs 14 and 12. There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end, it leads to his destruction. And Lot, in this story in Genesis, he is a living example of this proverb. So the second thing that we have to do if we are going to make spirit-filled decisions in 2026 is we have to analyze our humanity. I was reminded of a passage in the Gospel of Matthew. We don't have time to read it all today, but it's the story of Jesus's temptation in the beginning of his ministry. Matthew 4, it says that after Jesus's baptism, the spirit of God drives him into the wilderness. It says that in the wilderness he is tempted by the devil and scholars will say that these temptation narratives in Matthew chapter four outline the way that human beings are most often tempted.

First, it says he's fasted for 40 days and Jesus is tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread. Second, it says that he is brought up to a high place and he is tempted with using his power, putting God to the test. Finally, it says he's brought up and in a vision he sees every nation on earth and the enemy says, hey, if you would just bow down to me, I would give you control. All these people would worship you. See, these three areas, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, I think are the most common sinful influences of our decision making. And it's really important in life that you analyze which of those that you have the propensity towards. Some of you are like, pastor, all three of them, okay? But as I look at my life, there's certain times when I've looked at decisions that I've made poorly. Some of them stick out more than the other. Lot, I do believe in this passage, operates in all three of them. He looks to the land, he doesn't look to God, it's simply what his eyes see. Second, we are told there are large cities there that at face value, I'm like, probably think I'm gonna be a great man. The pride of life begins to be exposed. Yeah, Abraham, you got a lot of land and God spoke to you, but I could be great too.

We had an interesting season after we pastored our youth ministry in Florida. I've lived in every corner of the nation. Every time I tell people everywhere I've lived, at my daughter's school, they always assume we're a military family because we're in the Lord's army, right? That's the worst joke ever, okay? But we were pastoring in New York City and I had a season where we were operating as lead pastors in Manhattan, which was as crazy as you can imagine. It was a lot of fun, but it was a lot of craziness too. And I had this moment where to be really honest, the pride of life had sunk in a little bit. I remember church started growing and I'd been praying for an opportunity and I was getting to preach every Sunday in Manhattan and man, I'm not gonna lie, I felt like we were doing pretty good. I remember I would get done with services and people who had no business speaking into my life would come up to me and say, pastor, that was one of the best messages I have ever heard. And before long, I started saying, yes, it was. Thank you. I don't know that I ever actually said that, but there was something happening inside of my heart. So I'll never forget, it was a Sunday morning and I'm up there yelling and preaching my guts out

and doing all the things that I do. And I'll never forget my team, I could tell they were trying to get my eye contact like just a little bit. And I was like, yeah, amen, come on, let's go. I didn't even know what was going on. And so I get off the stage and some well-meaning person comes up to me and yeah, they say, man, pastor, that was such an amazing sermon. I'm like, yes, thank you. But one of my spiritual team members came up to me and said, hey, pastor, we were trying to get your attention because the whole time when you were up there, you had a name tag on your butt. And they were like, we didn't know if we should put it up on the screen. We didn't know, like we, you know, I was trying to get your attention, hey, this, this, this, but you just kind of kept going and kept preaching. See, what had happened is that my daughter, her little kid's name tag that she had thought the best place that thing could go was right here on dad's butt, right before he went up to preach. You know, I walked out of that moment and I put a name tag on my Bible. It has since come off because that was years ago, but every time it comes off, I put a new one on. And there's a very specific reason why,

because I need constant reminders in my life of how susceptible I am to the pride of life. Every time I want to get off the stage like this and say, yeah, that's right, John, you're the man. I go, dude, you have a name tag on your butt. I think that the only way that we stop ourselves from the patterns that we live in is to analyze our sin patterns. This seems to be the thing, and not in a condemning way, but this seems to be the thing that I struggle with the most. It seems to be the thing that I'm blinded by the most. And I just have to wonder from this story, if Lot had known that, how different it could have been for him. Like I told you earlier, it would be hard to say in words how destructive this decision was for Lot. The Bible says that from there, Lot went east. That's a big red flag. Anytime in Genesis it says that someone goes east, they go east. That's a big red flag. And I think that's the thing that I struggle with the most. They go towards their destruction. It seems to be the thing that I'm blinded by the most. The first opportunity that we see someone to go east, it is when Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden And I just have to wonder from this story, and they go east of Eden. if Lot had known that,

how different it could have been for him. This decision alone will lead to the destruction of all of Lot's property, all of his livestock. It will lead to the death of his wife. And in one of the most horrible stories in the Bible, Lot is hiding and living in a cave. And through an incestuous relationship that he has with his children, there are two children that are born. And these children will become the enemies of the nation of Israel for all time. And I'm not here to scare you. I'm not here to freak you out. But what I do believe Genesis 13 offers us an example of is that the fruit of decisions made from the flesh is destruction. It's Proverbs 14, 12. There's a way that seems right to man, but in the end, it will lead to their destruction. As we get ready to conclude today, I wanna read a last section of scripture after Lot goes and settles. And in verse 14, it says that the Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, lift up your eyes, look to me, look from the place where you are, look northward, southward, eastward, westward. For all the land that you see, I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth

so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land for I will give it to you. So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the Oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron. And there he once again built an altar to the Lord. My final point of application for you today, if we're gonna be people that make decisions from the spirit, is that we have to make decisions from faith rather than clarity. We have to make decisions from faith rather than clarity. At our church conference a few weeks ago, where Pastor Tyrone was at, there was a preacher from Las Vegas, Nevada called Pastor Jaben Chavez, and he had a timely and prophetic word for us. He got up at the end and he said, the great enemy of the church in 2026 is not sin, it's not pride, it's not politics. It is the church's desire for clarity before it moves. I want you to look closely at what God just said to Abram. He has just chosen unquestionably the worst portion of the land. His nephew goes to get the well-watered, lush garden land, and we can only assume that it's the worst portion of the land. He goes to get the well-watered, lush garden land, and we can only assume then that he takes a desert portion. In addition to that, God's promise is that

he is going to have offspring, and so many offspring, that if someone can count the amount of dirt that's in Yuma, Arizona, he could count how many offspring that Abram is gonna have. To walk the land, go north, south, east, west, go everywhere, why? Because I'm gonna give it all to you. Now that's all great, and oftentimes our struggle is we know the end of the story. God just told a childless, homeless man that he's gonna have so many offspring, they can't be counted, and that the entire area that he sees, he will occupy. Abram has no kids, and he lives in a tent. I think that one of the biggest dangers for our faith in this season as a church is that we would say, God, I am not going to move until you show me exactly how it's gonna happen. He doesn't know about Isaac. He doesn't know about Zion and the city of David that will once exist there. He doesn't know about the Holy Land. What he has gotten is a word, and God tells him to go. And I love what he says. He says, you waited at Bethel. You waited at the altar. You went back to where I first spoke to you. But he doesn't say just wait. He says, now you gotta walk. You waited, you did it right, and now you need to walk.

Church, let me speak to your life for a moment. If you wanna be a person that operates by faith, yes, you are gonna have to wait on God, but eventually you're gonna have to start walking. What does that look like in our life? It looks like when there's a job transition and you're sitting there and you see an option that makes less money, that makes less sense, but you think God is on it, and your friends and your coworkers are saying, what are you doing? Why did you do this? And you have to go, I waited. God spoke, now I gotta walk. What does it look like? It looks like when your time is done on this base, and I've heard this testimony of people that ended their time in the military and said, something erupted in me. I had to stay in Yuma, why? Because you found a good thing. And you got family and friends that are saying, move home where you have support. No, I heard, I waited, and now I gotta walk. What does it look like? It looks like single parents who are working all week and then bringing their families to church who are the heroes of this church. What is that? Because they can catch a vision and see

that there is a life for their kids that is not the life that they have. I waited on God, and I know it doesn't make complete sense, but now I got to walk. For our seasoned saints that are in the room, they're talking about serving and joining groups and opening up your life to other people, and you're sitting there saying, why would I do that? Why should I do that? What are you doing? I'm waiting. God spoke to me that I have something to offer to the next generation, and now I gotta walk. Today, that's what making decisions from the Spirit looks like. Not fear, not trepidation, not worry. I waited on God, and now I gotta walk. Amen. Why don't you bow your heads with me today? I wanna give two simple responses for you in church. The first one is this. If you're in here and you don't have a relationship with God, today is your day. This is your moment. You're the reason why this church was started, and you're the reason why I'm here preaching today. The first decision you will ever make from the Spirit is salvation. It is God's kindness, and it is His Spirit that beckons you to the cross.

And today, if I was to sit down with you afterwards and ask if you had a relationship with Jesus, if your answer was anything else but yes, yes, yes, not I got baptized when I was a kid, not hey, I think I might. I've been coming here for a while. If you do not know that you know that you know, this is your moment. So if you're here today and you wanna begin a relationship with Jesus, I want you to raise your hand. One, two, three. You wanna begin a relationship with Jesus today. Amazing. I see some hands in the room today. Come on. That's amazing. God's so proud of you. He loves you. He welcomes you home today. You can put your hands down in this place. My second question for you today, Pastor Tyrone will lead you in your next steps for salvation, but my second question for anyone in the room today, if at any point in this message, you began to feel like God was pulling on your heart a little bit, like you've been making decisions from the flesh and not from the Spirit, I believe today that is not a pull over,

fix the entire car thing. God just wants to do a little course correction in your life. If that's you today and you say, God, I just need some help with that. Could you just raise your hand in this place? Say, God, I want more of that in my life. It's been a while. I've maybe matured my way out of radical faith. I wanna get back to the faith I once had. Jesus, I thank you that you see every hand that is raised and you know every heart that is attached to it. I pray right now in a church that already is so in depth and in tune with your Spirit, I pray that your presence would overwhelm these people's lives right now. God, would you see this act of faith? Would you see this moment of response and would you do what only you can do? We thank you for it and we trust you for it in your name, Jesus, amen. Come on, can we thank God for what he did in church today? Amen, amen, amen. Come on, let's stand to our feet as we thank the Lord for what he did in this house. For those of you, the altar team can come on forward. For those of you who would like to connect with someone in prayer, based on a decision you've just made,

the altar team is here available to you and they'll even hang out here after the service comes to a close. For those of you watching online, feel free to click the link for prayer. Also, we wanna walk you through your next steps. Don't make decisions like this and do life alone. You can join a city life group. You can go into the steps of baptism and go forward with your faith. You can join a serve team. All of that is available to you by tapping the disc or stopping at the Connect table. If you're watching online, you can click the link. But more than anything else, I truly believe that the Lord has positioned us today to hear his voice, to understand how to truly make spirit-led decisions, spirit-led decisions in faith, spirit-led decisions that we can make confidently, not because of our wisdom, but because of his wisdom. So as we get ready to close here today, I ask that we all remain for a moment and respond in worship, respond with our yes, even in the moment as the team leads us in this worship song. So Lord, we thank you. We thank you for this service. We thank you for your word. We thank you for speaking clearly.

We ask God that as we respond in worship in these final moments, that you continue to download into us what you want us to hear, what you want us to see, what you want us to understand. We thank you, Lord, that your voice speaks and that we can hear in Jesus name, amen and amen. ♪ Father hope has come to Jesus ♪ ♪ Let the dead come back to life ♪ ♪ Can you hear the people singing Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Father hope has come to Jesus ♪ ♪ Let the dead come back to life ♪ ♪ Can you hear the people singing Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Let your glory fill the city ♪ ♪ Every nation try and return ♪ ♪ Can you hear the people singing Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Let your glory fill the city ♪ ♪ Every nation try and return ♪ ♪ Can you hear the people singing Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Hear His throne be lifted high ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be forever glorified ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Hear His throne be lifted high ♪ ♪ Christ our King ♪ ♪ Be forever glorified ♪ We love you church, we'll see you next Sunday.