I'm so excited that you're here. If you're brand new, my name's Pastor Jonathan. Let me add my welcome to you this morning. I want to also welcome Longmont by simulcast this morning. Hey Longmont, we love you, we're proud of you, and we're excited about the impact you're having on the city of Longmont. I know the future is bright, bright, bright because you're there doing the work of the Lord. I'm so excited for that.

If you're joining us online on our online campus this morning, we welcome you as well. Hey, listen, we all read the Bible through a different lens, don't we? Most of it comes from our life experiences and different things like that. But I can be honest with you: I tend to read my Bible through a flannel board. Pastor Jonathan, what in the world does that mean? Well, when I was a young boy, I grew up in Sunday school. Remember anybody? Anybody old enough to remember Sunday school? Where you show up before church to have church. Do you remember that? I missed those days so much, man. We would show up, and I had this great Sunday school teacher. Her name was Miss Kitty Kentros, and you'll hear me talk about her often. I just love her so much. She was so precious, and she had this flannel board that she would set on an easel. She would hand us all a little character, and we would become a part of the story.

As I read my Bible today, as I study to put together these messages and to improve what I know about Jesus, I still can see a lot of these stories through that flannel board. Even though I might not be able to hand you a piece this morning and let you come up here and put it on there, I want you to know that you have a part to play in every one of these stories. Because as you learn them, as you see them, as you apply them to your life, you will have the impact that God has called you to have and what He's called you to do.

So guess what? This morning, I brought my flannel board, and we're going to have a good time. We're going to talk all about some of the greatest stories in the Bible. You know, I came up with this idea last year. I had mentioned Jonah and the whale, and I had mentioned another story that are, like, I mean, dude, your basic stories. And I had people come up to me after service, like, "I'd never heard that story before. That was so cool." And I was like, oh, no. Like, I wanted to be excited about the fact that they heard it, but it broke my heart. And I come to realize, man, not here, not here, but in most places, this is the most biblically illiterate generation in the history of the world.

So guess what we're going to do? We're going to go back to the basics for this month. We're going to pick out two stories from the Old Testament, two from the New, and we're going to dive into them and see what they have. But we're going to do them through some life-size friends all month long. So if you've got some friends, you've got some family members you've been trying to get into church, this is the one you want to bring them to, okay? I promise you, we're going to have a very, very good time.

But in the process of all of this today, I think it would be remiss of us to forget that we have a declaration to make. So if you brought your Bible, before we jump into it, why don't we make a declaration? Say, "This is my Bible. I am what it says I am, and I can do what it says I can do." This morning, my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God, and I'll never be the same. No, I'll never be the same. In Jesus' name, amen.

Today, we're going to take a trip into the book of Genesis, chapter 22, where we'll run into a man that many call the father of our faith. The father of our faith. Oh, this is Abraham. There he is. Look at Abraham.

Now, if you've ever been to Sunday school, you know a familiar song. Maybe you learned this one while you were there. It went a little something like this:
"Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you. So let's just praise the Lord right on, Father Abraham." Okay, you get it.

Why do they call him that? Let me take you back to Genesis. Let me take you back to chapter 2. I'm going to start you in verse 1. And you never know what's going to happen at Victory Church, man. If you don't bring a seatbelt, you have no idea what's coming from Sunday to Sunday. Let's check it out.

Genesis 22, beginning of verse 1. I'm in the New King James this morning. It starts out and says this:
"Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, 'Abraham.'" And he said, "Here I am."

Let me give you a little background to this moment because I think that we have to understand something. The very first phrase of this chapter says, "Now it came to pass after these things," meaning there are some things, right? So let's look at these for just a second here. Let me give you some background so that we can fully appreciate what the situation is that Abraham's about to step into.

And so let's look at it from this perspective: Father Abraham not only had many sons, but I've got questions about that. What makes him the father of faith? I mean, think about this for a second. What makes him the one that makes me a son and you too?

The verse we began with this morning said, "Now it came to pass after these things." Let me tell you a little bit about these things. Are you ready? With the context of these things, without it, we could quite easily miss the importance of the test Abraham is about to endure and even more so the significance of what happens on the other side.

What are these things? Abraham started out as a man named Abram in the land of Ur. The land of Ur. Sounds like we're going to Oz this morning, doesn't it? There are no munchkins in Ur. He was the son of an idol merchant, all right? And so his entire family lineage was to facilitate the worship and adulation of many false gods in a society of multi-theistic beliefs, meaning they worshiped just about everything.

And his daddy got rich off of selling little idols to people to worship. That's what Abraham's coming from. So nobody in this room has any kind of excuse to say, "Well, you know, my parents set me up for this. My grandparents set me up for this. My lineage says that they were alcoholics, so I have to be an alcoholic. They were broke, so I have to be broke. They were full of anger, so I have to be full of anger." You get no excuse because old Father Abraham, going right hand, left hand, took off down the road doing what? Old Father Abraham, going right hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand...

Left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand, left hand...

Obeying God in this one moment, God speaks to him and calls him to a new life. Okay, now God spoke to him at the age of 75. To leave his home and journey to an unknown land, to which God promised to lead him. No directions, no Siri. Couldn't even call her boyfriend Google. All right, he was on his own, man. Y'all are rough today. I'm telling you what. Let me get an amen. Can I get a preach? Can I get a preach, white boy? Okay, everybody over here was really scared to say that last one. It's okay.

See, most people at the age of 75, they’re kind of looking towards retirement, aren’t they? They’re kind of ready to slow down, not move out into a brand new life with a brand new calling at the age of 75. What's this tell us? You're never too old to answer the call of God.

See what God calls you to, He gives you the grace to sustain in. So whether you're two or you're 92, it doesn't matter. God still has need of you in this season of your life. And so He speaks to Abraham and He says, "Hey, man, I want you to take your wife and I want you to take your nephew, and I want you to set out, and I’ll show you when you get there." This is him setting out. And then, this is what God says to him in Genesis chapter 12:
"Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'"

That's a promise. Trusting God at His word, Abraham left his country, his family, and his father's house, taking his wife and his nephew, and he left for the land of Canaan. And they lived this nomadic lifestyle, right? He went from a man who was set and had roots somewhere to a guy who picked up and took everything he owned and went from place to place.

This transition from a bustling city to a nomadic lifestyle marked a significant change for Abram. You got to understand, he followed God's will, and he burned the boats behind him. He couldn't go home once he left his family.

Ultimately, Abram goes through a series of stops on this journey, and every time he stops—whether in the land of Egypt or any other place on the way to this promised land—God increased him exponentially. Not double every time he stopped, but every time he stopped, it looked like his Roth IRA came due. I mean, he started out with 100 sheep and he left with 500 sheep. He started out with 100 donkeys and he left with 1,000 donkeys. Every time this dude stopped, it was like every king and every person that came in contact with him was just like, "Here, man." I could jump into the reasons why, but I don't have time today. Oh, come in October, I'll tell you all about it, how about that?

But on the way to all of this, we get to see the significance of Abraham's legacy: a faith that God could trust. A faith that God could trust. See, he became the father of faith. Abraham is considered the father of faith for his deep trust and obedience to God's commands, even when they required great sacrifice.

His integrity and obedience to the Lord, despite what it would cost him personally, and his willingness to fight for and protect what God had entrusted to him, made him the foundation of the nation God was building from him. It was about his character. He founded this nation, and his story is central to the book of Genesis, laying the groundwork for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people that we've come to know now.

And he was the one that established and reestablished on the earth a monotheistic figure, right? He served one God, not a bunch of gods. That's straying so far from where his family came.

And in the midst of this, God gives him a promise for a son—a promise for a son. Up to this point, God had promised to make him a great nation, but he was childless. Keep in mind how old he was when God called him to take his first step out in faith: 75. Anybody in here 75 right now? Don't be ashamed. I'm glad for it. 75 years old, sir, would you like to have a baby this week?

I'm in my forties. I could tell you something: I don't want to have a baby when I'm 75. I'm tired. My hair ain't looked right since I had a kid. I'm serious. But in the midst of all this, he's dressed up in his Steelers gear today. He's looking handsome. We're going to see a win later on. Don't get mad just because your eyes hurt from wearing all that ugly orange. I don't want to hear about it. It's blinding up here. Oh, okay, good job. Turn the crowd against you. You still got 30 minutes. I'm a glutton for punishment, what can I say?

But in the midst of it, we go a little further into Genesis 15, and God appears to Abram and promises him many descendants, including a son who will be his true heir. And Abram believes God, and his faith—the Bible says—is counted to him as righteousness.

In Genesis 17, God establishes a covenant with Abraham and changes his name. He changes his name from Abram to Abraham, and he changes his wife's name from Sarah to Sarah. Notice, God adds an H to both names. The reason why he did that was he put himself in the center. In the Hebrew language, the H runs silent, but it also carries the essence of God in the name. And so every time someone says Yahweh, they didn't say it out loud the way we do; it sounded like a breath.

When he adds the H, what he does is put himself at the center of Abraham's life and show him that everything you are, everything you'll be, and everything that will come from you is me at the center. And if you stray from it for a second, then that promise is null and void. But let me make this covenant: I'll change your name so that every time somebody calls your name, you'll remember who I am in your life. That's powerful.

See, you've got to let God change your identity. When you start to follow Jesus, you have to get to the point where you can forget who you used to be and become who God made you to be. And in that moment, you take your flesh, you cancel everything you think is holding you back. You don't answer to yesterday anymore; you answer to today. You answer to right now and what he's called you to do. Listen to his voice, obey what he's saying to you, and watch what he does in your life.

See, Abram didn't know what he was getting into when he left. But when God called him, Abraham knew everything he needed to know. God explicitly tells Abraham that Sarah will bear him a son, that kings of nations will come from her. Abraham, at this point, is 99 years old when he receives this promise.

When you have a covenant with God, when you have a promise from God, you may not understand the timing, you may not understand the methods. You may look at your natural circumstances and say, "This is impossible." But when you know the God who made the promise and His faithfulness, you learn to push past the fear, past the doubt, past the uncertainty. And you push all that aside because you're certain of the one who promised.

By the time we get to Genesis 18, God's already cooking. God appeared to Abraham as a visitor and promised that Sarah would have this son—this same time the next year. Sarah hides behind the door and laughs. God said, "Why did you laugh?" She said, "I didn't laugh." He said, "I heard you." She's a hundred. She's not laughing about herself. The next thing out of her mouth is, "But he's dusty."

There's a lot of implications there, and none of them are good. He's a hundred, so am I. And we're going to do what? With a dusty old man? Sarah delivers a son named Isaac the following year.

Let me read this to you: Genesis 21, 1-7.
"And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now, verse 5: Now Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, 'God has made me laugh,' and all who hear will laugh with me. She also said, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.'"

Huh, I love it. Now we get back to where we started: Genesis 22. There's a test. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham." And he said, "Here I am." Then He said to him, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

What? The longer I see this, the more I need to help you understand this. Because if you could catch this, I know some of you are sitting in this room right now, and you totally relate with Abraham because you've been believing God for something for years—if not decades. Some of y'all have been believing God for your kids for 20 years. I could tell you this: they will come to know Him. Don't give up. Don't grow faint.

Now, I got a message from Miss Lorna Barlow this week. Last week, we had a kid and youth takeover service. We were doing this. She was out of town visiting her family, sitting there watching the service on TV with her granddaughters. By the end of the service, her two granddaughters had accepted Jesus. You know, we had 10 kids in this room last week who accepted Jesus, and another 15 adults. Come on, God's doing something in the generations.

But I could tell you this: she's been believing God for her sons for years, and her granddaughters get saved while she's visiting on vacation, watching church online. See, I'm hearing this, and when she's praising God over the salvation of her granddaughters, you know what I started doing? Hooping and hollering for it. It's just a matter of time—those sons are coming to Jesus. Those sons will follow God. Why? Because she's been fasting and praying and believing God and hasn't given up the dream.

But it's very easy, over the course of time, when decades upon decades stack up and you're believing God for a promise, and you finally see the promise come to pass, that you start to worship the promise rather than the Promiser. And the problem becomes: now, God wants to make a nation of Abraham, and He's looking at Abraham and saying, "But I gotta know first: will you still serve me when you get the promise?"

So He lays down this opportunity before him. See, Abraham waits over a hundred years for his son to be born. There's only one son—no twins. God didn't say, "Give me one, you can keep the other." He said, "Give me the only one that you love." The promise of a great nation lives and dies with Isaac.

But look at verse 2:
"Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall tell you."

Isaac, in so many ways, is a type and shadow of Jesus. Watch the translation for the phrase "only son": it's the Hebrew word *Yahid*. Okay? It's noteworthy to mention that the same word *Yahid* that God uses here with Abraham is the same phrase used in John 3:16 when it talks about God giving His *only begotten son*, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. The literal translation of *Yahid* means "one and only, whom you love."

So when He says this to him, He says, "Give me *Yahid*," give me what you love most. And see what I'll do. It bears mentioning that centuries later, God provides for Himself a lamb to cover the sins of the world, and He gives His *Yahid*, His one and only Son.

And this is what's crazy about this verse: the hills of Moriah are the hills of Jerusalem. The Mount Moriah is what they came to call Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. We're going to get into something crazy here in a second—the parallels between what God gave in a promise and what God was willing to do through that promise are unbelievable.

See, when God gives you a promise, and you don't keep your eyes on what He gives you but continue to focus upon Him—walk with Him, obey Him, whatever He says—then He can trust you. That's faith. God can trust. And when He can trust you, He can do anything.

My man Abraham is walking with God, and God says, "Give me your *Yahid*." Oh, man. Now, I—Abraham—he obeys by faith. Okay? Let's go to verse 3.
"So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. And he split the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him."

Notice something here about Abraham: he saddles his donkey, he splits the wood for the burnt offering, he takes the fire, he takes two servants, and his son. He rose, and he went to the place where God told him to go. Under no circumstances did Abraham tell anyone else about his orders. No one.

There will be times in your life that the Holy Spirit will tell you something that makes absolutely no sense. "God, I don't get this." The point of Him telling you is not for you to wrestle with it until you figure it out. Abraham knew God. Abraham knew God's voice. And he obeyed by faith. He had been leading him for over 25 years into the unknown. Did Abraham understand what was going on? No. Did Abraham rant and rave and demand answers from God because he didn't understand? No. Abraham obeyed God by faith. He kept what God had told him in his heart, and he moved on what God had told him to do.

You think Abraham didn't understand that killing Isaac was going to literally end his legacy? You think he wasn't confused or angry or dumbfounded by what God was asking him to do? How could he possibly understand what was going on? And I would venture to say that after having a baby at a hundred, his wife surviving the ordeal, Abraham was able to draw on his experience with God enough to trust Him.

So then, Abraham speaks by faith. As we jump into Genesis 22:4, it says:
"On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes, and he saw the place afar off."
And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey. The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."

Hear what he said—that's the biggest two-letter word Abraham ever said. He said, "We," not "me." "We will come back to you." So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son. And they took off walking—Abraham with the fire in one hand and a knife in the other—and the two of them went together.

But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, "My father." And Abraham said, "Here I am, my son." And then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" And Abraham speaks in faith again. Watch this in verse 8:
"My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering."
So the two of them went together.

Abraham, not once but twice, speaks by faith. Okay? God will provide, he said. Abraham used the name of God here—Yahweh, Yahweh. When he said it, he said it like a prayer. Can you imagine? The Lord God who provides—that's the word he used. And so, as he said it, he just said it out loud.

Sometimes, when you don't know what to pray or how to pray or what to do, and you don't understand the situation, this one thing becomes what you can do: you can call upon the name of God. If you know who He is, you can call Him Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, your healer. You can call Him Jehovah Nisi, my banner and my victory. You can call Him Jehovah Sitkanu. You can call Him everything He's ever been to you. What do you know about Him?

See, Abraham walked with God, and so he knew that every step he took, God had provided for him. Yahweh Jireh. Son, He's on His way. God will provide a lamb—for Himself. So they continue walking up this hill. This kid's confused. This guy's terrified. Nobody knows what's going on here. But he's got everything he needs to obey God. He prepared to obey. And if it came down to it, he was going to do what he had to do.

See, time and again in Scripture, we see that a vision must often first die, and then the Lord resurrects it. That vision comes from the ashes at its appointed time. The Hebrew name *Yahweh*, *Yahweh*, the Lord will provide, carries the connotation of God making provision when He sees the need to—when He sees the need to. When He sees the need to. Some of y'all are wondering, "Why won't God do this?" When He sees the need to, He will.

What you call a need, what God calls a need, are often two very different things. Your needs tend to speak to your comfort. God sees needs as opportunities. And so, when God's looking at this situation, it reminds me of Habakkuk 2:3:
"For the vision is yet for an appointed time; it hurries toward the goal of fulfillment. It will not fail, even though it delays. Wait patiently for it, because it will surely come; it will not delay."

When God resurrects such promises, the results lack self-interest and pride. It's truly about Him at that point. So Abraham lives by faith.

As we continue in Genesis 22, verse 9, it says:
"Then they came to the place of which God had told him, and Abraham built an altar there, and placed the wood in order." And right then, he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

Let me pause here—like Princess Bride style—for just a second. You look a little antsy. He's not going to die at this time. Okay? The people who have seen that movie are smiling at me right now. The rest of y'all need to get cultured.

Let me pause here by saying this: the one laying on the altar is not a little boy. He's not five or six years old. He's somewhere between 16 and 30. His father at this point would have to be about 117 to 130 years old. You think that a 17-year-old boy couldn't overpower a 130-year-old man?

What we're seeing again is the type and shadow of who Jesus is right here, right now. Because what we see is that Jesus, in full submission to His Father's will on the night He was to go to the cross, was submitting to God—even if it meant His own death. "Father, let this cup pass from me. If there's any other way, let's do it that way." Whatever it is, but nonetheless, not my will, but Your will be done.

This young man submits to the authority of his father, lays down on this wood, bound. Abraham picks up the knife. And right out of nowhere, we see a faith God can trust. Because on His way to landing that knife in the center of his son, God sends an angel and calls out:
"Abraham, Abraham."

You gotta read your Bible. You can't just read your Bible—you gotta read your Bible. There's a little urgency in this. "Hey, stay your hand now." So he said, "Here I am." Every time God speaks to Abraham, he responds the same way: "Here I am." And He said, "Don't lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, *Yahid*."

What God desired more than anything else was to bless Abraham—far more than He ever had—to make him the father of many nations, to establish a bloodline that would be His chosen people. But first, He wanted to know if Abraham loved and feared Him more than he loved the promise.

And here's what's so powerful: Abraham displayed a faith God could trust. Abraham is called the father of faith. True faith is exemplified through his life. James 2:23 speaks of Abraham centuries later and says:
"And the scripture was fulfilled, which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness,' and he was called the friend of God."

Abraham was considered a friend of God. His faith was credited to him as righteousness. And Abraham's faith is not defined as perfect character or behavior, but simply believing what God says and doing it.

You're never going to be perfect. But what separates you from having real faith and professed faith is the ability to believe God at His word and do what He says. Abraham's life demonstrates how we can grow in believing God's word and encourages us to persist, even if we grow slowly or don't see faith's immediate fulfillment.

Hebrews 11:8 says it this way:
"By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he could receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Centuries before the book of Hebrews was written, Abraham's faith set a mark that everyone we read of from this point in Genesis to the book of Revelation came from his lineage.

But God's looking for a yes.

As we try to land this plane this morning, I want to go back to verse 13:
"Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns."

Exactly what he professed, God did. Exactly what he had the faith for, God did. See, some of y'all are wanting God to do a miracle, but you haven't yet placed your faith on what God can do. And God said He could do exceedingly and abundantly beyond what you ask, dream, or even imagine. But it comes down to this: if you have the faith to believe God for it, you can see it manifest in your life.

But it's going to take something crucial—absolutely crucial—and you have to know and understand that we can see it manifest in your life. He can trust that God will provide as He promises.

Remember that God's provisions are strategically located along the pathway of faithful obedience. It's worth mentioning that often, God will set you on a particular path to secure your obedience, not necessarily to finish that path. He wants to know that He has *Yahid*, what you love the most. He does this to strategically provide for you with what you'll need to fulfill what He has called you to.

See, here's the thing: they took that ram, they put it on the altar that he had built out of obedience. And on that altar, he sacrificed what God provided, and he kept the covenant. And because of that obedience, you have to understand what this is in your life: when God gives you a sacrifice, if you hang on to it—listen—if He puts this thing on a leash and takes it home like a pet and goes, "Look what God did," he would have missed it entirely.

Because as he puts this ram on the altar, he uses the wood that he prepared, the knife that he prepared, the fire that he prepared, and the altar that he had set up before God. And look what God does: verse 13.
"So Abraham went and took the ram, offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son." And Abraham called the name of that place *The Lord Will Provide*. The same word—*Yahweh*. *Yahweh*. *Yahweh*. And it says, "To this day, in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided."

It's on this same hill where God provided the lamb—Jesus. That's nuts. Think about what God just did. God never wanted to take Isaac from Abraham. Isaac was the fulfillment of God's promise to make Abraham the father of many nations. But first, God wanted Abraham's *yes*. God wanted Abraham's obedience. God wanted Abraham's unconditional faith and trust—even when he didn't understand, even when he didn't agree. The thing he had been believing for was dying.

"Do you still trust Me? Do you still believe that I'm good? Do you still believe that I'm faithful? Do you still want Me more than you want the promise?" And look what happens.

The angel of the Lord calls back out to Abraham upon his sacrifice, and he says this in verse 15:
"The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and said, 'By myself I have sworn,' says the Lord. 'Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your *Yahid*, blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.'"

When you're willing to withhold nothing from God—when there is no area of your life you are willing to let Him not have full control of—He will bless you beyond what you currently can contain or understand. But Abraham's *yes* provides us with a blueprint for giving God our *yes*.

Are you ready? There are four things. Write these down. He's looking for these. The first is:
**Do not fear.** When God's direction takes a turn you don't understand, don't fear. He's completely trustworthy.

Second:
**Believe.** Believe God's promises to you. Your Bible says that God's promises are *yes* and *amen*. What does that mean? Yes, and so be it.

Third:
**Avoid.** Avoid striving to fulfill God's promises in your own strength.

And fourth:
**Trust.** Trust that God will provide as He promises.

Remember, God's provisions are strategically located along the pathway of faithful obedience.

Kristen and I's journey to Colorado is a wild story. I've told it to some of you, but we were praying after we got married. We went back to Ohio, pastoring at a church. We knew God was using us, but we also knew there was a call. Our heart's desire was to be in Colorado. We were fasting, praying, and Kristen kept saying, "I don't know why, but I keep getting this sense in my heart—God keeps telling me Tulsa."

I lived in Tulsa for three and a half years. The day I decided I was leaving Tulsa, there were eight tornadoes on the ground within three and a half miles of my house. I said, "I don't want to go back to Tulsa. It's hot there. It tries to kill you in every season. There's just something different that wants to kill you."

You're going to have to do better than one word, babe. Go back to God and ask Him for more. I said, "I'm not going to Tulsa." He's going to have to really do something crazy. She came back a week later and said, "Babe, I don't know why, but I keep hearing this in my spirit: God said Tulsa." I said, "Huh. Isn't that interesting?" So I started to fast and pray again. I said, "God, if there's any way you could pass this cup from me, let's do it that way."

But nevertheless, not *my* will, but *Your* will be done. That's the better way to say it. That same day, I told the Lord, "I don't care. I'd rather be in the center of Your will and miserable than outside Your will with everything I ever wanted." Because the call of God is the only thing that makes me content. It's the only thing that allows me to love where I am.

And I said, "You have my yes. I'll do it if You want me to." So I'm at the office that day, about four o'clock, about to do a counseling session, then I have to go into a corporate prayer time that night.

My father-in-law calls me about 15 minutes before the counseling session. He said, "Hey, do you have a minute?" I said, "I got 15, and they're all yours." I loved him so much. He said, "Hey, I've been praying about this, and I took it to our board. They unanimously voted yes, and I'd like to offer you a job to come to Colorado and work with me at my church."

I said, "Well, hot dog. That's not Tulsa. That's right where my heart desires." I was so excited. I said, "Let me talk to Kristen." I didn't want to seem over eager. I said, "Let me talk to Kristen, and I'll call you back." I had to go into the counseling session. I was so excited, I couldn't stand myself. I was jumping up and down.

This guy was telling me his deepest, darkest secrets, and I was like, "Uh-huh, uh-huh," smiling like this was awesome. He looked at me like I thought it was good. No, absolutely not. It's really not.

I got through that, and we went into prayer time. Kristen was there, and I couldn't tell her yet. I hadn't even been able to talk to her. I was walking through the prayer time, and I just stopped and started to laugh. I said, "Hey, what was that whole Tulsa thing about?" And this is what God said back to me: "I just needed your yes. I just needed to know you loved Me more than what you love the most and want the most. Because I had your yes, I can give you the desires of your heart, multiply you, and let you step into the very thing you've been praying and asking Me for so long."

Some of y'all need to understand something so important: God wants your *yes* more than anything else in your life. And for some of you this morning, that *yes* means the *yes* of salvation—where you've said, "You know what? I've never given my life to God, but I know I need to."

All around this room this morning, I want to give you the opportunity to do that. With every head bowed, every eye closed right now, I want you to do an internal investigation. Ask yourself: Have I given God my *yes* with my life? Have I given God my life?

If you say, "Pastor, I'm not sure if I have, but I know I need to," and God's waiting on your *yes*, all I want you to do right now—just like I had to do to get to Colorado—is raise your hand and say, "Yes, God. That's me. I want to give You my life."

There are hands all over this room right now. Come on. Anybody else? Anyone else? Right now.

Come on. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

Let's pray with them. Say this out loud, nice and loud:
"Jesus, I come before You a sinner in need of a Savior. I repent of my sin, and I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord. I ask that You would cleanse me and make me new. In Jesus' name, amen."

And amen. And amen. That's the best decision you're ever going to make.

But listen, you may have already given Jesus your life. You may have already said yes. But you might be holding something back this morning that God's been asking you for. And here's my challenge: I just want to spend a minute at the altar of your life, where you can make that thing available to God.

For some of you, you might need to give God your *yes* in your marriage. You may need to bring your pride and your selfish ambitions to the altar and cancel them, kill them, so that God can give you restoration in your home.

For others, you might need to give God something at the altar called *your ambition*—where work, money, and promotion have become more valuable to you than His presence.

Some of you, God might want to be the Lord of your finances, and He may have been speaking to you for a long time about some things He wants you to do there. You might need to repent this morning and say, "You know what? My money's been my god, but today I lay it at the altar."

For some, it might be lifestyle—hobbies, traveling, addiction, things that create separation from God. This morning, I want to give you this opportunity at the altar of your heart. Feel free to use this altar up here, but if that resonates with you and you say, "You know what? I've been holding back in whatever area," there's no shame in it. There's always something.

But here's what I'll tell you: stop withholding your love from your husband. Stop withholding your love from God. You can trust Him. Stop withholding your time from God and giving it to things that will have no eternal reward.

This morning, all God's asking for is a *yes*. Would you bow your head with me?

Father, this morning, all over this room, we give You our *yes*. Every person, everyone. As we recognize that—why don't you just speak that out to Him right now? Say, "God, right now, I’m putting this on the altar before You. I’m putting this on the altar. I’m prepared, God. I’m ready to sacrifice this to You. Would You take my sacrifice this morning? Would You accept this ram as an offering? Would You speak over my life? Would You release the very things You promised me?

As I give this to You, I take my hands off in full trust and by faith. I believe in You more than I believe in the promise, more than I believe in the security, more than I believe in anything else. I believe that You're God and God alone, and I trust You this morning. So I release it to You, and I say, 'Have my life. I’m all Yours. Use me.' In Jesus' name, amen."