And that can be intimidating. Happy March, by the way. Did you realize that coming in this morning? It hit me that it's March, and I'm so excited because that means spring is right around the corner, and um that means long days and warmer days, and so I'm really pumped about that. Um before I get started, I just wanted to um to just tell you that my family and I, we've been coming to his hands for several weeks now, and I just wanted to thank you. Um, really heartfeltly to thank you. This community is very special. You have been so welcoming and just so kind and seeking us out, and it's just made us feel very welcomed and very um just encouraged. And I and I have to say, standing up here is kind of scary. It's it's a little vulnerable, but you make it just so much more comfortable, and and I just thank you for that. It makes a difference in my life. So thank you so much. Before we get started today, let's just go ahead and and welcome God to be a part of this. Will you just join me in prayer, please? Precious Heavenly Father. God, I love you so much, and I am just so humbled that you've called me to be here today. I'm so very humbled, God, and I just call on your name and I ask, Lord, that we would just feel your presence here. That I would feel your presence as I'm standing here, God, that you would settle my nerves and calm my spirit and push me aside, Lord. That you would make me a vessel for your truth. And that your presence would be felt in and among every person here in their hearts and in their minds, that you would speak directly to their circumstances. God, there's no sense in being here if you're not going to be with us. And I trust you today. And I call on you just to be here and just help us to feel you. And I pray that everything that comes out of my mouth would be glorifying to you. It's in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen. Thank you. Have you ever jumped the gun before on something in your life? Right. You know, like where you put all your hope into something happening and you throw all your chips on the table, any other um expression that we can think of, count your chickens before they hatch. And it doesn't quite turn out the way that you were hoping that it would. And it can be disappointing at best and devastating sometimes. My husband and I are teachers, and we were laughing this last week when we had our snow days. And I say air quote snow days because I don't know where you live, but we didn't really have much snow. I mean, certainly not enough to warrant having three days off. But we loved it. I mean, this was awesome. We were excited. Snow days are like a teacher's dream. Actually, there's two things that really get teachers pumped up. One is having a genes day. Are there any teachers in the house here today? Okay, good. Well, you should have cheered because you understand, right? Um, so a genes day and then a snow day. Having a snow day, there's just nothing like it. And I'm sure the rest of you who didn't say anything, you're rolling your eyes right now. Because you're like, you teachers, you have your summers off, you have all these weeks off in between, and now you want some snow days? Yes. Yes, thank you, I do. Can you imagine getting a phone call first thing in the morning at your boss? Hey, you know what? Stay in your pajamas, enjoy time with your family, take a few naps. You know what? Don't do any work at all, and I'll pay you. One of my colleague friends, she sent this definition out of what a snow day is. A snow day is when God says to teachers, I still love you. And it's a day when parents realize just how underpaid teachers really are. Can I get name it? The thing about snow days that excites me so much is that I get all that time with my family, and so we just get really excited. And every single year, every year, every winter, there's this forecast that there's gonna be like four inches of snow. Oh my gosh, this the storm of 2000 and whatever is coming in, and everybody buy all the bread and all the water. And my husband and I are like, no school, we're not gonna have school tomorrow. And so we totally jump the gun. I mean, we start celebrating, we're like, we're not going to bed at any decent hour. We're gonna watch movies, we're not gonna do anything to set ourselves up for success for the next morning like we normally do. You know, we set out our clothes and we put our bags at the front of the door and set up the food for the kids so that it's nice and smooth. Do you know how many times I've been disappointed? We wake up in the morning and I peek through the blinds, and it's like, it doesn't even look like it's winter out there. There's no snow. We have to go into school. Oh my goodness. I will tell you though, it hasn't taken very many times for us to have to go in school when we thought that we didn't have to. That now I'm just like, I'll believe it when I see it. I did, even this last week. I'm like, I want to celebrate, but I'm just not going to until I see it. I imagine that um if there are any Seahawks fans in the room, that maybe you felt like, right back there, that maybe you felt like you might have jumped the gun a little bit here a few weeks ago during the Super Bowl. Let me just start off by telling you, I am a huge Seahawks fan. My family is from Seattle, and um, and I spent most of my childhood growing up in Seattle, so I love Seattle. Huge Seahawks fan. We were so excited that we made it to the Super Bowl. The game that got us there was just so incredible. We were jumping up and down in the family room. Woo, this is so awesome! And we get to the Super Bowl, and the game was one of the most exciting Super Bowl games that I've seen in a long time. And it was so awesome. I remember. I remember at the end, there's like a minute left, and I mean, we were gonna win this thing. I was like, go get the t-shirts, print it out now, because we have just won the Super Bowl, and I just started celebrating. Well, I was really excited, and I want you to get excited too, so I'm gonna show you a clip of that moment, okay? So just get in the moment here with me, will you? It was awesome. I mean, Kurtz got this bomb, and I mean even the commentators were like, oh my gosh, he just got this bomb, that's incredible. And I mean, there was one minute left, we're on the two-yard line, this is ours! And we threw the interception, and the Patriots sat on the ball, and it was over. I mean, we could sit here and talk all day, couldn't we, about all the times that we've jumped the gun? All the times that we've been like, yeah, we're celebrating. And it doesn't work out. And you know what happens as a result from that if we're not careful? We begin to live very cautiously. We begin to say, you know what? Mm-mm. I am not gonna celebrate. I'm not gonna have hope unless I see it with my eyes. I want proof, and that means I gotta see it. How often do we do that? The world tells us that that's how we should live, you know. The world says, don't believe it unless you see it. Do not celebrate. Do not jump the gun because you're only gonna be disappointed. That's a lie. God wants us to celebrate. God wants us to celebrate. He wants us to be so confident in his promises that we celebrate, that we jump the gun before we see any evidence with our eyes. Gosh, I'm so excited about the scripture today. We're gonna be talking about Abraham and Sarah. And I'm just so excited because I really think that we can relate to some of the desires that they had and probably the struggles that they went through in their walk. We've been talking in Hebrews chapter 11. So if you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn to chapter 11. We're gonna actually just be reading from verses 11 and 12. It says, It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child. Though she was barren and was too old, she believed that God would keep his promise. And so the whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead. A nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. Sarah and Abraham had this deep desire in their hearts to have a child. And I can just imagine what that must have felt like for Sarah. You know, have that desire her whole life to have a baby. But she was told she couldn't. And I imagine that if I was Sarah, I'd probably go kind of through ups and downs. One moment I'd be like, okay, it's gonna be okay, God has a plan for me. And the next minute I might be like, well, maybe they got it wrong. You know, maybe it's just a timing thing. Surely, you know, there could still be hope for me. But then, as scripture says they were as good as dead. And they got to this age where it's like there is no hope. I can imagine how that must have felt for her and for him. We all have desires on our hearts. It may not be about children, it could be about any number of things. Every single one of you. Me. There's something right now you're thinking about that is a desire on your heart, and it's a real desire. And God cares about that. And He planted that there. Whether it's about your marriage or about a broken relationship in your life, or your finances, or your health, or just a dream that's burning in your heart. God wants us to claim that victory. If your faith is anything like mine, and I'm just gonna be real with you for just a moment, it's like a roller coaster. Gosh, one minute, I am up here. I have so much faith. Nothing can shake it. I read God's word and it just flows, and it just flows into my spirit, and I'm just like, oh, it makes so much sense, and I understand, and God has put this on my heart, and I'm just talking to him and I'm listening to him, and I just feel so confident. Nothing can stop it. It's like I don't even need to see anything happening that indicates it's that this desire in my heart or this promise that he's made is going to happen. I'm I'm just rock solid. And the next minute I just criss the top of that heel on that roller coaster, and my face just tanks. And you know why I think that is? I think it's the work of the enemy. We need to be watchful and aware of him, you know. I think sometimes we can we can say things or think things that have habits that invite him in, but I think a lot of times that the enemy just kind of finds a little crevice and he just slips right in. Just this little bit of doubt. He's very sneaky and crafty and subtle, and he's very dangerous. See, God wants us to have the kind of faith that claims the victory before we see it, and that's hard to do. It is. And Abraham and Sarah, they had that kind of faith, and God wants that for you and me today and every day. You might say, well, how do I do that? How do I just jump the gun and just believe it's gonna happen when I can't see it? Well, you know what? Their story really gives us some great information and knowledge that we can hold in our hearts. Because you know what I'm realizing in my own walk? I'm realizing that faith takes practice. Faith takes trust, it takes focus, it takes obedience and discipline. It takes thankfulness, it takes brokenness and just being vulnerable and leaning into God. It takes confidence and trust. You know, faith is a choice. It's a choice for every single one of us. Plain and simple, either do you believe or do you not? I have it written on a board in my bathroom. Elan, you either believe or you don't. You either have all faith or no faith. You can't just be in the middle. But that actually gives me hope because it means I have some control over something, and so do you. We actually have control today, a lot of control over the amount of faith that we have. The Bible says we walk by faith. It doesn't say we talk by faith or think by faith or feel by faith. We walk by faith. That is an action. When we walk by faith, we act as though we say to God, I believe you, God. I believe that what you're telling me is true, that you're not a liar. And Abraham and Sarah, they live that out. And I think we can learn a lot about how we can strengthen our faith through their story. Their story starts off in a conversation in Genesis 17, verses 1 through 7. It's when God is kind of coming to Abraham and he's telling him, This is my plan for you. So here's what it says. When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless. By the way, blameless does not mean sinless or perfect. It just means have loyalty and allegiance and obedience for me. God continues by saying, I will confirm my covenant, that's a promise, his promise, between me and you, and will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell face down, and God said to him, As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram. Your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. He's saying, I have already done it. I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. See, Abram's name, Abram, it means exalted father. And God is changing his name from exalted father to Abraham, which means father of many. I can just imagine how difficult it would have been for Abraham just to even have the name Abram, Exalted Father, for his whole life. Because he had no children. But that was such a deep desire. It's almost like he's being taunted. You know, he's walking through life being called exalted father, and he has no children, and that's what his heart, that's his heart's desire. And then God is basically saying, Abram, here's my promise to you. You will be the father of many nations. And I want you to go ahead and live in that promise now. And he renames him to Abraham. Well, catch this. He renamed Abraham and made this promise known to Abraham a whole year before it actually came to be. A whole year. You know, back then it was disgraceful. It was it was shameful to not have children. So, first of all, Abraham's walking around his whole life being called father and not having children, and now he has to walk in the name Abraham, a father of many, for a whole year when there's no evidence at all that indicates that that is the reality. Can you imagine how humiliating that must have been for him? I can just see it now. He walks back to the camp, his buddy comes out of a tent, and he's like, Hey Abram, what's up? And Abram's like, uh, my name's not Abram, it's Abraham. Can you imagine? He must have looked foolish. I can also imagine that uh it must have been really difficult to take in those words from God when God is saying, I know that you're old, but you're going to have this child. Because, see, here's the thing Abraham was nearly 100 years old. And Sarah almost 90 years old when God said, You are going to have a child. Abraham and Sarah laughed. They laughed at God because that's ridiculous. Isaac, which is the name of their child, means he laughs. They laughed at him. I can imagine that Abraham might have wanted to say, um God, uh you realize that I'm 100 and my wife is nearly 90? Do you know the logistics of what you're trying to insinuate we do? Sorry, can I say that in church? I didn't say it. You implied it. Or I implied it, I guess. But no, you know what? Abraham was obedient. He did what God said for him to do. And I think that we get afraid of being obedient because it's kind of painful. It's hard, it stretches us, it's uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable to be obedient, and sometimes it means we look foolish to everybody else. Sometimes we look foolish and it's lonely. And it's hard. I can only imagine, you know, Abraham had no shred of evidence. There was none that indicated that God was true to his word, and yet he still walked as though he believed God for what he said. You may be thinking, think about your situation right now, your desires in your heart. There may be no shred of evidence that's going to work out for you. Your marriage may be hanging on by a thread. And you see no shred of evidence that God wants it to be restored. You just don't see it. Or your children have gone off the path and or your and your relationship is damaged. Or a relationship that's close to you is damaged. And you just see no shred of evidence. There is nothing to indicate it's going to work out for you. Or that your health that your health is going to be repaired and restored. There's just no sign there. It doesn't even look like it's going to happen. If you're like me and you have this dream and this desire, that's a part of who you are. You know God put it there. But it just seems sometimes like there's just no shred of evidence that it's going to happen. God wants us to jump the gun. But it takes our obedience. And see, the thing is, is that our obedience it actually strengthens our faith. I know that you may be feeling broken today. And I know that that's scary and it's uncomfortable. But I think God wants us to know that being broken is actually beautiful. It's beautiful to be broken. Because that means that we will lean into God and be vulnerable and allow him to be our strength and to carry us. It shows us that we need him. That's what we were built for. You may feel like your situation is impossible. But that is where God shows up. He loves it. Because God is the God that turns the impossible into the possible. He loves it. And you know why? Because when that miracle happens, there will be no doubt. There will be no doubt who did it. Our brokenness should not be something we're afraid of. We should just lean into it. But see, the problem is our human nature comes in. And we think that we need to help God do his job. Because clearly God doesn't understand the whole situation here. And so we meddle in his business. And there are consequences for that. Sarah and Abraham, they tried to help God out. They did. Sarah said, Abraham, you know what? This isn't going to happen for us because I'm too old. You're too old. We're on the brink of death. So the child that God has promised us, why don't you just go ahead and have that child through our servant Hagar? And so Abraham did. And a son Ishmael was born. And there were consequences for generations upon generations upon generations for that choice. Oh, but here's the good news no active man can stop God from accomplishing his will. None. God is the master of the universe. And none of us can stop that. And so Isaac, the child that God promised him, he did come and he was born. But there were consequences for the choices that Sarah and Abraham made. And there was jealousy and sorrow and strife in their marriage. He doesn't need our help today. We just allow our brokenness to bend us into God and to lean on him and not get confused that God's patience is representative of his absence. God is patient. He's not absent. Just because you don't see the evidence there in front of you, it doesn't mean that he is not doing everything that's needed to be done for your promises to come true. The promises that he promised you. There are studies done that have been done on forests that have withstood intense storms. Lots of rain and lots of wind, and these intense storms have actually been proven to make the root system deeper and the trunks stronger, the trees stronger, than forests that have not had any kind of storm. And so I know you might be in a storm yourself right now, and you might feel like that wind is just whipping, it's just unrelenting. But if if you'll just allow it to just bend you into God and just allow your brokenness to be met with Him, then your roots will go deep. And your trunk, your faith, it will be strengthened. It will. I think about this story. Um, my husband coaches, and one of the sports he coaches is football. And um, my daughters and I have this routine every time before a game. I always say, girls, it's time to go to daddy's football game, and they come running up with their shoes and they get their jacket, and we go and get in the car, and we drive to the game, and then I pull the stroller out of the back of the Jeep, and um, my youngest Lila, we put her in, and then we stroll on up to the stadium and we go to the game. And they love that it's it's it's kind of our little thing that we have together. And um, last fall, Lila was not yet two years old. Last fall, this same scenario played out. It was time for the football game. Girls, we're going to the football game. We're so excited, they'd come running to me, they bring my shoes. I put Lila's shoes on, we put her jacket on, we go out into the garage, and a few days earlier, I had taken the stroller out of the Jeep and I'd put it in the middle of the of the garage. Well, Lila saw the stroller and she's like, Oh, we're going to the game, I'm gonna go get in the stroller. And so she goes and gets in the stroller, you know, and I walk over to her smiling. I'm like, oh, sweetie, mommy's gonna put the stroller in the back of the car and we're gonna go to the game. So come here. And I mean, I can't even believe how she comprehended and processed all this, but she literally melted to the ground. I mean, not a temper tantrum either. Like it was, it was like that piercing cry for a mother to hear and not be able to do anything about it. And she was just like, it's like she looked at me and she's like, Mom, you just lied to me. We use the stroller to go to the game. And she just started crying. And so I pick her up, and you know how babies, when they when they're having a fit, they like go limp. But they're not doing this, they're like, you know, and they're and and so I pick her up and she's limp, and I start carrying her to the car seat, and of course, then she stiffens up, right? And I'm like trying to fold her to sit in the car seat, and so I'm like laying my body over top of her, and her arms and legs are going everywhere. You're like my um, and and so I'm buckling her in and our eyes met, and she had these huge crocodile tears, and I just looked at her, and I this is how it happened. I, oh Lila, honey, it's okay. It's okay. Mommy's gonna put the stroller in the back of the Jeep, and we're gonna go to Daddy's game. It's gonna be okay, I promise you. Just relax, you don't have to cry. Mommy's not gonna lie to you. She cried the whole way to the game. As soon as we got there, I mean, I flew out of the car, I got the stroller out, and I pulled it out right in front of her so she could see it, and you saw this hope, like this restored hope. And then she looked at me like, I love you, mom. Now. But you know, I thought to myself, I was really humbled actually. Because I do that. God makes this promise to me, and I know that it's Him. I pray through that and I'm confirmed that it's Him. And then at the slightest indication that things might not look the way that I think that they should, I completely, completely doubt him. And I have my own temper tantrum. I cry, it hurts, and I just imagine that God's looking at me and saying, Elon, child, I love you. I love you. I don't want you to suffer. I've made a promise to you. You can hold me at my word. I know it doesn't look that way right now, but I promise you that's where we're going. And you can just relax and enjoy the ride. Just let our brokenness just melt into God. So comforting for me to even think about. Just be confident that we can trust him, that he is worthy of that trust. We can jump the gun for those promises that he makes. And you know, you might be thinking to yourself right now, Elon, you're talking a lot about God's promises, and I don't understand really what that means. Like, how do you know what God's promises are? I honestly only have one way to answer this. You just gotta spend time with him. I I there's no other answer that I could give you. You just gotta spend time with him. And I know that that's kind of scary. I get it. But you just gotta open up the Bible and just start reading and seeking and just talking to him. It's just like a relationship in our life. You know, somebody you're close to, the reason you're close to them is because you spend time together. You talk to each other, you hear about the things that are important to them, the things that make them joyful, and the things that that cause them sorrow. You know, you share with them and you listen. You know them because you spend time with them. It's the same thing God wants with us and Him is to have that relationship. You know, and and the thing is, is God puts promises on our heart that He just puts there because we've spent time with Him. Because the more time we spend with Him, the more we're able to discern His voice from all the others. And I'm noticing that in my own walk. So I've been spending so much time with God, just leaning on Him in my brokenness, that I'm becoming really confident that I'm actually starting to discern what His voice is. We just got to spend time with Him. I love a piece of scripture. It's it's something that I go to all the time. It gives me such inspiration. I have it in my bathroom. It's Mark 11, 22 through 24. It says, Have faith in God, Jesus answered. I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt it in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. I want to have so much confidence that God is who he says he is and that he will do what he says he will do, that I pray bold prayers. That I don't just say, move, mountain, but I say go throw yourself into the sea. I don't want to be the kind of woman who laughs at God when he says, Elon, you are not too young. Elan, it doesn't matter what your age or your status or your ability or your past or your mistakes or your flaws. It doesn't matter because guess what? Those who he calls, he qualifies. I'm not qualified to stand up here and talk to you. I am not qualified. But I believe God has called me here. I believe it. I believe it. And when we are called somewhere, God qualifies us. The only thing that's needed from you and from me today, the only thing is that we would just start where we are. Just start right now, today, right where you are, in all your brokenness and mine. Just start where we are and just take that one step after another. It's amazing what happens when we just start where we are. Dr. Tony Evans has an incredible analogy about this. He says, one kernel of wheat in the ground produces a stock bearing three heads of wheat. And in each head, there are 15 to 35 kernels, altogether producing somewhat close to a hundred kernels from the stock. When planted, those kernels will produce 10,000 kernels. When those 10,000 are replanted, they produce a million kernels. It's amazing what one person can do if they will just start right where they are. God wants us to be confident in his promises today. My brothers and my sisters, he wants us to jump the gun. He wants us to believe that he is who he says he is and his promises will come true. And that we can be confident in that and pray boldly and lean into him. But we have to remember that our faith is a choice. It is a choice that only you and I can make. It takes obedience and brokenness to know where our strength comes from. And confidence, trust. God's will can never be stopped. So we should enjoy the ride. I want to end our time together a little bit differently. Um I'm actually gonna ask that we go into a time of prayer. And and during this time, you know, if if if you aren't sure, like you don't even know what God's promises are, you know, during this time, you know, just tell them. God, I don't even really know what she's talking about. I don't know really, I've never even opened up the Bible, or I have, and I tried, and I just get discouraged because I don't really understand, and and and I don't really know what you're telling me. I don't really know, God. Just tell him. He already knows, anyway. Or maybe you have something on your heart and you're like, I can't really discern God if it's your voice or if it's someone else's voice or if it's my voice. And you just go to him right now and just say, Lord, help me to discern whose voice this is. Or maybe you're like me and you know what God has placed there. But you just ask him right now, God, help me to be obedient when it's uncomfortable and scary, even, Lord. Help me to be obedient. Show me what that looks like. What am I supposed to do next? Show me the next step, Lord, and I'll take it. God, help me to just be broken and just lean into your power and who you are. God, help me to be confident that your promises are real and true and that you are good on your word. So wherever you find yourself today, if we just go into that time and then I'll close us in prayer. Father God, thank you for your promises. Thank you that we don't have to guess. That you tell us clearly, and that when we seek you and when we spend time with you, Lord, you don't want to keep those things secret from us. Not the things that involve what your promises are for our life and your plan. You want to reveal that to us. And if we would just be willing and enjoy that ride and just walk obediently, God, and trust you. God, I want to be a woman who's bold in her faith. I pray that over each person here today, that no matter where they are in their walk, God, that they would just let go today. They would just let go and realize they don't need to help you out. You've got this. The promises you've put on our heart, they're from you, and we don't have to doubt anymore. We don't have to listen to the world, God. We can listen to you and your word. I just pray for every person here, God, ever over every marriage, every relationship, God, over every person in here in their health, God. Pray over every promise. God, I just pray that you would take every every example that's living in the hearts of, in the lives of the people here, God, that you would just take it and you would just let each one of us know that you are here, that you have a plan, that no man can get in the way of your plan. We can be confident, that we can, we can rest in your strength, God, and that we can boldly go ahead and jump the gun and celebrate, even if there's no shred of evidence in our with our eyes that we can see. I just thank you for your promise, God. It makes me feel alive. I just pray, God, that you will just move in the hearts and the minds and the lives of everyone here, God, that you would just cover them, protect them and hold them, Lord, in the palm of your hand. I just thank you, God, for your faithfulness to me. I just love you. In Jesus' holy and precious and perfect name I pray. Amen.