Faith For The Impossible | The Garden, The Flood & The Promise | Chad Veach

0:00 Hey, what's going on, everybody? Thank you so much for listening to this week's message from Zoe Church. We are in the book of Genesis doing a book study through the book of Genesis, and we are landing today in Genesis chapter 12. Before we begin, I want to say thank you. It's the first Sunday of the month, the month of June, and we want to say thank you to all of the givers of our church, those that give tithes and offerings. Thank you so much for your generosity and your obedience to God. If you'd like to give today go to our website and you can do that also make sure you hit the subscribe button And leave a comment about how this message could encourage and impact your life But let's jump into this week's message called faith for the impossible genesis chapter 12. We've been studying together the book of genesis the first book of the bible And if you've missed out, I want to encourage you to go back. We started with the creation account We went to the fall of Adam and Eve eating the apple Cain and Abel the first broskies that did not go to the brotherhood barbecue Julia, how about pastor julia last week doing tower of babble in Spanish, Tower of Bebel.

1:15 And that was way funnier than your reaction. That's not a real thing. Anyway, but I want to jump into Abraham today. Father Abraham. And yeah, all the church people started singing. Do you know that song? Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. And I am one of them. So are you. So let's just right foot. Turn around, sit down. I do bar mitzvahs too.

1:54 We're doing Father Abraham today. Watch what God says here. Genesis chapter 12, it says this. The Lord had said to Abraham, go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and I will make your name great. let me just pause there if you really want your name to be great and you've been working hard on social media to get a platform I have found that when God promotes you it's better than when you promote you I will make your name. God will put some respect on your name.

2:40 Remember in Lion King where he said, Mufasa. He goes, say it again. God will put respect on your name. And you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. And whoever curses you, I will curse. And all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you. I want to preach a message today, write down the title, it's called Faith for the Impossible. And I like this message so much because if you're new to Zoe, let me just tell you what Zoe is. Zoe is, if you cut us open, we bleed faith. We are a faith church. We believe that God can do anything. The Bible says what is impossible for man is possible for God. so man can't do it but we have faith that God can do it any faith people in the house come on everybody clap if you got anybody if you just got mustard seed faith today we're a faith church if you don't know what faith is write down this definition faith is trust confidence and belief I've got trust in God I've got belief in God I've got confidence in God and I believe that God can do the impossible and I just love faith people because faith people believe God can shut the mouth of the lion he can take down your Goliath God can split the Red Sea God can make my kids go to sleep when I put them to bed who am I preaching to?

4:17 Her Thank you. but we just believe nothing's too big for God he's bigger than any sickness he's bigger than any disease he's bigger than, come on, anybody believe today our God owns the cattle on a thousand oh come on, I feel like giving him praise today we got faith Let me say it this way. Faith is what honors God the most, and it's what God mostly honors. Nothing honors God more than your faith in God, your trust in God, your belief in God, your confidence in God. And I want to just give you a dose today of faith. I want to give you an injection of faith. I want to encourage you today. You don't need more money. You need more faith. You don't need more opportunity. You need more faith. You don't need more people around you. You need more faith.

5:09 You need more trust in God. Anybody believe that God's going to accomplish what he said he would do today? Everybody say faith. And here's Abram. And Abram's cold kicking it. And he's comfortable. And he's convenient. And he's killing it. And the Lord said, Abram, I want you to get up. And I want you to go to a land that I will show you. I want you to go to a place that I'm going to show you. See, Abraham, he called his friends. He got the pods. He got the U-Haul. He got all of his buddy. So you don't know if you have a real friend or not until you move. When you move, you find out who your real friends are. All of a sudden, they take it back. How come they not take it back? It's because you're moving. They'll take it back when you settle. That's why I never own a truck, by the way. If you own a truck, you are a recipe for an invitation to do a move. That's why I clap for Brendan and Ashley.

6:03 She just brought a truck. I can't wait until I move. That Toyota Tacoma's coming in handy. But Abram, the Lord spoke to him and said, Abraham, I want you to get out of what's convenient and familiar and your success and your family, and I want you to go to a land that I will show you. See, a lot of us struggle to obey God and to follow God because we want God to map out all the details. We want God to fill in all the color. We want God to show us what's going to happen. Who are we going to meet? How much money will we make? What kind of position are we going to have? God said to Abraham, I want you to go and I'll show you as you go. Come on, clap today if you're thankful. You don't got to tell me all the details. I trust you. Write down number one today. Faith hears.

6:55 That's what I love about faith people. Faith can hear. They hear the sound of heaven. They hear the voice of God. I wonder today if you've got some stuff that's clogging your ears that you can't hear the voice of God. I wonder if there's some sin or some bitterness or some critical spirit or some critical friend that's been messing with you. Somebody in your ear. No, you've got to get their ears open to hear what heaven has to say to you today. Faith can hear.

7:25 Remember that old commercial, can't you hear me now? my question to you today is what's heaven saying to you what's god been talking to you about what's god been whispering in your ear about because abraham was kicking it on his recliner he had a nice little spin drift grapefruit and he's just chilling back and he's just watching the game and he watched it he watched the thunder versus the pacers not kidding nobody's gonna watch that and he's chilling on his couch and the lord said i want you to get up and i want you to go to a land that I will show you.

7:58 And Abraham called his friends, discovered who they really were, got his tundra truck, got his U-Haul, got the pods, and put his family, charged up all the iPads, made sure they had headphones so his kids could watch Bluey in the car. And they start rolling. And he's, they see us rolling.

8:19 They're hating. Trying to catch me riding obedience. Erase that part. And his wife's like, Um, um, babe. Where are we going?

8:41 This is so fun. I love road trips. Um, where are we going? Abraham's. I don't know. It's called faith. Faith people don't walk by what they see. Faith people don't walk by what they feel. The Bible says the just shall live by faith. And a lot of us would step out and follow God, if God showed you all the stuff that's going to happen and all the things that you're going to do and all the people you're going to meet. I'll never forget. We were in a worship service one time in Seattle and the Lord told me, the Lord spoke to us that we're supposed to move to LA and start a church. That's all we got. Move to LA, start a church. We didn't have an office. We didn't have a house. We didn't have a team. We didn't have any money. We just heard God say, leave the rain to come to the sun. And we said, sounds good. And so we moved to LA. We didn't have a building.

9:48 We didn't have a people. We just came on a word from God. Anybody thankful today that you don't need all the details from God to step out and to trust the word of the Lord. Clap today like you're willing to obey whatever God asks you to do. Because faith hears. By the way, faith hears different. When the doctor says it's final, faith hears healing. When the person says they're canceled, faith hears restoration, repentance, and redemption. Clap if you feel something in your spirit saying something different than what the world says. Stop going by a doctor or a future or a social media account. Start listening to what God, a better word, has been spoken over your life. Give him a shout of praise.

10:42 I hear, I hear something different. I hear the, I hear the sound of rain. I hear the voice of God. Abraham put the spindrift down, ordered the U-Haul, got his kids up in the thing, started driving in faith. We don't know where we're going. The Lord will guide. And where's God taking you, by the way? The Lord says in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down by green pastures. pastures he leads me beside still waters he leads me down paths of righteousness for his namesake so god doesn't call you into confusion or chaos he calls you into prosperity and into peace do you believe that today and so abraham abraham heard the word of the lord said what i'm about to do in your life your family might not understand it and if you stayed in your comfortable convenience confines you might not understand it so i'm going to take you to a land that i will show you and i want to just tell you this the way god works god works step by step it's a day by day as you obey the lord unfolds oh i'm just i'm just looking at this beautiful couple here in our front row that moved from malaysia to la with suitcases and a word from god come on honor them right now and they're beautiful children. You just got to trust and obey. And so Abraham packed up his fam and moved to a land that the Lord would show him. And as he's there, the Lord gives and reminds him of his promise. Look here now in Genesis 15. Just go to verse 1 there. After this, the word of the Lord came back to Abram in a vision. Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield and your very great reward. But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless?

12:40 And the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of the Clippers. And Abram said, You have given me no children, so a servant in my household will be my heir. Then the word of the Lord came to him and said, This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. And then he took him outside and he said, Look up at the sky and count the stars, if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. And Abraham believed the Lord and it was a credit to him as righteousness. Write down number two today. Faith waits. Faith has the ability to wait on God. I'm gonna wait on you. I'm gonna wait on you. I've tasted your I can't hear that note either. That's why I didn't sing it. I'm going to wait on you, Lord.

13:36 And here, Abraham is old, and he still doesn't have his son, and he's frustrated with God, and he's disappointed, and he's angry, and you led me into this place, and you gave me this promise, and you still haven't shown up. Some of you today are frustrated and angry with God because you felt like God told you something or said something to you and he's yet to fulfill his promise. And I want to tell you today, you may be delayed, but you are not denied. you're not denied you know the bible says a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day to the lord and so abram's waiting and he notice how he talks back to god and the boy that i do have is gonna take over and it's eliezer you just you ever complain to god i love the sound of a complainer he's mad and God says to him come outside of your tent Abram and I want to show you the stars and count them if you can what's God saying I'm taking you out of your familiar box because here you look at the ground but I need you to look at heaven I need you to stop putting your eyes on what is your natural eye and start putting your eyes on your spiritual eye.

15:11 And he says, count the stars if you can. What's God speaking about? He's talking about his character and his nature here. He's saying, I can do more than you can ever ask, think, or imagine. You can't count how many stars there are because what I'm about to do through you, no man can accomplish. Come on, clap if you believe today that what God's going to do in you and through you is beyond the realm of possibility. Give him a praise today.

15:39 Count the stars if you may. You can't count them, can you, Abram? There's too many to count. That's the blessing that's going to overwhelm you. That's the impact that you're going to make. And he had to wait. And he had to wait. And he's waiting on God. And he's waiting on the promise of God. And he's waiting on the timing of God. It's like waiting in the DMV line for your new real ID. I'm waiting for God. It's like not having TSA pre-check. You're in the regular line, waiting on God. And you're just waiting. Have you ever had to wait on the Lord. But my Bible says they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They will rise on the wings of an eagle. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint if you wait on God. And so Abraham is waiting and his wife Sarah is waiting and they got a word from God that they're going to be a blessing and they got a word from God that out of their, their womb, all the descendants of the earth will be blessed and they're waiting and they're waiting. I feel like there's a few people in here you've been waiting and you've been waiting on God. And I want to say this once again, we've been saying it through the series. God is never too early and God is never too late.

16:43 He is a what? On time God. And here he is with Abraham and Sarah at just the right time. Go to the next scriptures. Put it on the screen. And look at verse 1 now, chapter 21. Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said. And the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. And Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age. At the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. And Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, God has brought me laughter. And everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. And she added, who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have born him a son in his old age. You see this at just the time that god had promised See your timetable is different than god's timetable and god is ruling and reigning god knows everything about you He knows when you stand up and when you sit down and when you go out and when you come in The bible says more than the sands of the seas so are the thoughts of the lord towards you today God is in control. His promises will never fail and he knows what he's doing with your life.

18:09 He's worthy. Let me say it this way. He's worthy of your weight. And a lot of us, we get so frustrated in the waiting. We're done waiting. And so guess what we do? We take matters into our own hands. And you know what I'm going to do with my career? And you know what I'm going to do with my dating life? And you know what? The problem for you is that you are that smart and you are that talented that you can manipulate anything and say it was God. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in anything that I have to sustain because I'm the one that generated it. I'd rather be in the God stuff that God called me to it and he's going to see me through it. We out here in the city of angels, and I'll tell you, I sleep really good about Zoe Church at night. Because I didn't ask to come to L.A.

19:02 God asked me to come to L.A. I didn't ask to build a church. God called me to build a church. So if it's his will, it's his bill. Come on, clap and thank God in advance. I'm going to wait on God. And so at 100 years of age, Sarah gives birth to Isaac. Could you imagine what that one-year-old birthday party looked like for Isaac? You know people in L.A. love to go crazy for the one-year-old birthday party. I mean, they brought out the piñata, horchata, frijole, guacamole. They went crazy. I mean, they went nuts. Isaac was born. Isaac came through they are going nuts because they got their son and so they're happier than a clam we waited and we waited and we waited and we felt like God had forgotten about us and we felt like it wasn't going to happen but at just the right time God gave us to Isaac and so we got the crib and we got the one year old birthday party and we got Abraham went out and he got Isaac tattooed in his forearm Isaac Thank you.

20:09 you know like a proud dad you know like a real dad you know all my boys like how come Georgia only got a tattoo but when you earn this tattoo I'll tattoo you you ain't earned it yet you get you get a master's degree I'm doing a sleeve for you son first middle and last name right here you have my whole right arm they're going crazy they're going crazy for Isaac they're going crazy for Isaac. God came through. God showed up. God fulfilled his promise. They'd never been happier. They heard God and they obeyed God. They waited on God and he showed up and came through. And then here comes the Lord one more time. Go now in your Bible to chapter 22 verse 1. sometime later, God tested Abraham.

21:05 And he said to Abraham, and Abraham said, here I am. And then God said, take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on the mountain, I will show you. Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey, and he took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering he set out from the place god had told him about On the third day abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance He said to his servants stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there We will worship and then we will come back to you Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son isaac And he himself carried the fire and the knife as the two of them went on together Isaac spoke up and said to his father abraham father yes my son Abraham replied the fire and the wood are here but where is the lamb for the burnt offering Abraham answered God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering for that God had told him about Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it and he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son but the angel of the lord called out to him from heaven abraham abraham here i am he replied do not lay a hand on the boy he said do not do anything to him now i know that you fear god because you have not withheld from me your son your only son and abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns and he went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

22:52 So Abraham called the place the Lord will provide. And to this day it is said on the mountain for the Lord it will be provided. Right down number three, faith obeys. So his son's older and Isaac's getting, he's getting bigger and he's in T-ball. And he's a good kid. And the word of the Lord comes to Abraham again. And God says to Abraham this time, this time I want you to go take your son Isaac that you waited all those years for, the promise. And I want you to take him up to the mountain and sacrifice him. sacrificing Isaac represented sacrificing his future sacrificing Isaac represented sacrificing the promise God had given him with the stars sacrificing Isaac represented sacrificing his platform and it said early the next morning Abraham got up and he went He didn't tweet about it. He didn't put it on his story vote. What do y'all think I should do?

24:02 he didn't group text his buddies stuck in a conundrum god's asking me to kill my son because you want to know what faith people do they obey if i was abraham i'm just saying if i was abraham if i was abraham and the word of lord came and tested him again and god was testing him to see if he would do it i would have said to god for real when I left my hometown to a land that you would show me I didn't prove myself see some of us think that God's only going to test you one time but the more you walk with Jesus he keeps testing you and testing you and testing you to see if you'll still trust him and still obey him and still follow him I pray today that you'll pass the test and you'll trust God with everything that you got come on clap and give him he's not done testing you Thank you.

25:01 In fact, write it down. God tests, Satan tempts, and people tease. God will test your character. He will test your faith. He will test your obedience. Satan leads you into sin. God will never lead you into sin. No, the devil does that. Satan leads you into temptation to destroy your life, and people will tease you. That's what the neighbors did. That's why Abraham said to his servants, y'all stay here at the bottom, because if they would have been there at the top, they would have laughed at Abraham and said, you've lost your mind. There's no way that God told you to go do that. He said, stay here because you'll tease me and the devil's going to try to tempt me. But I know that God's in the midst of testing me. And so he got all the preparations ready and he's getting all the firewood and everything ready. And Isaac's helping him. And Isaac's like, dad, this is so fun. I love Cub Scouts. And he's getting everything ready. And he's got some s'mores and Hershey's on the side. And he's like, dad, I love, this is bonding. Me and you. I love you, father. And they're getting everything ready. And he's like, this is so fun. Dad, where's the sacrifice?

26:05 And Abram was walking over to get Kendall and he's like, you are the sacrifice. he's like this is crazy this is the craziest thing I've ever done Sarah's going to kill me this is insane God you are crazy the things you ask me to do this is insane and he puts down Isaac and he ties him up love you so much son love you son I love you so much with everything. We did so long for you. And he's getting ready. And he grabs the knife and he's getting ready. Oh, Jesus. He's getting ready to kill his son. And the angel of the Lord yells, Abraham! Abraham, don't do it. And the Lord says, now I know that you fear me.

27:03 Now I know you won't hold anything back from me. Don't do it. And Abraham hears it and he looks and there's a ram in the thicket. And it was like God had prepared at just the right time a solution to his problem. I'm telling you some of you want blessing but the blessing of God is on the other side of obeying God clap today if there's nothing you're holding back from the God that hung the stars and the earth come on clap today if you're willing you can have my career you can have my money you can have my status you can have my future come on clap like there's nothing that I'll hold back from you God Thank you. And the Lord said, no, no, no, don't do it, Abraham. Don't, don't, I know now, now I know you won't hold anything back.

28:00 I want to ask you today, what are you holding back from God? What's the one thing in your life that like, Lord, you can have it all, except for that. You can have it all. Not that one. You can have it all. Don't you talk to me about this. What is it today? We call this an idol. he says now i know isn't it amazing that isaac is a typecast he is a foreshadow of another son that will have to prepare and carry his cross for his own sacrifice jesus and he says to him to emphasize the emotions of it now take your son your one and only son why is god saying that because he's letting us know that in the new testament for god so loved the world that he gave his one and his only son that whomsoever shall believe in this sacrifice will never perish but have everlasting life. Clap if you believe in Jesus today.

28:56 The greater sacrifice. and so worship team come join me and so and so he looks up and he sees a ram in the thicket i just i just i don't know if abraham i don't know what emotions would overwhelm him when he sees the ram but but i gotta just i gotta just imagine that abraham just is like oh thank god oh thank god because what's you know this is like his heart's beating his palms are sweaty arms are heavy and you guys stop it you stop that you stop that you stop that and he's like I hold nothing back from you, God.

29:40 The thing that I prayed for and I waited for, the thing I obsessed over, and the thing that I asked you for. God's asking Abraham, did this become the main thing or did I? Were you living for Isaac or were you living for me? And he's got his boy there. and the Lord says don't do it now I know that you won't hold anything back from me and that you fear me and he sees the ram in the thicket and I just have to believe he was probably overwhelmed with emotion he had to be right Oh, thank God.

30:35 Stay here, Isaac. He runs it, he gets the ram, and he unties his son, and he's like, oh, God, it's a long story I'll tell you when you grow up. And he puts the ram there, and he sacrifices the ram. And he says, from here on out, we will call this place the Lord will provide.

30:55 Because God met me when I needed him the most. And God met me when I was desperate. and he tested my faith, and I came through with flying colors. We call him Father Abraham because he had faith. He had trust. He had confidence. He had belief that even when it didn't look good, God was still going to show up and do the impossible through his life. And I want to just say to you, God is not going to abandon you or forsake you. God may test you. God may test every fiber and ounce of your being, but God is going to call you to something greater than you could ever imagine for your own life. You don't need all the details. You don't need everything colored in. You just need to trust and believe that he is good and you don't have to hold anything back from his life. Amen?

31:46 Come on, clap and thank God together today. Come on, stand to your feet.