The Journey of Faith - Watch Where You Are Looking (North OC)

My name is, uh, Daniel Samogyi.

Uh, I have the honor and privilege of serving here in Orange County as a part

time youth minister along with my wife, Savannah, and we have Jessica Stephan.

We help lead the high school ministry specifically, and it's been truly

a blessing just seeing some of these teens just grow before us.

I mean, all of us, I mean, Jess and Savannah, we, we grew up in the church,

we grew up in the teen ministry.

So we see a lot of ourselves in the teens today.

Um, but with that being said, you know, last week, I don't know if you guys

know, but we started a new sermon series.

Called, The Journey of Faith.

And, you know, we go through the life of Abraham.

And, um, we also have, sorry, real quick, we also have a handout.

Um, we passed that last week, but it's also on the church app.

But we're going through the life of Abraham.

But this is way before he's called Abraham.

We know Abraham as, you know, the man who has many sons, right?

Father Abraham.

But we're going through the life of Abram.

So this is before all the promises that God gave him.

Delivered that came true.

So we're going through the book of Genesis and last week Marcel preached on

Genesis chapter 12 and we talked about the call and we see that in Genesis 12

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

in the beginning, God called Abram to leave his land, you know, because he

promised him a new land and he promised him a nation made of his descendants.

He promised blessings on blessings on blessings and we see and we

see Abram answering that call, but later we see we didn't go over,

but hopefully in our family group.

Uh, we see later in Genesis in that chapter that he left that

land out of fear of famines.

We went to Egypt.

And when he leaves Egypt, or he goes to Egypt, he says, you know, Oh,

my wife Sarah, that's, that's my sister, cause he was scared, whatever.

And, uh, next you know, he gets, you know, the Pharaoh rebukes him.

And he leaves the land of Egypt even more rich.

Which doesn't make any sense.

But, you know what, I'm like, alright.

Like, when I get in trouble, I Don't get rich at all.

So it doesn't encourage me to, to, uh, you know, get in trouble,

but we see, we're going to pick up here in Genesis chapter 13.

Genesis 13 · chapter mention

We're going to see him as he leaves Egypt and goes back to the promised land.

So the title of my lesson today is called, uh,

I don't know.

It says when God's called, doesn't it?

But it's called watch where you are looking.

That's the title of my certain state.

Watch where you are looking.

And this is a phrase we've heard many times in our life, right?

Watch where you are looking.

You know, when I, uh, When I started driving, you know, my mom always

told me she was training me, man, you better watch where you're looking.

You don't want to hit anyone.

You don't want to run over a pedestrian and go to jail for that

or go to prison when you're cooking.

You have to watch when you're cooking.

I remember when Savannah told me, Hey, watch this crock pot because

I have some chicken in there.

I didn't watch it.

And then we had to eat dry chicken.

So, you know, I have to watch it.

Something I've also learned is you got to watch when you spend, you got to

watch what you're spending your money on.

You know, so in Genesis 13 here, we're gonna see a powerful story about Abram

and his nephew Lot, two men who made choices based on where they were looking.

And I want to explore the consequences of those choices and what they mean for us.

Amen.

So we're gonna get into Genesis chapter 13.

Genesis 13 · chapter mention

So please open up your Bibles, and if you don't have one, please

ask the person next to you.

If not, it's gonna be on the screen here.

I'm gonna pick up in Genesis chapter 13, verses 1 through 4.

Genesis 13:1–4

We'll start here.

And it says, So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev with his wife and

everything he had, and Lot went with them.

Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.

From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel,

to the place between Bethel and Ai, where his tent had been earlier and

where he had first built an altar.

There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

So, like I said, going back, he went to Egypt, or he was called, the

promise, you know, that God gave him.

He built a tent and an altar there, obviously he left, went to Egypt,

left Egypt, and then came back.

So now we see that he returned to where he first built his altar there,

where his tent had been earlier.

And we see that he'd become very wealthy in livestock and silver and gold,

and it says here that he went between Bethel and Ai, where his tent had been

earlier, where he first built the altar.

So we see here that Abram veering away from God's promise.

And now we are witnessing Abram returning to the promise that God had for him.

You know, Abram went to where his tent was earlier, to where he first

built the altar to worship God.

And I think that's an incredible gesture right there.

You know what I mean?

That he built an altar based on a promise.

And the promise hasn't even been fulfilled yet.

You know, think about it for us in our life.

You know, I remember when I was younger, my parents would

be like, Oh, guess what, Jay?

We're gonna go to Disneyland.

You know, I was like, okay, cool.

But like, I'm not gonna get excited over that, right?

Like, I need to see it happen.

I will get excited when I see my parents show me the tickets,

and we're actually going in the car, driving to Orange County.

We're going inside, and I see Mickey Mouse.

You know, that's when I would get excited.

But Abram was getting excited over a promise.

You know, what was the promise?

God promised him land.

He promised him a nation.

He promised him being blessed by God.

Blessings from others.

You know, all the promises has not happened yet.

But yet we see Abram here rejoicing in the fact like, Man, God is promising me.

That is so awesome.

Let me go build an altar.

You know, this reminds us that faith is not based on what we can see in

our own hands physically, right?

You know, trusting God's Word and His character.

Just as Abram worshipped over the promise that wasn't to be fulfilled yet, we too

are called to trust in God's promises, even when we don't see immediate results.

You'll write me of this scripture in Hebrews 11, verse 1, says, Now faith

Hebrews 11:1

is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

And that's important for us to remember as we're going, you know,

as we continue reading in Genesis, but also just for us, is man, faith

is confidence in what we do not see.

And we're gonna continue reading here, we're gonna see how Abram was clinging

on to God, how he really had the faith in God that he will deliver the promise.

We'll As we continue here in Genesis 13 verses 5 through 7 it says, Now

Genesis 13:5–7

Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,

but the land could not support them while they stayed together, for

their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.

And quarreling arose between Abram's herders and Lot.

The Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land at the time.

So, now we're introduced to Lot, as I mentioned earlier, that's his nephew.

And, you know, Lot, uh, went with Abram everywhere, when you think about it.

You know, Lot went with Abram from, uh, Ur to the Chaldeans.

He went with Abram to Haran.

He went with Abram to, to Canaan, which the, the land God promised Abram.

He went with, uh, Abram out of Canaan into Egypt.

And he went with him out of Egypt back into where we are right now

here in this verse, back into Canaan.

So Lot here was a constant companion of his.

And as we read here, we'll see an argument about to take place.

You know, it says in verse 7 here, In quarreling arose between

Abram's herders and Lot's.

The Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in land at the time.

You know, something had to be done here.

You know, Canaan was predominantly a land that was dominated by

people who worship other gods.

You know, they practiced polytheistic belief here.

And the Canaanites and the Perizzites, they're watching Abram and Lot, people

who are, oh, like They claim to know God.

You know what I mean?

There's a different God on the block type of thing for them.

And they're seeing these two men and their herders argue

with one another over resources.

And it wasn't just a private family matter.

Obviously we see that it was made public about the dispute.

And this brings me to my first point today.

Is we have to watch who is looking.

We have to watch who is looking.

It's important to watch who is looking because the people who watch us influence

our actions, attitudes, and decisions.

It's You know, we tend to have, uh, different, act differently when we,

uh, know we're being observed, right?

It's just like when we're driving on the freeway, and usually the speed limit's

65, but we go 80, 85, and we see that cop car, we, we hit the brakes, right?

We slow it down, we're like, oh, ooh, okay, we gotta go back and, you know, I

don't wanna be in trouble, you know, I'm getting observed by the cop right now.

You know, the same applies when it comes to our faith.

You know, we have to watch who is looking because the people around us

are observing our actions and how we handle conflict reflects our faith.

So if we're gonna get into a disagreement with one another, which

is common here, alright, we can get into disagreements and that's okay.

But it's the way we deal with it is how it all matters when people watch us.

You know, so if I get in a disagreement with Michael Morris over here, and our

way of disagreeing and to talk about it is by never talking to each other again.

Alright.

Giving each other a dirty look and talking bad about one another to everyone.

What does that say about our faith right there?

Does it reflect us truly obeying God's word there?

Are we really seeking the peace that God wants for us?

You know, I imagine that the Canaanites and the Perizzites, you

know, they were, they were watching Abram and Mot just argue, right?

And like I said, they probably just thought to themselves, wow.

You see, they're, they're just like us.

They say they worship another God.

They say their God is the one true God, but they argue just like us.

You know, this is probably how other people who do not know God see

us when we argue with one another and don't resolve in a godly way.

You know, it reminds me when I grew up, I grew up in the metro LA region of

the church and I was part of the teen ministry there, uh, and I think I was like

a junior or a sophomore in high school.

So, yeah.

But I remember I was a disciple at the time, and I was inviting my

friend, Nehemiah, from high school.

I was like, bro, you gotta come out to my church.

Bro, you will love it.

The teens there, they're awesome.

My church is, man, it's totally different.

And he was like, yeah, I'll come on out.

And I was like, cool.

So it was a Friday Diva, and I just remember I was introducing the people.

I was like, guys, this is my friend.

Oh, he's awesome, man.

This person's awesome in the ministry.

This person's awesome in the ministry.

And then there was a teen there who I had a conflict with that was not resolved.

And I remember telling Nehemiah, everyone's queer.

But I remember, I pointed to that teen.

I was like, that teen, oh, you gotta stay away from her.

And I remember, yeah, I know.

I remember that teen.

That teen saw me point at her and she pretty much, I mean, I didn't really care.

She knew I didn't like her and type of thing.

She didn't like me.

But she saw it and then she came and she was like, Hey, if you have a

problem with me, say it to my face.

And I was like, okay, like, let's do it right here, right now.

So we were arguing.

All right.

I was like, man, I don't like when you do this.

And then she was going back and forth.

My friend, Nehemiah is just kind of, well, what's going on here?

Like, whoa, parents had to split us up.

And I was like, all right, whatever.

You know, the event was over.

We were waiting for my mom to pick, pick us up from the event.

And we're sitting in the church parking lot.

And I put my arm around my friend, Nehemiah.

I just looked at him and was like, So, you want to study the Bible?

You want to know God?

And he just looked at me like, Are you serious?

No.

I don't.

And I'm going to be honest, at the time I was really surprised.

I was like, Why not?

Why don't you want to know about God?

You told me you want to know about Him.

And then he told me something.

He was like, Well Danny, I don't want to know, I don't want to study

the Bible with you because you told me that your church is different.

You told me something was different there.

But man, you're just like all the churches I've visited with my family.

And I was like, wow.

You know, it really took, you know, the scripture in 2 Corinthians, by, you know,

being Christ's ambassador, you know, it really had a new meaning for myself.

Thinking about, wow, okay, where I go, what I do in my life, man, I

really represent, not only Christ, but the church I attend as well.

You know what I mean?

I really have to, uh, think about that.

And I was like, okay.

Alright, so if I'm really gonna say I'm a disciple and claim to be set apart,

I can indulge in things like that.

I can't be in arguments like that.

And if I am in arguments, I gotta settle.

I gotta really, you know, try hard to, to make amends with them.

To be at peace with them.

So it's important that we have to watch who is looking.

Because people are watching us.

Neighbors, coworkers, students, friends, and even unbelievers.

The way we navigate conflicts and even blessings and challenges

speaks volumes about our faith.

Now we're going to read here that Abram knew he had to end the

argument between him and his nephew.

People were looking at them.

And like I said, just as important it is to handle conflict, we also

know we gotta, we have to understand how to handle blessings, too, right?

Think about it, you know, when I get showered in blessings, man, I start

to believe that I'm the hot stuff.

Like, man, yo, I, my life is the way it is because I did this.

You know what I mean?

I start to become self righteous.

I start to look down on others.

And we see here that the strife between Abram and Lot happened because

their possessions were so great.

You know, God really blessed Abram and his family.

Their possessions were so great that they couldn't live off of each other.

And although they had great possessions, we're going to see

something different with the possessions that Abram had and Lot had.

You know, we'll see later in future chapters of Genesis, just a

spoiler, Lot's wealth possessed him.

We'll But Abram, he had great possessions, but his wealth didn't possess him.

And because of this, because of possessions and wealth, and the land,

they could no longer live off each other.

So Abram made this generous offer to Lot.

Now before we look at the next verse, I want to remind you guys, I want to, you

know, this is back then, this is near, you know, Eastern tradition here, but the

elder was really valued above the youth.

He had more honor.

So what the elder said, it went.

All right.

So this is what Abram said here next.

So Abram said to Lot, Let's not have any quarreling between you and me,

or between your herders and mine.

For we are close relatives.

It's not the whole land before you.

Let's part company.

Here it is.

He says, If you, Lot, go to the left, I'll go to the right.

And if you go to the right, then I'll go to the left.

What a remarkable gesture right there.

I mean, just remember.

God promised Abram the land.

He didn't promise Lot anything.

But yet we still see here, Abram would be like, You know what?

I gotta be at peace.

You know what I mean?

I gotta be at peace with my nephew here.

You know what?

Hey Lot, I'm gonna let you choose first.

You decide which one you want to go with.

I want to point out that, you know, Abram didn't yield to Lot there out of weakness.

He didn't yield to Lot because he was afraid of him, or because of fear.

He yielded to Lot because he had trust and he knew God loved him.

By allowing Lot to choose first, Abram trusted God's plan.

You know, Abram believed that God's promise to give him and his

descendants the land would be fulfilled, regardless of which way Lot chose.

Abram's choice to let Lot decide showed his willingness to release control.

Think about that.

Abram released control.

That's something that we as humans, man, it's so hard for us to release control.

But yeah, Abram did that, and he trusted God would take care of him.

And he didn't grasp the best part of the land, you know, he trusted in his plan.

You know, he knew that God's plan is greater than his own understanding.

You know, to a man of faith like Abram, a few acres of land

was not worth fighting for.

He had an internal perspective.

You know, I like to think he fulfilled this new principle, the

New Testament principle of love.

You know, Philippians chapter 2 here, verse 3 4 says, Do nothing out of

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Rather, in humility, value others above yourself.

Not looking to your own interests, but each of you, each of you

to the interests of others.

You know, if Abram were the type of person to look for his own interests, he would

have dictated the terms to Lot, right?

He would have said, all right, well, I'll take the right side.

You're going to take the left side and settle it.

That's what he would have done.

But Abram had the right, and he had the right to do that, but he didn't.

Abram was not only going to look out for his interests, but

also the interests of others.

Once again, Abram having this deep trust in God.

You know, that's why he said, if you go left, I'll go right.

If you go right, I'll go left.

Right or left, Abram knew God was going to be with him.

He learned God can provide for his needs and not worry about being

too generous to someone, right?

You know, it's like when we give for a weekly offer, you know, we don't have

to worry about being too generous, you know, out of a generous heart.

And when we give, we're demonstrating generosity and selflessness.

And we're trusting that, man, God, what you're gonna do with our finances,

with our money that we're tithing to you, man, you're gonna take it far.

And we've seen God do that, right?

We've seen many church plantings, not only here in the United States, but outside.

And it's like, wow, we have brothers and sisters in Christ.

Ah, the generosity of our heart right there, right?

You know, Abram knew that whatever lot chose, God would make

sure that Abram would prosper.

You know, going back to chapter 12, right, to the last chapter, when he

went to Egypt, You know, Abram thought he had to take matters in his own hand.

He thought he had to take fate in his own hands by lying to the Pharaoh,

saying, uh, his wife was his sister.

But we see here, in Genesis 13, that Abram is wiser, right?

That he learned from his bad experience in Egypt, and now, willing to have

God look out for his best interests.

Again, right or left, it didn't matter, but God was gonna be there.

Now, with that in mind, what did Lot end up choosing?

Which part of the land?

We'll pick up in verse 10 here.

It says, Lot looked around and saw the whole plain of the Jordan toward

Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.

This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.

The two men parted company.

Abram lived in the land of Canaan while Lot lived among the cities

and plain, uh, cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom.

Now, the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.

This brings me to my second point today.

And that is, where are you looking?

You know, the direction of our gaze often determines the path we choose, right?

Meaning, whatever has our attention or focus, we tend to

make decisions based off that.

And it says that, you know, Lot looked over and saw the whole

plain of the Jordan towards Zoar.

You know, Lot looked toward the well watered plains.

An area that appeared more fruitful and prosperous, however in choosing what

looked best on the surface, Lot moved closer to a morally corrupt city of Sodom.

And he prioritized, uh, material gain over spiritual gain.

Making a decision that would bring future troubles, as you'll see later on.

You know, Lot's decision was driven by what looked best on the surface.

You know, it says we can, you know, we can be guilty of that at times, right?

We can make decisions that is best on the surface.

You know, when I was, uh, in college, back in community college, I was 18 at

the time, I was working, I had money.

And, but the only way I could get to school or work was either through the

bus or my parents dropping me off.

And, you know, having your parents drop you off at, you know, college or work,

it's not really a pleasant feeling.

You're kind of like, ooh, like, I'm a little too old for this.

Especially my dad, when he dropped me off, he would always make a

scene and be like, I love you, son, out loud, and I'm like, oh gosh, I

just put my head down and walked.

But, so I was like, you know what?

I need to get a car.

I need to get a car ASAP.

So I, you know, I went home one day, and I went on a off road.

And I was like, alright, I just need to find a car.

I need four wheels, and that drives, and I'm good to go.

I had a budget.

It was about a thousand dollars.

I found a car.

It was a 1994 Honda Civic EX Hatchback.

Alright?

It didn't look pretty, but it just reminded me of the car Paul Walker

drove back in Fast and Furious.

So I was like, alright, I'm about to be like a low budget black

Paul Walker from Fast and Furious.

You know what I mean?

So I go to the, the, the owner of the car.

You know, what are you supposed to do when you go check out a car?

What, what are you guys supposed to do?

Test drive it?

Ask questions?

Hey, let me see the engine real quick.

I didn't ask any of that.

All I did, I started the car.

I drove it around the block.

Yeah this is it!

Gave him the money That's it, alright, drive home Man, I'm awesome, know what

I mean Five days later, alright I have, I planned a big group date We were going

to Magic Mountain I had, uh, two couples in my car We're driving, we're on the 5

See smoke I was like, what the heck is going on here I pull over, man, it, it

overheated But, when the me uh I got it towed to my mechanic You And the mechanic

was like, Alright, so, the mileage is a lot higher than what the owner told you.

Uh, the timing belt broke, and you need a new engine.

Yeah, exactly.

Five days that I had that car.

Yeah, I was furious.

Yeah, I was furious.

I wasn't, I was fast and very furious right after.

But man, as you see, I made a short term, immediate,

gratifying decision right there.

To purchase an old car.

You know, I didn't think about the issues of the car, I just

saw the car and said, yes.

You know, I don't know why, but I told Savannah earlier, I was

like, yeah, the hood was broken.

It was held down by two bolts.

I should have known that was a red flag, but I still got it.

I still bought it.

But why do I share this with you?

Because when we make short term decisions, we miss out on the long term effect.

And Lott, he prioritized material gain over consideration.

His choice reflected a preference for immediate benefits rather than long

term consequences or spiritual values.

That's why we have to ask ourselves, you know, where are

we looking at today, Church?

Where are you looking when you make decisions?

You know, are your eyes focused on what looks good now?

Maybe it was a 94 Civic.

Maybe it's comfort.

Maybe it's wealth.

Maybe it's, you know, status in school or in your job.

I don't know.

Or are you seeking God's guidance, even if his path seems less obvious?

Like Lot, we can be easily led astray by what looks appealing on

the surface, but God calls us to a deeper trust in his direction.

You know, Abram was looking at either land knowing that God was going to be with him

and bless him regardless where he went.

You know, Lot decided to take the land by Sodom based on what

he could see with his own eyes.

And he only cared about the material abundance of the land.

He was not concerned about the culture of the land or how it would spiritually

impact him or his family later on.

But where Abram had faith, Lot did not have faith.

You know, faith means that we, uh, we do not walk, faith means that

we do not walk by what we see but what we know to be true in God.

You know, in 2nd For we walk by faith, not by sight.

And we see Abram was walking by faith.

A lot with only walking by sight.

You know, are we church today?

Are we walking by faith?

Or are we only walking by sight?

You know, it can be very easy to walk by sight.

You know what I mean?

You just look around and you're like, Man, our church is this and that.

It's like, man, you can get consumed with it.

And it's, it's very tempting to be.

You know, it's easy for us to walk by sight when the world offers quick rewards.

Walking by sight usually promises immediate results.

Like Lot who saw the well watered plains, he, he chose that

because it looked prosperous.

We too are often, you know, drawn to the things that look prosperous to us.

Something that's quick, quick success, some comfort, some, some pleasure.

You know, in verse 12, you know, it explained that while Lot lived

among the cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom, now the

people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.

We again see a, you know, a tent being pitched.

And we're going to see this, uh, we saw this last.

Uh, chapter in Genesis where Abram pitched his tent.

We see it earlier here in this chapter, Abram pitched his tent.

But here we're going to see, uh, Lot pitched his tent.

But he didn't build an altar right after.

He also pitched his tent closer to the wicked city of Sodom.

And we'll see later in Genesis that he becomes a future leader of that city.

You know, Lot's choice to pitch his tent near Sodom, despite its moral corruption,

shows living close to corruption or sin can expose us to greater temptation.

He may not have intended to participate in the Sin City initially, but

proximity made it easier, and it was shown through his lifestyle over time.

I want to speak to that reality sometimes.

You know, like Lot, our hearts can drift.

You know, maybe we can, you know, we don't even notice it at first, but the decisions

we make reflects what we've been seeing.

You know, that our eyes have shifted away from God's guidance

and toward the things of this world.

But here's the good news, though, alright?

No matter how far we've wandered, God's promises remains.

His love never fails, and His arms are always open, ready to bring us back.

You know, I love the song we just sang, you know, Come to the altar.

The Father's arms are open wide.

God is waiting for us to return.

God is faithful to us.

He calls us to turn our focus back to Him, to trust in His

direction, to rely on His provision.

Amen.

So if you feel like today, you know, your heart has drifted, know

that it's never too late to return.

You know, God's promises are still true.

Church, where are you looking today?

Are we prioritizing professional growth and accolades over spiritual growth?

Are we trading the kingdom of God for a luxurious lifestyle?

Are we looking for, for popularity or people pleasing rather than

pleasing the one who created us, God?

For Lot, it made sense to him where he was looking, right?

He saw this lush land, and he was like, Man, I can make a quick buck here.

I can make a profit.

But he disregarded the culture that would affect him and his family later on.

You know, Lot probably thought this.

I can serve God as well in Sodom as I can anywhere.

Lot deceived himself, just like many of us have done since.

You know, it's common for us to trust our heart.

But what I love here in 9 says the heart is deceitful above all things

and beyond who can understand it.

You know, the heart is incredibly deceptive.

The heart often seeks what feels good or beneficial for them in the moment, but

when our hearts are driven by emotions such as fear, envy, lust, grief, they can

cloud our judgment and make it difficult to see what God has for us clearly.

You know, a lot will eventually end up losing everything.

But Abram endured a legacy that he got to pass on to his family.

Now after Lot and Abram, they separate, we're gonna see what

the Lord has to say to Abram here.

Because I hear in Genesis 13, verse 14 through 18, it says, The Lord said to

Genesis 13:14–18

Abram after Lot had parted from him, Look around from where you are, to the

north and south, to the east and the west, all the land that you see, I will

give to you, and your offsprings forever.

I will make your offsprings like the dust of years, so that if anyone

who could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.

Go walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.

So Abram went to live, uh, near the great trees of Mamre at, uh,

Ebron, where he pitched his tent.

There he built an altar to the Lord.

You know, after Lot separates from Abram, God speaks to Abram.

I believe that was very intentional because, once again, God promised

everything to Abram and not to Lot.

And here, God reassures to Abram, Man, look what you're seeing, man.

Like, man, all this is yours.

The land is yours.

Your nation is coming.

You know what I mean?

You know, the promise has not yet been, uh, fulfilled, but

yet he, uh, reminds Abram.

Just like how we need reminders.

Like, man, God's promised.

Man, it's gonna happen.

Again, God repeated the promise to him.

Which brings me to my last point, is what are you looking at?

You know, we see that fixing our eyes on God's promises

leads to faith and contentment.

And Abram was looking at God's promise, not at what seemed

advantageous at the moment.

Even though the land lot left him might have seemed less, you know,

fruitful, less likely to make a profit really, Abram trusted in the Lord.

His eyes was fixed on a bigger picture.

You know, when God tells Abram, lift his eyes, I believe it was

really telling him like, hey man, get your human eyes out of here and

look at the promise I have for you.

Look in the lens that I see for you.

You know, are we fixing our eyes on God's promises?

In our own lives, we can be caught up in temporary concerns, but this passage

reminds us to look beyond the things and focus on God's promise for our future.

You know, as we focus on what looks good now, God's Are we lifting our eyes to

God's promises, trusting that He will provide in His perfect time, not our

perfect time, but His perfect time.

Like Abram, we are called to worship and trust God's faithfulness, even

when the fulfillment is on the horizon.

So what does that mean for you and I today, Church?

As we look at, you know, Abram's journey here in Genesis 13, we see the

importance of not just making choices, but we need to watch what we're looking

at, both physically and spiritually.

Abram kept his eyes on God's promises, even when he didn't

know what would unfold.

In the same way, we are called to hold on to God's promises.

No matter what circumstance we face, when life gets hard, when the road

ahead looks uncertain and we're tempted to take matters into our own hands.

You know, I want you guys to, to remember this.

These are just the, the surface levels of just some of the promises God has for us.

You know, that He will, God promises to be with us even when we feel alone.

His promise is to provide for us even when we're in need.

His promise is to guide us even when we don't know the way forward.

You know, His promise is to give us peace even when life is chaotic.

Like I said, these are just the tip of the iceberg of, you know, some

of the promises God has for us.

But to experience these promises, Church, we must watch where you are looking.

You know, we focus on the world's solutions, like Lot who chose what

looked good to him in the moment, but led to spiritual danger.

Or are we going to be like Abram, trusting God even when we step into the unknown?

You know, where we look shapes where we go.

So we need to keep our eyes on God.

When the world tries to pull your focus away with distraction, fears or

temptations, remember that the path God is leading you on is filled with promises

and God is faithful to fulfill them.

So as I close out today, church, I really want to urge you and encourage you to hold

on to God's promises with all your heart.

Watch where you are looking and keep your eyes fixed on him.

And you'll see his promises unfold in his perfect timing.

Amen church?

Amen.

Love you guys.