What Happens When You Finally Step Out in Faith

Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast.

We hope today's message is encouraging to you.

Stepping out is the opposite of being stuck.

Stepping out is the opposite of being in a rut.

Stepping out is the opposite of living in the land of fear.

Stepping out is the opposite of a dead end.

Stepping out, as it turns, is movement forward in your life

based on your faith and the promises that are backed by God

alone. And that's enough.

So maybe you're not sure if you need it right now, but I hope by

the end of the message you realize there's an error in your

life. God saying, hey, why don't you

step out with me? Why don't you believe on my

promises and move forward in this area of your life and for

everyone in this room, it could be something different.

Could be your finances, could be relationships, could be a new

career change, could be new mental state of mind, a new

level of faith. Maybe it's crossing over,

stepping out into the line of faith yourself and believing in

Jesus. But I'm praying and believing

God's got you here today because He wants you to step out.

Not tomorrow, but today. Amen.

We're in Genesis chapter 12. If you're brand new and you

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

haven't been along with us, we're in the book of Genesis in

this entire series called Faith Begins.

If you need a Bible, by the way, raise your hand and our ushers

will bring you a Bible. You can keep it.

I'd love for you to have the word of God in the book of

Genesis. We have the origination of

everything. First facts, faith I've, I've

been saying it throughout the entire series if you got

questions about anything. It's design, its purpose is

always found in Genesis, specifically Genesis one through

11. God's laying all of this

foundation. And now in Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

it's as if the Kingdom is stepping out.

It's no longer just going to be God with his people, but God

wants to impact the entirety of the of the world.

And so this movement is stepping out and it begins with a man

named Abram. Everyone say Abram in Genesis 12

we get what's called the Abrahamic covenant.

God making a promise with humanity and he makes it with

Abram. Genesis 12, verse one, the Lord

had said to Abram, go from your country, leave it.

Go from your people, leave them, go from your father's household,

leave him to this land. I will show you.

Then he makes the promise. Verses 2 and three, I will make

you into a great nation, and I will bless you.

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I

will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through

you. So Abram went as the Lord had

told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he

set out on his purpose in life from Haran.

He took with his, he took his wife Sarai, his, his nephew Lot,

excuse me, all the possessions they had accumulated and the

people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the

land of Canaan and they arrived there.

Verse 6. Abram traveled through the land

as far as the side of the great tree of Mora at Shechem.

At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

These are foreigners to him. The Lord appeared to Abram and

said, To your offspring, I will give this land.

So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched

his tent with Bethel on the West and AI on the east.

There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of

the Lord. Then Abram set out and continued

toward the Negev. In Genesis 12 we have the

beginning of Abram's story, the beginning of God's people

stepping out to fulfill the purpose on the earth.

I want to Fast forward all the way to 2026 and just begin to

look at how Abram's story is going now.

Are you with me to say yes, one word for you?

This is how Abram's story is going now in 2026.

Gird yourself as I show it to you.

It's called anti-Semitism. Now, please don't let your mind

go political here. Don't let your mind go to CNN or

Fox social media. I want to look biblically at

what's happening on our Earth. And there's a reason we're

looking at this. So nobody get tense.

Anyone tense who's going to say yes?

anti-Semitism in general is the hate throughout the world

against Abraham's descendants. And if you have eyes to see and

ears to hear, it is on the rise globally.

Let me just show you in the United States of America from

secular institutions that have nothing to do with faith or

religion whatsoever, the numbers that they have compiled and they

are startling. The latest numbers come from

2024 from the Anti Defamation League.

They note that 9354 anti-Semitic incidents have happened in the

United States of America. That's harassment, vandalism and

physical assault and verbal assault, a record high since

tracking began in 1979. The numbers for 2024 are 5%

higher than they were in 2023, when there was 8000 only 8873

incidences of anti-Semitism. Over the last five years it has

grown 344%. In the last 10 years it has

grown 893%. This is the Anti defamation

league. Just giving us the facts.

Then you have this other group called the FBI.

Anyone ever heard of them? Anyone ever had time with them?

OK they say from 2024 that anti Jewish hate crime incidents

account for 69% of all religion based hate crimes by far more

than any other group. Because the rest of the groups,

Christians and Islam and whatever other religion fit in

the rest of the 31%. And here the anti-Semitism

accounts for 69%. anti-Semitism hate for semites?

Who are the semites? Have you ever thought about it?

Like we say anti-Semitism Like what?

Why are people against semites? Who are the semites?

Well, let's look back to last week.

We met a man named Noah. Noah and only seven other people

were saved through the ark. They were saved from the flood,

from destruction. Three of those eight were the

sons of Noah. And in the Bible it lists them

like Ham, Japheth and Shem, though that's not actually

listen this way. Shem, Japheth and Ham.

Why does that matter? Well, Shem, you would think,

because he's listed first as the first born, but Shem is actually

the middle child. Can we put some respect on the

middle child in the world? Anybody.

I got issues. Now you know why Shem in some

languages is written SEM no H and it is from Shem that the

people called the Semites arise. The lineage of Noah to Shem, the

Shemites, the Semites. Shem has some genealogy.

After him you get our faxes, then you get Shayla.

Then you get to a man named Eber.

Everyone say Eber and maybe Eber.

Shem is the great grandfather of this man named Eber and it is

from Eber or Eber that we get the people called Hebrews.

Anyone ever heard that? You thinking about your barista?

You like Hebrews? OK, no, dad jokes there cost you

nothing because they're worth nothing.

Well, I have a lot more to say on Eber and the Hebrews later.

I just want you to remember Eber and the Hebrews for later.

And it has some more genealogy so everyone lock in.

Don't get lost here. And all these names.

Eber of course has genealogy behind it.

Peleg, Roo, Serig, Nahor, Tara, and then finally Abram.

Eber's great, great, great, great grandson is this man named

Abram. It is this man, the descendant

of Noah through Shem, through Eber, this Abram that will

become father Abraham, whose descendants will become the

nation of Israel. Abraham's grandson is a guy

named Jacob, and God changes Jacob's name from Jacob deceiver

to Israel, one who will prevail with God.

What a great name change, right? Deceiver, the one who from Jacob

to Israel are you? Are you still following?

Say yes. Keep your big brains on.

Now. The nation of Israel will be the

nation that blesses all other nations.

How? I'm glad you asked.

These are the people who will bring forth Messiah.

These are the people who will bring forth Jesus from Nazareth.

It is this Jesus who will claim his victory in the region of

Judea, in the city of Jerusalem. And it is the people from Judea

who are called the Jews. Do you see all the names now?

You putting us all together? The Semites become the Hebrews.

Who are the Israelites? Who are the Jews?

Are you following? It's an oversimplification, but

anti-Semitic. 8 is Semite Hebrew Israeli Jewish hate.

We talked about this two weeks ago, but why is there so much

enduring all throughout history hate for the people of Abraham's

descendants, the Semites, the Israelites, the Hebrews, the

Jews? I didn't do this in the right

order, but you got it. Remember something very specific

that happens in Genesis chapter 3 and we understand why there's

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

so much hate against the Semites.

Genesis chapter 3, the devil comes and deceives Adam and Eve,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

and then God confronts the devil, saying to him in Genesis

Genesis 3:15

chapter 3, verse 15, God speaking to the snake.

I will put enmity between you snake, and the woman, between

your offspring and her offspring.

The woman's offspring will crush your head and you will strike

your heel, his heel, meaning the devil will wound humanity.

But this one, this offspring that comes from this woman who

is an Israelite, he will destroy the devil.

Abram's family will be the family that fulfills the promise

of Genesis chapter 3. That's what's happening in

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 12. God's commencing the plan.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Abram's family will be the family of the woman whose seed

will crush the head of the enemy and give freedom to sinners and

eternal life to believers. And that's what happens through

the work of Jesus. We are returned to creation.

We are returned to our original intent that we talked about in

week 1, where God's entire desire to build the earth and to

fill it populated with humans was to dwell with us and us with

Him in this beautiful paradise. Genesis chapter 12 is the first

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

call for humanity to step out. Go and do what I've called you

to do to advance the Kingdom in Abraham.

We move from God just creating humans to creating people, and

now He's moving us to creating God's chosen people who have a

specific job and will do a great work based on the calling of God

to go and do it. It's affirmed in the New

Testament. Galatians chapter 3 look at this

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

verse 7, understanding that those who have faith, those who

have placed their trust in Jesus are children of Abraham.

Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith

announced in the gospel in advance to Abraham.

With the writer here, Paul is referring all the way back to

Genesis chapter 12. All nations will be blessed

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

through you verse 9. So those who rely on faith are

blessed along with Abraham the man of faith and then look down

in verse 16. The promises were spoken to

Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say and to

seeds meaning many people but and to your seed meaning one

person who is Christ. What is promised in Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 gets activated in Genesis chapter 12 and now Paul

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

in Galatians is calling back to him and said God kept the plan,

the arrival of Christ, the one and only seed who would bring

salvation to the world. This is more than about land and

descendants. In other words, this covenant.

It's about a family that has a heavenly purpose and God has

given it to them. Therefore, putting this all

together, Abraham's family, according to the devil, must be

destroyed, for this family is the root of the one that will

bring the Messiah. So this family must be

destroyed. It's the root of anti-Semitism.

It all began in Genesis. It goes on to this day.

Are you here? Say yes, Yeah.

However, try as he may, this is good news.

The devil's plot against the people of God has not prevailed.

Did you hear what I said? Despite all of us trying to

snuff out the lineage that would bring Jesus, we know standing on

this side of Jesus that the devil's plan did not prevail.

Glory to God, Jesus arrives, brings with them his freedom.

The captives are set free. The devil has suffered

irreparable damage because of the victory of Jesus Christ,

which means that believers in Jesus are unshackled from sin

and await eternal glory with him.

The plan failed, Devil. Amen.

But how did it fail? That's the question we need to

answer today. How did the plot of the Enemy

fail? Why didn't the devil succeed?

2 things. The ability of God and the faith

of people. Write it down, some of you

taking notes. The rest of you, I'm glad you're

here. The ability of God and the faith

of people caused the devil's plan to fail.

Somebody stepped out in faith. And what happens when we step

out in faith is that we intersect with the ability of

God and the devil's plan fails and the God, the Lord's plan

goes forward. Let me say it over here.

When we step out in faith, we intersect with the ability of

God. And when we do that, the devil's

plan fails and the Lord's plan goes forward.

So maybe we should step out Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Let's look at the covenant again.

Let's see the ability of God. Verse two and three, God says I

will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and

I will make your name great 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. The I wills of God.

Did you see them? Did you note them in your

spirit? I put a little emphasis on them,

The I wills of God. Every I will is a promise of

God, which means that everything begins with God's ability.

Everything, even our stepping out, is based in faith, on God's

ability. And when we step out in faith,

we intersect with the power and the ability of God.

And the devil's plan fails over your marriage.

The devil's plans fail over your mental health, your physical

health, and the Lord's plan prevails.

Everything begins with the ability of God.

God is the beginning of this Abrahamic movement to redeem the

earth and all of it to happen. Inhabitants, The plans to

reverse the work of the enemy are here and now unfolding in

Abraham. And God is saying, I'm going to

make it so I will make it happen.

I will assure this. And praise be to God, He did it.

We live in the history, the testimony of the finished work

of Jesus Christ. God even proves to Abraham that

it will be him that does it in the way that they signed the

contract together over this covenant.

A covenant is a contract between people and in the days of old,

just as we do now, there was a signing of the contract, if you

will, a handshake between gentlemen, an agreement that

says I will do this and you will do this and together we'll go

forward. But God that in a specific way.

I think you've seen this before. If not, this will blow your

mind. It's so good.

Genesis chapter 15, the Abram story goes, goes on verse 7.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

He also said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of UR

of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of

it. But everyone's got a question

for God. I don't know if God's ever given

you a promise like how's that going to work?

It doesn't make sense to me. Can you give me some more

information? That's what he does here verse

8. But everyone says, sovereign

Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of this land?

So this is what the Lord God said.

This is how this is how it's going to happen.

Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along

with dove and a young pigeon. Abram brought out all these to

him. Cut them into and arrange the

halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not

cut in half. Verse 11.

Then the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram

drove them away. We could do a whole message just

on verse 11. When God gives you a promise and

the distractions and the defeat tries to sit at your door, you

drive them away in faith. Resist the devil and he will

flee. Verse 12 As the sun was said and

Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful

darkness came over him. Verse 17 jumped down.

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking

fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the

pieces. On that day the Lord made a

covenant with Abram and said To your descendants, I will give

this land from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river the

Euphrates. I've taught here a few times on

this, so I will be brief. What we have here is an Old

Testament back in the day version of signing a contract

and they called it cutting a covenant.

Cutting a covenant, they would bring these animals and they

would line them up on a path on the left and the right, cutting

the animals in half, setting them here like this, and then

the birds down here like this. And then two people who were

coming into a very serious agreement saying like, I'm going

to be committed to this. How much this much?

Well, we're going to pass to these animals.

And the idea is if I break this covenant, may it be unto me as

it is to these animals, meaning I am putting my life on the line

to keep this covenant. That's how serious this is.

Are you, do you understand? Do you understand except and

maybe you saw this? In this case, since God already

told him in chapter 12, I will make you a great nation and I

will bless you and I will curse those against you, I'm going to

do the work. Instead of God and Abraham

walking between the pieces of animals together, it's God and

God, the smoking fire pot and a blazing torch.

I have kind of a rudimentary picture to show you.

The rest of the pictures were too grizzly.

So you have like, it looks like my 5 year old.

I don't even have a 5 year old, but looks like a 5 year old drew

this. The smoking firepot and the

blazing torch. What you don't see passing

between the animals is Abram. It's God and God.

Abram is asleep while this is happening.

You can call this moment the handshake between God and Abram.

Except when they went to shake hands, God didn't shake Abram's

hand. He shook his own hand.

Yeah, God alone will keep the covenant because God knows that

when man fails, he will not. So should be obvious, and I've

been saying a little bit, but stepping out requires God's

ability. We don't step into nothingness,

right? We step into the ability of

God's proven promise keeping nature over and over again.

The covenant is ratified by God alone.

Abram is passive in it, which means in no way that it depend

on Abram, but solely on the work and the character and the nature

of God. Verse 8, Abram says how I know a

game, possession of the land, what's going to happen?

What do I have to do? And God's answer is sacrifice

covenant. I'm going to take care of it.

I will assure it through the shedding of blood.

Later he will do this again in Jesus saying like how do we gain

possession of the promised land of heaven?

God says sacrifice covenant. I will assure it, I will take

care of it. Verse 12 we find Abram deep

asleep should sound familiar to you if you've been with us in

the series. God does a lot in the sleep

hours. Adam's asleep and Eve is

produced. Thank God for that.

Men and husbands, this is when you say yes.

Men, husbands, this is when you say yes.

I'll give you a second chance. I'm so glad God created my wife

in Jesus name. When Abram's asleep, God

produces the covenant, and when Jesus is asleep in death, God

produces the new covenant, the gateway to eternal life of the

Father. God does it all.

What God is doing in Abraham's time and our time cannot be

supported nor stopped by humanity.

The work of God, because He is God, will be fulfilled, in fact,

has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

Just stop here and have just a devotional moment for your

heart. What breakthrough are you

looking for in your life? I want to tell you it will only

be done by the ability of God. It's been that way since

Genesis. It was that way with Jesus.

If you're beginning with human ability, you're not beginning,

you're just staying where you are.

We're stuck in a rut. Let me just speak for ourselves.

I, I get stuck in a rut when I go on my own ability.

And when I speak of ability, I'm thinking mostly about my

thoughts. Like I'm thinking this way about

this situation. And when I think about it

through my own thoughts, there's no ability behind it because

they're not backed by the power of God is backed by the power of

Tim. And then I get you one Taco Bell

Taco. So what's our part?

If it's all God's ability, what's our part?

No surprise. It's a step of faith, a step of

faith. Abram's response to God is

amazing. Genesis 12 verses 2 and three

Genesis 12:2

says go, I'm going to bless you. Do all this.

Verse 4. So Abram went, did you see it?

It happened so quick. Imagine if Abram said I'm not

going to go. There is no Abram went.

Abram didn't went, but Abram went as the Lord had told him he

took action based on the word of God.

And it's pretty strong faith here.

Abram is essentially leaving everything to start over based

solely on the Word of God. Here's a little picture.

You can see his journey, and it extends beyond what we're going

to be teaching today. But I want you to see he starts

over here in ER with his dad, Tara.

And in Genesis 11, they leave ER and go up to Haran and they live

there. And that's when the Lord speaks

to Abram here in Haran, and he crosses over the Euphrates River

and marches down into the land of the unknown.

He leaves everything he knows to go to the land of the unknown.

The only thing he does actually know is the Word of God.

And based only on the Word of God, he leaves down and arrives

in the promised land at Shechem, pitches, pitches his tent near

Bethel. This is his journey by faith,

leaving behind what he's known. Abram in this moment, therefore,

is led to a new people, a new purpose, and a new place.

This is what Abraham is receiving as he steps out in

faith. This is what Jesus has promised

to us today. He made this promise and said,

hey, John chapter 14, behold, I'm going to leave this place.

John 14 · chapter mention

I go prepare another place for you.

And if I made a place for you, I'm going to come back and get

you to take you to be where I am.

I'm preparing a new place for you.

You got to step out in faith to receive it.

Stepping out leads from this place that you're currently

living, the place that you might be stuck in mentally,

relationally, physically, you name it, in a rut.

Stepping out leads you from that place to the new thing that God

has for you and for your situation.

We just got to be like Abram. We just need to step out based

on the word of God. See essential part be one thing

if Abram went, it's another thing that Abram goes because

it's the Lord has told them. So what stops us from stepping

out our old friend doubt? Everyone say doubt, Hallelujah,

doubt. When we're listening to doubt,

it means we're not listening to the words of God.

Doubt means we're listening to other words.

I will tell you this, if you're trying to step out on anything

other than the word of God, you're stepping in to a void.

There's nothing there to stand upon.

Everything else is sinking sand. Have you heard this before?

But the Word of God is the assurance of the rock of Jesus

Christ that when you stand upon it, you know what happened.

Stepping out based on the Word of God, not based on any other

words. Man, we have so many words, so

many modern day prophets peddling all sorts of beliefs

and then you weigh them against the word of God and they do not

stand. But we try to pin our whole life

on something other than the word of God and then we're shocked

when we're dismayed and we're broken.

And God said, build your life on the rock, on my word.

Well, even happens for our good friend Abram, we think of him so

highly because he has stepped out in faith, but he has some

doubt. He arrives in Israel.

Wasn't Israel at that time was the land of the Canaanites?

God promises it to him, it belongs to God and God gives it

to, He wants to. And God chose the Israelites to

give to. And he says, but there's a

famine here. There's a physical famine like

not enough food, water, and there's a spiritual famine.

So thanks for bringing me here, God, but I'm out.

And Abram, as we'll later see with the Israelites, and we even

see with Jesus and Mary and Joseph for a little bit, they

descend into Egypt. Abram leaves the promised land

where the Word of God has led him to seek rescue by his own

plan and his own wisdom. Can we be?

Can we have like real church and not just pretend church?

Usually I ask rhetorical questions that might be too

embarrassing for you to answer out loud.

But we're all going to answer this question out loud.

Well, not with our voices, with our hands together.

Have you ever? Don't raise your hand yet left

the promises of God because you had doubt in your mind that He

would fulfill them, and then enacted your own plan, thinking

that might go better on the count of three.

Anyone ever done that? 123 Now look around, look

around, you're not alone. You and me and Abram were all

the same. We start to doubt, which is the

beginning of the sin cycle. Remember, doubt leads to

deception, which leads to disobedience, which leads to

disgust, which leads to destruction.

And back we go again. And again it's happened for

Abram. Not only that, when Abram was

looking around, he's like, hey, I'm like getting near 90 and you

said I'm going to have offspring.

And me and Sarah, I have had no offspring.

So let me take the plan again in my own hand.

He has a child by his wife's maidservant, Hagar, and she's

named or the child's name is Ishmael.

Listen to what Genesis 16 says about Ishmael.

Ishmael will be a wild donkey of a man.

His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand

against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his

brothers. History always proves what God

has told us before, and if you look in the Middle East, Arab

nations which contain many of the descendants of Ishmael,

they're still to this day at war with their brothers as was

prophesied. It's still true to this day.

Genesis 1612 is being played out on your newsreel, not just in

the Middle East, but all throughout the nations.

All this to say, it does not go well when we take things into

our own hands. Somebody say man, our job is to

be faithful and obedient to the word of God and when we step out

based on the word of God, it's when the ability of God

intersects and arrives in our lives.

Jesus fulfills this Matthew chapter 4 verse 19.

Matthew 4:19

You still you'll see familiar language to Abram and he said to

them, follow me. Here's the language and I will

make you fishers of men. Same thing you said to Abram.

I'm going to do the work. I have the ability, I'm going

to. I will do it.

The disciples just had to follow, to step out, to obey.

And when they did, woo y'all, we're living, we're sitting,

we're commuting right now. In the evidence of their faith,

2000 years ago, they stepped out.

The church is born. They meet the miracle of God.

By the way, the church is a miracle.

So many times I should have died.

They're trying to kill it now. God keeps it alive.

His ability based on the faith of people to step out.

I remember the first time I ever preached to adults, a big group

of adults, in fact, right around 4000 adults.

I had been in ministry for 12 years, started student ministry

in 1995. And then in 2007, Christine and

I were called to another church, the Crossing Church.

And I left student ministry behind.

Very sad to leave that behind, by the way.

But God called us and we hadn't been there long.

And the lead pastor, Pastor Greg, who was here for men's

conference, any men you remember Pastor Greg?

I say, Yep, uh huh. He says, hey, I want you to

preach the weekend service. And I'm like me, like, I'm just

like a silly youth guy. Like no way, I said yes, it's

like October ish of 2007. Been at the church maybe three

or four months. I literally had preached 1000

messages roughly in my life to that point.

Preaching twice a week for 12 years.

Sunday night Senior High, Wednesday night middle school.

And in those groups roughly between 60 to a hundred 120 kids

each night. That was it.

That was my jam. I could own a room of 100 people

that didn't know nothing, right? Just like it was amazing.

So there I was in 2007. It's time to preach.

And I was behind a leg, which this curtain thing on the side

is called the leg. That's why they say break a leg

because you got to open it and close it so many times it breaks

for the anyway, who goes and I'm behind that can't.

Can you hear me? OK, I'm behind.

Stop looking. I'm behind the curtain and the

bumpers playing and I know it's got like 10 seconds left and

it's go time and I'm back here stalked to the ground like, Oh

my word. There are so many adults who

know the word of God really well, and they've been preached

to by Pastor Greg Dumas, who is an authoritative, biblically

incredible man. And who am I to go out there and

say anything? It's going to be terrible.

And the bumper ends and I'm still standing here.

The lights come up and I'm standing here.

It's, it felt like 45 minutes, but it was like one second.

Well, there was an elder back here with me.

His name is Paul Brooks and he just leans over and I could feel

his breath on my ear. He was that close.

And he says this. You are a mighty warrior.

And I just walked out, right? I didn't mean for that to be

silly, but there it is. Typical.

You can take the youth out of the pastor.

What a nude whatever. I stepped out and in that moment

I went from darkness to light. In that moment I went from being

terrified to stepping into my calling.

And it was a pivotal moment. Like God had matured me in some

way that He allowed me the privilege of preaching to those

people that day, but I could have stayed stuck behind the

curtain. I'm just looking around and

wondering if you're ready to move forward in your life, if

you're ready to step out in your situation, to step out in your

relationships, to step out in your job, to step out into your

calling, to step out into your spiritual health.

If you're ready to do that, then tell your neighbor I'm stepping

out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's kind of tepid. I'm not sure you you're there

yet. I just want to share with you

one last point because if you're breathing, you probably have a

situation where you're on one side of the river and on this

side of the river, if your life's like my life, and I'm not

saying it's got to be, but maybe it is on this side of the river,

There's such things as enemies, threats, depression, angst,

bitterness, rivalries, scarcity mindset.

We're never going to make it hopelessness on this side of the

river. And it's really ugly over here,

by the way. And then you look over there and

on the other side of the river is the Kingdom of God.

On the other side of the river is the Kingdom of God.

And the Kingdom according to the word of God is full of

righteousness, joy, and peace. The will of God according to the

Word of God is good, pleasing, and perfect.

On this side, Scarcity, nothing on that side.

Hope, joy and love flowing like milk and honey.

But I'm over here and I want to get over there in my

relationships, in my mental health, in my life, in my

spiritual life. I want to move from me existing

to God existing in me. I want to get there.

How do I move from the land of desolation to the land of my

destiny? How do I go?

How do I crossover? Well, it should be obvious now.

It's a step of faith, right? It's just a step of faith.

Which takes me back to our buddy Eber.

You remember him? Have you held on to that name

this whole time? Yeah.

Anyone OK. Good.

Ever. Hebrew means from Eber.

One who's from Eber. So these are people of Eber, the

Hebrew people. But what does Eber's name mean?

Check this out. Eber's name means from the other

side, or one who crosses over. The Hebrew people are the people

who crossover. Look at the record that's given

to us biblically. Abram crosses over the Euphrates

to get to the land of promise. Don't you know that Moses

crosses through over the Red Sea to get to the land of promise?

Don't you know that Joshua crosses over the Jordan River to

get to the land of promise? And Jesus literally crossed the

distance of sin so that you and I could enter the land of

promise now here. Amen.

Go ahead. When we enter by faith in Jesus

from the land of sin and scorn and shame and death and not

being in God's presence, into his presence by faith in Jesus,

we're actually entering into the family of Hebrews.

We are grafted in, the Bible says, into their family.

We keep trying to make Hebrews Christians, but actual

Christians are not Hebrews. People who believe in Jesus have

been grafted into Abraham's family.

Now, of course, we don't replace the Hebrews.

This isn't replacement theology where the church has become

Israel. We've been grafted into their

family, and by the graceful invitation of the Lord, we get

the opportunity to minister to everyone, including other

Hebrews who do not yet know him as Savior, Jesus, as Savior.

You follow me, say yes, but it's this crossover.

You have free will, and free will lets you decide.

You could say no, I'm not going to crossover, but you could also

say yes and crossover. So I just need to ask you today,

what is the word of the Lord speaking to you in your life?

That it's time for you to step out in faith and crossover where

you've been stuck dead end, fear, you name it in the rot and

believe on His word that His supernatural ability is going to

meet your obedience. And when you walk to that door,

you have no idea the goodness that's on the other side.

It just takes a step of faith. What is it for you?

Where is God asking you to step out of faith?

Leave behind something old and walk into something new.

Thanks for joining us today. We hope God is speaking to your

heart through this message. If you'd like to connect with

us, you can text connect to 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate

dot church. Have a great week.