Count The Stars | Jabin Chavez | City Light Church

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Count the Stars" | City Light Church Las Vegas | Jabin Chavez

Date: May 18, 2026
Host & Speaker: Jabin Chavez

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Overview

This episode, part of the ongoing "By Faith" series at City Light Church, centers on Genesis 15 and the experience of Abram (Abraham) as he grapples with delayed promises. Pastor Jabin Chavez delivers a dynamic, hope-filled sermon, urging listeners to remain steadfast in faith, even when God’s timing feels slow, and to focus on God Himself as the ultimate reward.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Story of Abram and the Promise (00:46–05:50)

• Context: Abram received a promise from God to become a father (Genesis 12), but ten years later, he remains childless.
• God’s reassurance: God reaffirms His promise, telling Abram, “Do not be afraid… I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1–5)
• Significance of "Amen": Abram's act of belief is highlighted; the Hebrew word for “believed” is "amen," indicating deep agreement.
  • Quote: "You might just be one 'amen' away from a miracle, from a breakthrough." (Pastor Jabin, 04:00)

2. The Fight for Faith (05:51–09:10)

• Living by faith vs. sight/regret: Pastor Jabin emphasizes that while most people focus on current circumstances (sight) or the past (regret), faith is about looking to what God can do.
  • Quote: "The opposite of faith is not fear. It's sight. Eyesight shows me what is. Regret shows me what could have been. But faith shows me what could be." (Pastor Jabin, 06:45)
• Impatience and Discouragement: Abram, like many of us, gets impatient, but God’s timing is perfect—even if we don’t understand it.

3. God is the Reward (09:11–13:26)

• Ultimate Reward: The greatest reward for a life of faith isn’t material blessings, but God Himself.
  • Quote: "The reward of walking with God is not just the stuff God will do for you or give you. The reward for walking with God is actually God. Jesus is not the means to an end. He is the end." (Pastor Jabin, 09:32)
• Personal Testimony: Pastor Jabin narrates the irreplaceable joy of knowing God, relating it to reading Scripture and being in God’s presence.
  • Quote: "Money can't buy it. Drugs can't get you high enough to find it. Alcohol can't numb you enough to experience it... There's just nothing like it." (Pastor Jabin, 12:10)

4. Integrity and Saying ‘No’ to the World’s System (13:27–17:07)

• Genesis 14 recap: After Abram’s victory, he honors God with a tithe to King Melchizedek but refuses reward from the king of Sodom, choosing God’s favor over worldly gain.
• Spiritual integrity: It's not enough to give; believers must also say ‘no’ to corrupt systems.
  • Quote: "You can actually be generous and still not integrous." (Pastor Jabin, 15:12)
• God’s response: Because Abram honored God alone, God promises, "I will be your shield and your very great reward." (16:33)

5. God’s Identity: The Great "I AM" (18:11–21:28)

• God’s Name: "God" is a title; "The LORD" (Yahweh/Jehovah) is a personal, covenant name.
• Contrast with idols: God is not just one provider among many. Unlike cultural idols (ancient or modern), He alone can satisfy every need.
  • Quote: "Stop settling for all of these little G gods that cannot satisfy you when you already have the Reward for your faith. I am." (20:42)

6. God Has Not Forgotten His Promise (21:29–29:56)

• Waiting Game: Abram waits ten years into a 25-year process; impatience leads to poor decisions (the birth of Ishmael), illustrating the pitfalls of forcing outcomes.
  • Quote: "The arm of the flesh will always move faster than the arm of the Spirit. But the arm of the flesh always produces Ishmael." (24:01)
• Timeliness of God: Using examples from church life, Pastor Jabin emphasizes that waiting for God’s timing is always worth it.
  • Quote: "I'd rather be late in the will of God than early out of the will of God." (25:21)
• Faith is a flow, not a push: "Faith is a flow. Flesh is a push... Faith is, ‘God will make it happen.’" (28:23)

7. Breaking Out of Limiting Mindsets (29:57–36:00)

• The Tent Metaphor: The tent symbolizes 11 years of disappointment and self-imposed limitations. God calls Abram out to look up at the stars—beyond his own confined experience.
  • Quote: "God is bigger than your tent. God is bigger than your tent. God is bigger." (30:11)
• Stop dwelling on the past: The way to move forward is to "stop talking about it all the time." Memory doesn’t have to dictate destiny.

8. Gratitude and Perspective: Counting the Stars (36:01–37:16)

• Comparing Worries to Blessings: If you compared your needs to what God has already provided ("counted the stars"), gratitude would outweigh discouragement.
  • Quote: "If you started comparing what you're praying for to what you're grateful for... those stars would start outweighing everything you're worried about." (34:40)
• Even when you’re too tired to look up: God’s promises are as numerous as the stars above or the grains of sand below (Genesis 22).
  • Quote: "If you can't count the stars, count the sand..." (36:00)

9. Declaration of God’s Abundance & Closing Praise (36:41–End)

• God’s promise exceeds imagination:
  • Scripture Recitation: “To him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.” (36:41–37:16)
  • Call to Faith: “All you gotta do is say amen. All you gotta do is agree.” (37:16)

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Notable Quotes

• On faith:
  • "You might just be one 'amen' away from a miracle, from a breakthrough." (04:00)
  • "The opposite of faith is not fear. It's sight. Eyesight shows me what is. Regret shows me what could have been. But faith shows me what could be." (06:45)
• On reward:
  • "The reward for walking with God is actually God. Jesus is not the means to an end. He is the end." (09:32)
• On integrity:
  • "You can actually be generous and still not integrous." (15:12)
• On God’s sufficiency:
  • "Stop settling for all of these little G gods that cannot satisfy you when you already have the Reward for your faith. I am." (20:42)
• On patience:
  • "I'd rather be late in the will of God than early out of the will of God." (25:21)
• On gratitude:
  • "If you started comparing what you're praying for to what you're grateful for... those stars would start outweighing everything you're worried about." (34:40)

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Memorable and Engaging Moments

• Humor and authenticity: Jabin’s storytelling includes down-to-earth moments about church culture, people’s impatience, and even a light-hearted jab at the worship team, illustrating the real life of faith.
• Congregational participation: Frequent calls to say “amen,” shout, or clap—emphasizing agreement and enthusiasm as part of cultivating faith.
• Personal testimonies: Sharing about his own journey with God and examples from church life, adding depth and relatability.
• Practical applications: The message is always tied back to listeners’ everyday lives—reminding them not to give up on dreams, family, or faith, to honor God first, and to break out of “tent” mindsets.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:46] – The promise to Abram and the meaning of “amen”
• [06:45] – The fight for faith vs. sight and regret
• [09:32] – God is the ultimate reward, not just the gift-giver
• [13:27] – Abram’s integrity vs. the world’s reward
• [18:11] – God’s personal name and sufficiency
• [21:29] – God’s timing, patience, and the waiting process
• [29:57] – Breaking out of limitations – the tent analogy
• [34:40] – Counting the stars: Perspective in gratitude
• [36:41] – Declaring God’s abundance and closing praise

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Takeaways

• Stay in faith, even when the promise seems delayed.
• Remember: God Himself is your reward—greater than any material blessing.
• Don’t settle for temporary or worldly solutions; honor God above all.
• Break out of self-imposed limitations and look up—God’s possibilities far exceed your circumstances.
• Be grateful; count your blessings—they are as countless as the stars.
• God’s timing is perfect—don’t try to rush what only He can do.
• All it takes is your agreement—your “amen”—to align with God’s miraculous promises.

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“If you can ask it, it’s bigger. If you can think it, it’s bigger. If you can dream it, it’s bigger. If you can write it down, it’s bigger than that.” (Pastor Jabin, 36:41)

All you gotta do is say amen.

Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

Hey, what's up to our online City Light family Man, I love you guys so much. And we are about to jump into God's word. I believe it's going to be powerful. I believe it's going to be relevant, and I really do honestly believe that God's going to speak to you. So I just want you to open your heart and believe with us that God is going to do something amazing through this sermon. Right now in your heart, if you have not like and subscribed and done all the things, if you would do that, that would be a huge blessing to us as our media team tells me that it helps the algorithm, whatever an algorithm is, I guess we want to be on it. So I love you. Let's jump into God's word.

[Pastor Jamie]

Genesis 15. We're in a series entitled By Faith, and we're in week five of what is looking to be along. Are you texting me? Oh, sorry. I thought you were looking at me like your phone. Sorry. My wife's phone was like that. And I was like, are you? I thought you were hinting. You had a look. You were like, check your flies down. Zip up. We're in this series and it doesn't look like we have an end in sight. We're going to be preaching through it at least through the month of June, because I just feel like God's doing a lot. Amen. Had some really great miracles that we've already seen in the life of the church, and grateful for that. Genesis 15, verse 1. After this, and I'll explain what after this is later in the sermon. The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Do not be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. I'm your very great reward. But Abram said, sovereign Lord, what can you give me? Basically, he's saying, I already have money. I already have stuff. What else can you give me? I want a son. I remain childless, and the one who will inherit my estate is Eleazar of Damascus. Abram said, you've given me no children, so a servant in my household will have to be my heir. The word of the Lord came to him. This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. You will have a son. I haven't forgotten what I told you. He took him outside and 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. Abraham believed that word believed right there. That word believed is the Hebrew word. Amen where we get amen. Literally, God gives him this promise, and Abraham goes amen. And God's response to Abraham's amen is he accredited it unto him as righteousness. Now think about this. This is so powerful. You know, maybe you're thinking in this kind of church, like, why are you always trying to get us to say amen and shout and say hallelujah and run around and roll on the floor and do jumping jacks? Like, why are you like that, Jamie? Because I know that for many of you, you might just be one amen away from a miracle, from a breakthrough. See, like, you're gonna agree with somebody. You're actually saying amen to somebody. So you can, you know, as the old Bob Dylan song said, you're gonna serve somebody. It might be the devil, it might be the Lord. You're gonna serve somebody, you're gonna say amen. You're gonna come into agreement with somebody. Abraham agrees with God and says amen. And my thought is, if I can get you to say amen in here, maybe you'll say amen. So he says amen, and God gives him. He credit it unto him or accounted unto him. Righteousness, by the way, that's how we're saved. We believe in Jesus, and he takes righteousness out of his account. He places it in our account. What a blessing. You don't earn salvation, can't buy salvation. You can't do enough good works to get salvation. If works could get us saved, no one would be saved because ain't nobody good enough to be saved. So God takes righteousness when we believe in Jesus, and he places it into our account, gives it to us. What a blessing. God said, count the stars. I want to talk about count the stars. Thank you, Jesus. Speak now. I pray Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you, by the way, to the worship team for just flowing with me. Can we clap our hands for them? Wow. Hopefully they'll hear the clap. They're all by the dumpster having their smoke break. But we trust God. That. So wrong? Half the room's laughing. Half the room's like, oh, is that the smoking section I've been looking like? I think God is sensing discouragement. Abram, ten years earlier, in chapter 12, God said, you're going to be a father. I'm going to make you a father. Now, 10 years later, Abram is still waiting on the promise. And so God gives him the same word for a second time. He has to remind him, I know what I said, and I didn't forget what I said. And I'm going to fulfill what I said. Don't give up on it. I can sense your discouragement and I can sense your. Your impatience. But. But I know exactly what I'm doing. Never forget that. When you don't know what God is doing, that doesn't mean that God doesn't know what he's doing. And just because it looks like nothing is happening, something in the kingdom is always happening. So don't, don't get it twisted. Where is God? He's busy and he's working and he's working on your behalf and he is planning and preparing the things that he has prepared for you. Don't give up. And I. And I kind of felt like we' five months into the year and we started 2026, and 2026 is going to be my year. This is going to be my year. And I'm. This is going to be an amazing year. And you prayed and you fasted, and here we are in May and you're going, God, what's up? And I've just come to tell you, don't give up yet. Don't. Don't quit on this year. Come on. Don't quit on 2026. Don't quit on your family. Don't quit on your future. Don't quit on the thing God put in your spirit. Don't change your mind on something that God has not changed his mind on. So God is taking our Romans 4. Our Father in the faith. That's what they call Abraham. He's our father in the faith who's currently fearful and doubting. And God's getting him back to faith. And every Christian has to fight. The scripture says this fight, the good fight of faith. What does that mean? That means that the only fight we're fighting for is to stay in faith. Why? Because we can get out of faith. And the opposite of faith is not fear. It's sight. Eyesight shows me what is. Regret shows me what could have been. But faith shows me what could be. I want you to look at this. Most of our lives, sadly, will be lived in eyesight and regret. We're looking at what's going on in our life right now, or we're looking at what could have been and what we might have done and if we should have done and if we could have done. And most of us live there, but God is inviting us into and pulling us into. And we have to fight for faith or we will live our whole life telling ourselves all the reasons God can't do anything in our life because I'm too young or because I'm too old or because it had to happen here or it should have happened there, or if I didn't do it there. And God's going, I'm not referencing your current circumstances, nor am I referencing your history to where I want to take you into your future. And if you would have faith in what I could do now, it's way easier to live by eyesight and regret. That's why we do it. Why? Because we have emotions attached to it. You can feel what you're going through, and you can. You can look back and feel what you went through. You can't feel faith because you've never been there. Has anyone ever been to Hawaii? I know we got a lot of Hawaiians in our church. Shout out to the many. Yeah, okay. Whoa. That was amazing.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Who did that? One more time.

[Pastor Jamie]

Give me one more, though. That was amazing. Can you do it? Girl, why are you back there eating me on the front row? I need a good amen once in a while. If the. Don't do that, you'll scare me, but that's awesome. If you've been to Hawaii, you know what Hawaii feels like. You walk out that plane and that air hits you and you go, this is heaven. This is heaven. If you never been to Hawaii, there's no way for us to explain that to you. But if you would trust us, and we want to tell you about a place you haven't been to yet, that if you went there, you would love it.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

I feel like God's in your future

[Pastor Jamie]

going, if you would just trust me.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

You've never been here yet. You've never felt this yet. You don't know what it. But I'm already here. Stay in faith. Faith.

[Pastor Jamie]

Somebody say, count the stars. Count the stars. So. So here's what I know about God. Here's what I know about faith. God is the reward of faith. God is the reward of faith. I am your shield. Your very great reward. That is what God said to Abraham about himself. I am your reward. Not only is God a rewarder, God is the reward. The reward of walking with God is not just the stuff God will do for you or give you. The reward for walking with God is actually God. Jesus is not the means to an end. He is the end. He's the end. What a nickname, y'. All. My name is Jesus, but I go by the end. No, that's in your Bible. You don't believe me. Revelation, chapter one. I'm the Alpha and I'm the omega. I'm the A to Z. I'm the beginning and the I'm the end. I'm it. You can't find the beginning of me and you can't find the end of me because I am the end. I'm the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come. He is the Almighty. Come on, let's give that awesome God a praise right there. He's the end. And listen, I want you to. Ladies, I want you to believe for your husband and fellas, I want you to believe for a wife and married couples. I want you to believe for a baby and business owners. I want you to believe for God to prosper you and on and all of those things are a blessing. But don't get it twisted. The great reward of Christianity is not what God will do for you, but it is God himself. It's knowing God. Oh, that I may know him in

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

the power of his resurrection and even

[Pastor Jamie]

in the fellowship of his sufferings. In other words, knowing God is worth persecution. And Paul is not writing this from the presidential villa suites of the wind. He's writing this from a prison saying, I'm in jail for knowing God and I was sick. Still want to know God. And it's worth knowing God. There ain't nothing, nothing sweeter than knowing the name of Jesus, knowing that voice, feeling that presence, knowing the hand of God is upon your life, knowing the presence of God is with you, opening the scriptures. And here I am in Hebrews again, and God's talking to me again. And I'm. I'm 27 years into this. I've been walking with Jesus since I was 15, been reading the Bible since I was 15. And I can open up Hebrews chapter 10. And there it is all over again, as if I've never read it. It's so new and so fresh and so beautiful because God is the source of this. You know, I was just on a podcast with my friend Preston Morrison, and we were talking about Walking with the Lord. And I said, brother, there's just nothing like. You know, you open the Bible and all over again, God speaks to you. I said, there's just nothing like it. And as I said it, tears filled his eyes. He looked at me, said, there's nothing like it. There just ain't nothing like it. Money can't buy it. Drugs can't get you high enough to find it. Alcohol can't numb you enough to experience it. Sex is not pleasurable enough to compare to it. This is Something beyond anything that the natural can offer you. Ayahuasca. Can't give it to you. Jack Daniels can't give it to you. Coors, like, can't give it to you. Strip club can't give it to you. Hitting it big at the craps table. Can't give it to you. Getting the dream home. Can't give it to you. Driving the Ferrari, can't give it to you.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

I'm talking about something that the world can't give and the world can't take away. I'm talking about Jesus.

[Pastor Jamie]

Somebody shout with this preacher right now. Come on. Give me a good amen.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Hallelujah.

[Pastor Jamie]

He is the reward of our faith. After this. Genesis 15. One said, after this. After this, Abraham was afraid. And the Lord spoke, after this. After what? Well, after chapter 14. You're welcome. That's why I'm the pastor, guys. I'm a theological powerhouse. After 14 came 15. Well, what happens in 14? Well, in 14, Abraham wins a great victory. And something very powerful happens when Abraham gets this victory. Number one, he gives a tithe to King Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Peace. Which would become Jerusalem. Salem. Jerusalem. So Abraham gets a victory. Number one thing he does is he honors God. Never forget this. Entrepreneurs never forget this. Business owners, never forget this. People, as God is blessing you, the first thing you do when God blesses is you honor God. Okay? But he doesn't just honor God. He dishonors. And he says no to the king of Sodom. He says yes to the king of Salem. He says no to the king of Sodom. Sodom wants to reward him for the victory. So he wants to give him a reward. Here's the reward that kings would give to soldiers. They would give them money. They would give them a city shield. It's what we would think of, like, a key to the city. But even more than that, in these days, they would give you this mini shield that you would carry around, and it's like you own the town. You could go anywhere, do anything, say anything, go to. The city was yours. And the king of Sodom said, I'm gonna pay you. I'm gonna give you money, and I'm gonna give you a shield, and all of Sodom is yours. Abraham says, I won't take anything from you. Lest anybody says, the king of Sodom made me rich. God made me rich. So it wasn't just what he said, yes to honoring God. It's what he said no to. See, you can actually be generous and still not integrous. You can Tithe, but still be part of a world carnal system, a Sodom system. You could, you could drop your offering in the bucket. But you're, but you're still, you're still not in God's system yet. So it wasn't just that he said yes to God. It's that he said, notice he said no to the shield and he said no to the reward. And after this, Abram's feeling what I felt when I've obeyed God, which is what the heaven did I just do. So now we get to chapter 15 and Abram's afraid. Abram's worried. Worried, is the king of Sodom going to come after me? Abram's worried, did I do the right thing? Should I have said no? Or should I have just taken the reward and moved on with my life? What am I doing? And God shows up after this and says, abram, I saw your integrity. I saw your generosity.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

I saw how you said no to a Sodom system. I saw how you said no to

[Pastor Jamie]

the shield and to the reward. So here's my response to you.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

I will be your shield and your very great reward. You think the king of Sodom is generous? Watch what I'll do for you. And God bless. I just want you to know, God sees your tears. God hears your prayers.

[Pastor Jamie]

God sees your giving. God sees your serving. God sees your integrity.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

God sees you honoring when no one else is sees you. God sees you.

[Pastor Jamie]

And God will honor you for your faith. He's my shield.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

He's my reward.

[Pastor Jamie]

God is the reward of my faith.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

And who is this God?

[Pastor Jamie]

He is the Lord.

[Host/Announcer]

Hey, what's up, family? We're about to get right back into God's word. Just before we do, I wanted to thank so many of you who have helped us financially. Maybe you don't live in Vegas, maybe you don't even live in America, but something in your heart has been stirred to help us reach literally one of the most unreached places on planet Earth. Las Vegas is the most unchurched city in the most unchurched state, Nevada, in all of America. And we're doing everything we can to reach more people with the gospel. And so to all of you who have ever given to our ministry, thank you. To you who maybe have not, but have been impacted by this house, by the teaching and preaching from this house, I want to ask you, would you consider helping us as we continue to bring the good news of Jesus to our region? You can go to citylightvegas.com and find all the ways to Give there. I love you so much. I appreciate you.

[Pastor Jamie]

I'm praying for you.

[Host/Announcer]

Let's jump back into God's word.

[Pastor Jamie]

God has a name. I don't know if you know that God has a name. God is not a name. God is a title. The Lord is. Is not a title. It's a name everywhere. Where you see the Lord. In the Old Testament, it's actually a Hebrew word called Yahweh. It's his personal name, also translated Jehovah. That's his name. It means uncreated one, pre existent one. And it means God. Capital G above all God, small G Lord, capital L above all small L lords. This is who God is. He's the pre existent one. He's the uncreated one. He's the God above all gods. This is important because the Lord comes to Abram. And now Abram's placing his faith in the Lord. See, before Abram met the Lord, he was what we call a polytheist. Many gods. So if he needed rain, he went to the rain God. If he needed food, he went to the food God. If he needed grain, he went to the grain God. If he needed fire, he went to the fire God. If they needed a baby, they prayed to the baby God. If they needed victory in battle, they prayed to the God of war. If they needed sunshine, they prayed to the God of the sun. And they. And they would pray to the different gods for different needs. And now God shows up and he says, you don't need all those other small G gods anymore. You got me now? And don't roll your eyes at Abram like he was an idolater. Like we're not idolaters. See, our idols aren't little mini wooden statues. Our idols are little pieces of electronics. Our idols are money. Our idols. Our idols are prestige. Our idols are social acceptance. We all got idols. And none of those little G Gods, none of those little l lords can satisfy you and can provide for you. But there is a God who is your reward. And there is a God that has everything you need. And the Bible gives us even more clarity. In Exodus, chapter three, when Moses says, what's your name? Who do I tell them sent me. And God says, you tell them I am. That I am. Said, what's your name? I am. Are you love? I am. Are you holy? I am. Are you healing? I am. Are you strength? I am.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Are you salvation?

[Pastor Jamie]

I am. Whatever you need, I am. That's the God you serve. You serve. So stop settling for all of these little G gods that cannot satisfy you

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

when you already have the reward for your faith. I am. If you're thirsty, I am living water. If you're hungry, I am the bread of life. If you're weary, I am your strength. If you're lonely, I am a friend that sticks closer than a brother. If you're tempted, I am your power. If you're fearful, fearful. I am your peace. If you're sick, I am the God who healeth thee. If you're discouraged, I am the glory and the lifter of your head. I am. That I am is with you. And he is your reward. I think we ought to take about

[Pastor Jamie]

15 seconds to praise.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

I am.

[Pastor Jamie]

Come on, somebody, shout with me, clap

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

with me, dance with me, celebrate with me.

[Pastor Jamie]

I am that I am. And he's the reward of my faith. God is the reward of my faith. Number two, God has not forgotten his promise. Ten years in. Watch this. Ten years into a 25 year miracle. We ain't even at the halfway mark yet, dog. But God can feel his discouragement. So he comes back and he goes, I didn't forget what I said to you. And you might feel like you've been waiting 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. Some of you spiritually immature people. Two weeks, Lord.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Lord told me two weeks ago.

[Pastor Jamie]

Where's the answer, Lord? He ain't in a hurry and you cannot rush him, so you might as well settle in. Don't give up on the promise. Don't give up on the dream. Don't give up on the word God gave you, Though it will not come in your time. God knows exactly what he's doing. Do not forget this one thing. Do not forget this one thing. Do not forget this. This is crazy. Peter's like, just don't forget how God works with you. By the way. Second, Peter is not about the end times. It's not about eschatology. It is specifically about how God deals with people. And he says this to the Lord, a day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years, it's like a day. Meaning he's on his own clock. For the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. In other words, the way we understand slowness. God, where are you? God, what you doing? God? Where you been, God, what's up? Instead, this is crazy, Manny. He's actually being patient with you. He's not just patient. He's going, you have no idea what I'm doing. You don't understand the way I'm setting you up right now. You don't understand all the Miracles that I'm getting in place. You don't understand that I'm playing. You're playing checkers, I'm playing chess. I'm moving things that you don't even see yet. I'm actually being patient. You're complaining. You're going, where's my son? Where's my miracle? Where's my man? Where's my wife? Where's our kid? And God's going, I'm doing things so beyond. You never confuse God being patient as God being passive. He's working, he's moving. You just don't see it yet. And it is so easy to get out of faith that it's so easy to force God's hand. By the way, that's exactly the next step of Abram. Another year passes and we get to chapter 16 and Sarah's given up. They're now 11 years into this miracle. And she looks at her husband and says, babe, I can't get pregnant. And you getting older by the day. Why don't you just sleep with my assistant, Hagar? Abraham, that dog. Bobby goes, honey, I don't want to. I don't want to sleep with this 20 year old beautiful girl. I don't want to do that. But for the Lord, amen. For, you know, just for the family, if I have to suck, I guess I'll lay my life at the altar. He sleeps with Hagar and they produce an Ishmael. Y', all, we still in conflict today over Ishmael. Here we are 6,000 years later, Israel and Islam still fighting. We're all dragged into that war now. We're all a part of the impatience of Abram. See, the arm of the flesh will always move faster than the arm of the spirit. But the arm of the flesh always produces Ishmael. And your impatience will produce a harvest that looks like the promise. Your impatience will produce a harvest that looks just enough like the promise. But it ain't the promise. So you're going to have to wait. You're going to have to rest. You're going to have to decide, do I want fast or do I want God. I love what Kenneth E. Hagin would say. Before he went to heaven, he said, I'd rather be late in the will of God than early out of the will of God. Even us, right? You know, we're finally starting to school. We're finally starting a Bible college. Why take so long, Pastor? It's like, dear Jesus, we're only eight years old, but I understand. It's like, when we gonna start? When we gonna start when we start. We're gonna start when God gives us the green light. When we gonna start another location? When God gives us a green light. When we go. When God gives us a green light and you can get to that place where you go, I don't move without peace, and I don't move without the hand of God, because God's being patient with me. And God's working things out that I don't see. You know, Manny is my friend. We're preachers, and so we're talking. We're always processing life. A year ago, they were here right before he moved into the building. And we're believing God. They just bought land. They bought 11 acres, and they're going to build a building. And I prayed because I'll never forget it because I ripped off a watch and I handed it to him and I said, God's going to give you the right time and the right people and the right place and the da. Da. And people love that I gave away a watch. They missed the word, but they love that I gave. Not him. I'm talking about people. People are like, oh, cool, he can give away his watches. It's like, yeah, you missed it, but good job. And so I gave him a. I said, right time, right time, right time. It's gonna be the right time. It's gonna be the right. A year later, nothing has moved on that land. And they've been fighting the city and fighting this and fighting that. And it's been an issue. It's been an issue. And it's kind of like, God, where's our Isaac? Where's our baby? But God was being patient with him. So now God's opening up a door for them to buy a movie theater. That's going to be, trust me, way cheaper than building a building. Trust, trust. They're going to buy the building. They're going to be able to buy that remodel. That. That is going to be a way. And we're going to have to cut this out of the live stream. I'm so sorry, Manny. I don't know if you've told people all this. Sorry. And now. Don't cut the feed. This is a good sermon, but we'll cut it out later. And now we see the hand of God. But God was doing that the whole time. God was never surprised. God saw the whole thing moving. And God, I think, is actually honoring their faith to buy land, to take their next step to. Now they'll be able to sell that. I'm just telling you and I've seen that over and over and over and over and over again. And by the way, we're going to sow into that. And the Lord told me this week we're to give you 10,000amonth for the next year to help with that. Now just don't miss this. It's a flow. This is a flow. This is the flow. Faith is a flow. Flesh is a push. Flesh is a. I'll produce this on my own. Flesh is. I'll make it happen. Faith is. God will make it happen. It's a flow. By the way, why do we do stuff like that publicly? We give publicly. To try to stretch your brain, to rejoice when people are getting blessed. Right? So like I said, we're gonna help him. I don't know if 120,000 isn't a lot to you, by the way. Match it. Give it to him. You know what I'm saying? That's a lot to me. And I actually want you to be able to be like, oh, my God, look what God just did for that preacher. What could God do for. Wow, let's celebrate. Not. Oh, that's it. Let's give a golf clap to the Lord. All right, so I'm just pastoring you real quick and offending you. All right? Amen. We need your seat. Praise God. Number three, Number three, worship team.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Soften me up.

[Pastor Jamie]

Give me some sweet pads right now to sweeten me up quickly. Quick Caesar, hit anything, just bang on the keys. Okay? Thank you. God is bigger than your tent. God is bigger than your tent. God is bigger. See, the tent now represents 11 years of disappointment. 11 years of we've tried and failed. Tried and failed. Tried. It hasn't worked. Tried and hasn't worked. Tried and hasn't worked. Tried. It hasn't worked. So God says, I gotta get you out of this tent. The tent of a self imposed ceiling, a self imposed barrier. Self imposed limitations. We all have tents that we have to get out of. And God says, I need you to get out of it. And I need you to look up and I need you to see from a bigger place, tense of limitation, tense of doubt, tense of your past. The. Your past that is lying to you, telling you that what was will always be. So God actually has. Has to get you to confront your past. And he says, forget the former things. How do I forget the former things? Here's how. By not dwelling on the past, you forget the former. By stop talking about it all the time. It's not that it leaves your brain it's that it no longer has deciding power. Did that make sense, what I just said? You're still you. You could still remember it, but it. It no longer you. You no longer go to it as a reference. Faith in God is now your reference, not your past. Why? Because I don't dwell on that anymore. Some of y' all just dwelling USA people just. And by the way, it could be good or bad. Oh, man. I just remember before COVID Stop talking. It's over. It's done. Stop. Stop talking about before. COVID I remember before COVID man, gas was like a $79 a gallon. It's over. That's over. Bye. You get a Whopper for 99 cents, man. It's so.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Bye.

[Pastor Jamie]

It's gone. You ain't get a 90 cent. 90 cent whopper again. It's over now. I remember when music was music, bro. I remember music with me, you know, you. All that music that you talk to about, you know, it's all right here. It's like right here. Get a listed off for free. YouTube. The good old days, they weren't that good. Come on, stop dwelling on it. Stop rehearsing it. See, I'm doing a new thing now. It springs up. Do you not perceive it? That word perceive literally means to say. Do you not. Can you not say it? Can you not say that I'm doing a new. Can you not get your mouth in agreement with what I'm doing? Can you not say, God's making a way for me? God's making a way. In the wilderness, streams, in the wasteland. Water is flowing.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Something good is that.

[Pastor Jamie]

Come on.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Somebody shout with me right there. Agree with me right there. God is doing a new thing, not an old thing again, a new thing. And we don't like new things. Stand up.

[Pastor Jamie]

Stand up. You're not dismissed, but stand up.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

We don't like all the. That's why Jesus said. Jesus said, when new wine is being

[Pastor Jamie]

served, people talk about, we like the old wine.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

Jesus goes, I don't serve old wine.

[Pastor Jamie]

I serve new wine in new wineskins.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

I'm doing a new thing. But if you're trying to compare what

[Pastor Jamie]

I'm doing now to what was, you will always miss out on the miracle that is currently in motion for your life. Cause you talking about the old wine. You talking about the old wine skills. You talking about how church used to be. You talking about how life used to be. You talking about pre Covid. And God's going, I'm actually doing something brand new that's better. Because I'm always outdoing myself.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

So God says, get out of the

[Pastor Jamie]

tent, stop complaining and start counting. Count the stars. Abram. Oh, I know you're worried about this, and I know you're worried about that. And I know you're worried. And I know you got a prayer list of 10 things or 5 things or 15 things, and you're really believing God. And all of those things really matter. But if you compare what you're praying for to God's promises and God's miracles and what God can do in your life, it is like comparing that to the stars. Let me start with 1, 2, 3. Count the stars. Count the star. Count the 200 sextillion stars. I didn't even know that was a word until this week. If you started comparing what you're praying for to what you're grateful for. For. If you started comparing what you're believing God for to what God's already done in your life, if you started comparing what you're worried about compared to the faithfulness of God, before you know it, man, those stars would start outweighing everything you're worried about.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

My God, I feel the Holy Ghost right now. Somebody shout, count the stars. Count the stars. Count the stars. Javin, I'm too discouraged to look up. I don't even have the strength to look up. I can't. I don't even have the power to move my head up. All right. God has good news for you. In Genesis 22, he says, if you

[Pastor Jamie]

can't count the stars, count the sand. Five sextillion grains of sand on the earth. So if I look up, I got promises.

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

And if I look down, I got promises. If I'm on the mountain, I got promises. If I'm in the valley, I got promises. If I'm up on the peak, I got promises. If I'm down in the desert, I got promises. Because this is the God that I serve. Say Amen.

[Pastor Jamie]

Except exceedingly, abundantly, above all you could ask or think. If you can ask it, it's bigger. If you could think it, it's bigger. If you could dream it, it's bigger. If you could write it down, it's bigger. If you could even. If you could even process it, it's bigger than that. Everybody lift up your hands and say this scripture with me. Come on, everybody, out loud now. To him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us. Come on. Say amen to God's word. That's the Bible

[Worship Leader/Assistant]

and all you gotta do is say amen. All you gotta do is agree. All you gotta do is say God, if you said it, I believe it God, if you promised it, I believe it God, if you spoke it, I believe it's coming about. Great is your faithfulness to me. Come on, lift up your hands and sing this with us. Come on, sing. Great is your faithfulness Jesus.