God Is Bigger (The Altar of Promise) | Jabin Chavez | City Light Church

Summary

Episode Summary: "God Is Bigger (The Altar of Promise)"

Podcast: City Light Church Las Vegas | Jabin Chavez
Host: Pastor Jabin Chavez
Date: August 10, 2025

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Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Pastor Jabin Chavez explores the life and faith of Abraham, emphasizing the theme that "God is bigger." Through the narrative of Abraham's altars and his faith journey, Pastor Jabin calls listeners to let go of the past, expand their vision, and build spiritual "altars"—places of worship and consecration in their lives. The episode encourages listeners to move beyond small-mindedness and trust in God’s ability to do “much more” than they can imagine, using Abraham's story as both inspiration and challenge.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Abraham as the Example of Faith

• [00:00] Pastor Jabin introduces Abraham as the “father of our faith,” a model for what faith looks, acts, and feels like.
• Abraham's faith is not just theoretical; he "practiced the presence of God" by building altars—memorials of devotion and worship.
• The church’s mission parallels this: combining Sunday inspiration with weekday devotion to create unstoppable spiritual growth.

2. Conflict Between Abram and Lot

• [02:00] The Genesis 13 story: Abraham (Abram) offers Lot his choice of land to resolve conflict.
  • Abraham's attitude: "You want the land on the left, I'll go right. You want the land on the right, I'll go left."
  • Emphasis: Objects and opportunities should never come before relationships.
  • Quote: “We use things, but we love people. We don’t love things and use people.” (Pastor Jabin, 02:30)

3. Letting Go to Receive God’s Blessing

• [08:13] First step to living a "big life": Let go.
  • Letting go is portrayed as a spiritual act that creates space for God’s blessings.
  • “You cannot take hold of what God has for you next if you’re still holding on to what was.” (Pastor Jabin, 09:10)
• Lot is portrayed as opportunistic and self-focused, taking the best for himself, while Abraham is generous and trusts God.
• Blessing over opportunity: “Give me blessing over opportunity. As long as I have the blessing, I will eventually get to where God is taking me, with or without a good opportunity.” (10:12)

4. Rejecting Smallness & Embracing Big Faith

• [11:57] Abraham refuses a “small God” mentality.
  • “Some of you serve in El Cheapo… So you’re always fighting for something instead of trusting God.” (11:57)
• Lot’s actions can’t limit Abraham; covenant with a limitless God is what matters.
• Memorable rally: “God is bigger!” repeatedly affirmed by Pastor Jabin and congregation (12:17–13:19).

5. Let Go and Let God

• [13:54] Real-life examples: missed opportunities, disappointments, and everyday frustrations.
• Encourages releasing offenses and frustrations, referencing letting go of minor annoyances ("They took my parking spot...Let it go," 15:10) and even pop culture (“Are you going to quote Elsa?” referencing "Let It Go" from Frozen).

6. Not Every Fight Is Your Fight

• [16:04] The story of Amaziah in 2 Chronicles: just because you’re invested doesn’t mean God’s in the conflict.
  • "The Lord can give you much more than you’re worried about a hundred talents. The Lord can give you much more than that." (16:45)
• Pastor Jabin shares personal testimony: financial loss being restored by unexpected generosity (Joseph Prince, 18:56–20:53).
• Emphasis: God is “the God of much more” (multiple emphatic repetitions, 17:49–24:03).

7. On Forgiveness and Political Division

• [21:40] The necessity of letting go of grievances—personal and political.
  • “Let that go...They don’t know us, and I dare say to offend everybody, I don’t think they give a rip about us. Sorry.” (23:23)
• God’s concern is real, unlike politicians.

8. Look Up: Expanding Vision

• [24:03] After letting go, Abraham is told by God to “look as far as you can see” and all will be his.
  • "Even the things we let go of, God has a way of...bringing back into your life if it’s meant for you." (25:39)
• Psalm 119:18 Prayer: “Open my eyes” as a call for spiritual vision, seeing God’s possibilities over fixating on the past.

9. Light a Fire: Building an Altar

• [26:29] Abraham’s priority is building altars, not houses.
  • Altars represent worship, consecration, trust—a meeting place with God (27:32).
• “While Lot was building a life all about himself, Abraham was building an altar.” (28:36)
• The significance of Hebron ("friendship, alliance"): Altars build friendship with God, leading to deeper revelation and intimacy beyond being a “child of God.”
  • “What if you decided to go beyond just being God’s child and you became His friend?” (32:02)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On true values:
  "We use things, but we love people. We don't love things and use people." (02:30, Pastor Jabin)
• On letting go:
  "You cannot take hold of what God has for you next if you're still holding on to what was." (09:10)
• On God’s capacity:
  "Let me just remind you who God is. He's a God of much more." (16:50)
• On spiritual perspective:
  "Lot cannot limit you when you are in covenant with a limitless God." (12:05)
• On the act of letting go:
  "There is a difference between giving up and letting go." (39:37)
• On friendship with God:
  "What if you decided to go beyond just being God's child and you became His friend?" (32:02)
• Congregation affirmation:
  “God’s bigger. God’s greater. God’s stronger. God can move that mountain. Don’t give up. God is bigger.” (13:19, Congregant/Worship Leader)
• On bitterness and offense:
  “Who do you need to forgive? It's the person you're thinking about right now...that person that, when you see them on Instagram, your stomach turns.” (21:40)
• On worship:
  “If I have you, I have everything. Just give me Jesus.” (36:13, Pastor Jabin & Worship Leader)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–04:00: Framing Abraham as the Father of Faith, introduction to the four altars, and the Genesis 13 context.
• 08:13–13:19: The life lessons of letting go, blessing vs. opportunity, God as "bigger."
• 13:54–16:04: Practical examples of letting go, humor with “Let It Go.”
• 16:04–18:50: Amaziah story and “the God of much more.”
• 18:50–22:30: Personal testimony of God’s faithfulness through generosity.
• 24:03–28:36: Spiritual vision, letting go, Psalm 119:18, building altars instead of houses.
• 31:13–33:43: The meaning of Hebron, altar as friendship, Jesus’ teaching on friendship.
• 36:21–39:37: Reflective and prayer segment—assurance in God’s plan, encouragements to let go and trust.
• 39:37–End: Difference between giving up and letting go, final call to speak well of God and continue worship.

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Conclusion

This episode calls listeners into a deeper level of faith and surrender—emulating Abraham by letting go of past disappointments, forgiving freely, expanding spiritual vision, and building “altars” of worship and devotion. Through practical stories, biblical teaching, humor, and personal testimony, Pastor Jabin reminds everyone that God is “much more” than any disappointment or lost opportunity—and that true transformation happens not by grasping for control, but by releasing, looking up, and trusting God’s “bigger” purposes.

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Useful For:

• Anyone feeling stuck, offended, or disappointed in their faith journey.
• Listeners looking for encouragement to trust God’s timing and provision.
• Those interested in practical steps for deeper spiritual devotion and freedom.

Transcript

[Pastor Jabin]

We're looking at what Romans 4 calls the father of our faith. His name is Abraham. He is the father of our faith. If you want to know what faith looks like, if you want to know what faith does, if you want to know what faith feels like, it is Abraham. Abraham was not a perfect man, but Abraham had faith. And we're learning about the four altars of Abraham. Abraham built altars, memorial spaces, places of worship, places of prayer, places of dedication where God would meet him. And so his faith was not just a belief in God, but his faith was a practice of the presence of God. And it truly changed his life, and it will change our life. And so we're talking about altars, we're talking about building our own altar, that we're taking what God does on Sunday, what we're bringing it home to our house. That when you take Sunday inspiration and you take personal weekday dedication and devotion, and you mix those two things together, man, you become an unstoppable force for God in the earth. Amen. And so this is Genesis 13. We're going to start at verse 8. I'm just. My heart is stirred right now. It's hard to even get in the word. I'm thinking about even just yesterday, the baptisms. As one person came, had a Mormon background, gave his life to Christ and said, I was baptized into the Mormon Church many years ago. But he said, these. This next baptism that we'll do again in September, he said, I'm getting baptized as a Christian and I'm giving my life to Christ. I'm thinking about just story after story of what God's doing in our church. Well, I'm all shook up. Here we go. Genesis 13. So there's this tension between Abraham Abram and his nephew Lot. They're growing because they're growing. The herds of the cattle are eating up all the land. And there's fights breaking out, and there's tension breaking out. And so Abram says this to Lot. Finally, Abram said to Lot, let's not allow this conflict to come between us. And I want you to catch that. Never let a thing come between you and a person. We use things, but we love people. We don't love things and use people. So no thing matters more than you. And never let. Never let a conflict get in your heart, because people are precious, and you're precious. After all, we are relatives. The whole countryside is open. Now, notice this. He says to you, you take your choice, any section of the land you want. You, you, you. Not me, me, me, you, you, you and we will separate. If you want the land on the left, I'll go right. You want the land on the right, I'll go left. Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. This was before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. And. And Lot chose. Watch this for himself. The whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. So Lot was like, well, Abraham, if. I mean, if you insist, you know, I guess I'll. I guess you can go to Death Valley. I guess I'll go to Maui. I guess. I guess. I don't know. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram. So Abram settled in the land of Canaan. And Lot moved his tents to the place near Sodom and settled in the cities. But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord. After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, look as far as you can see in any direction. North, south, east, west. I'm giving you this land as far as you can see to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted. Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I'm giving it to you. So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built an altar, another altar to the Lord. But I want to give you a sermon title. But I want to give you a word that I want to get in your spirit today. And that is, God is bigger. God is bigger. God is bigger. Thank you, Lord, that you're bigger. Let that get in our spirit today. In the mighty name of Jesus. Come on. And everybody said amen and amen and amen. Elbow your neighbor. Say, God is bigger. God is bigger. God is bigger. When we began this church now, seven years ago, it was never really the goal to build a big church. I've learned and I learned a long time ago, and I'm reminded of it all the time, that in so many ways, it's really hard to grow a church. The Bible says God brings the increase. God brings the increase. Some people sow, some people water, but only God brings the increase. I know a lot of people that sing the same songs that we sing today and, you know, do a lot of the same things that we did today. But, you know, it's really hard to grow a church. It's kind of a weird God thing. I'm as shocked as anybody. Every time I walk out those doors and the doors open and the building is full, I just look and go, who are you people? And how did you get here? And why are you here? What are you doing here? And I ask that all the time. I go out in the lobby. I go, how'd you find out about us? Who are you? What are you doing here? Because as a person who knows me, I feel very unqualified. Not because I'm an evil person, but just I know my own weaknesses. I'm just kind of shook. Shooketh. I'm amazed you're here right now. This is awesome to me. And so it was never really our goal to build a big church. It was my desire to grow big people. Yeah. With a big spirit and big faith and a big love for God and a big desire to serve people and love people and reach people. With the gospel of Jesus. I knew that God was big. And I thought if I could expose people to a big God, they would grow into big people. People with big faith, leaving big legacies. And whatever the attendance did, the attendance was going to do. But it was my desire to grow big people. And so with that in mind, I learned that from my father, Abraham. Abraham was big. Really, if you want to see it, Abraham was big and lot was small. Abraham had a big faith in God, but Lot could only see the right here and the right now. And I always thought, I don't want to be a lot person. I want to be an Abraham person. I don't want to be a lot man that is looking for the best opportunity. I want to be an Abraham man that is looking to God. And so I settled in my heart that God is bigger and God is greater. And God is able to. To do exceedingly, abundantly. Above all, we could ask or think according to his power that works on the inside of us now unto him be glory in the church forever and ever. Amen. God is big. And I just think if we can keep our eyes on a big God, God's gonna do a big thing in our life. And if that turns into a big church, I guess it has. And for that I thank God. I thank God not for the big church. I thank God for the big stories. I thank God for the big testimonies. I thank God for the big life change. I thank God for the.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

For.

[Pastor Jabin]

For the big transformation that is happening in families. God is bigger. Does anybody know that God is a big God. Come on, can we give our big God a big praise on a Sunday morning? So if I'm going to live this big life, there's a few things I'm going to have to do. And the first, I'm going to have to let go. Let go, let go. Abraham let go of Lot said, you want to go left, I'll go right. You want to go right, I'll go left. I want peace. And there is something about letting go that will change your future. You cannot take hold of what God has for you next if you're still holding on to what was. And we want to hold on to offense, and we want to hold on to disappointment, and we want to hold on to frustration, and we want to hold on to what didn't happen. And we want to hold on to memories. And we're saying, God bless me and God do something in my life. And God says, you have nowhere for me to bless because your hands are still full. Full of what was. Full of what you thought I was doing or what you thought I was going to do or what you thought, what you thought, what you thought. How many know? We think we know things that we really don't know. James tells us. Don't talk about tomorrow with such surety, he says. Rather say if it's God's will, because. Because sometimes we can go in with such plans. And I've learned, if you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans. So instead of living a life holding on to everything, it's actually better to let go. And God can fill, and God can bring, and God can take and God can flow. Because now I'm not living like this, which feels like control, but it's actually just small. You gotta let go. And I want you to notice that. Lot was wrong. Lot is the younger. Lot is the nephew. Everything Lot has, he has because Abraham gave it to him. So when Abram says, go ahead and pick the choice land, Lot should have said, no, sir. You tell me what to do. You tell me where to go. I've only got all this because of you anyway. Hey, wait. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I want to be right with you. But Lot didn't do that. Lot was wrong. Lot was greedy. Lot was opportunistic. But Abraham was blessed. And give me blessing over opportunity. Because as long as the blessing, I will eventually get to where God is taking me, with or without a good opportunity. As long as I have the blessing of God, and as long as I'm building an altar, I'm gonna get to where God is taking me. Abraham learned to let go and trust God. See if my walk with God is not leading me to live big and love big and forgive big and give big. I'm in relationship with the wrong God. Some of y' all got a small God. He's not Jehovah Jireh, your provider.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

He's small.

[Pastor Jabin]

He's not El Shaddai, the God of more than enough. Some of you serve in El cheapo. You think he doesn't have enough for you. So you're always fighting for something instead of trusting God. Hands always closed in frustration instead of open in praise. So Abraham rejects smallness and a small mentality. Let me just say this over you, Lot cannot limit you when you are in covenant with a limitless God. Lot had his eyes on the best land. Abraham had his eyes on God. Lot was opportunistic. Abraham knew God was bigger than one moment. Lot was thinking about the right here, right now. Abraham knew God was bigger than right here, right now. God is bigger than one opportunity. God is bigger than one mistake. God is bigger than one season. God is bigger than one moment. Come on, somebody shout, God is bigger. Come on, one more time. Somebody say, God is bigger. Oh, you might have had a great season. God's bigger than that. You might have had a terrible season. God's bigger than that. You might be going through hell right now. God's bigger than that. You might be facing a lot right now.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

God's bigger. God's greater. God's stronger. God can move that mountain. Don't give up. God is bigger. God's bigger than your ex spouse. God's bigger than the lawsuit. God's bigger than the missed opportunity man. Wish I would have bought a house 10 years ago. I could be up $200,000.

[Pastor Jabin]

God's bigger than that, man.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

I should have bought Bitcoin in 09. Join the club.

[Pastor Jabin]

God's bigger than that.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

Man. We bought a home and now we're upside down. Oh, my God, we're upside down. $80,000. What am I going to do?

[Pastor Jabin]

God's bigger than that. God's bigger. God's bigger than your worst day or your best day. God's bigger. So we have to do something. That sounds real cheesy, but it's really true. Let go and let God. Let go and let God live like this. Live the let go life or you're going to end up constantly in battles, fighting for things that God wants to give you. If you would just trust him. And I'm not saying that there is never a moment to fight or there's never a moment to. I'm not saying that, but I am saying I think we have fallen in love with conflict and rage and offense in our culture. Amen. You just got to let it go. That person cuts you off. Let it go. Stop giving them one finger and just wave and let it go. Come on, somebody. They took my parking spot. There's other parking spots. Let it go. Goldie looked at my notes last night. She said, let go. I said, yeah. She said, are you going to quote Elsa? She did. My little daughter. I said, well, probably now at some point, you've dropped it in my subconscious, but you got to let it go. Why are we so. God, we're just so riled up. There's a better life for you. I'm not saying be a doormat, but I am saying not every fight is God's fight for you. Not every fight is God's favorite. You got to be better than that. You got to be bigger than that. Don't lower yourself to a level of a person that wants conflict with you.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

Yeah. Ooh.

[Pastor Jabin]

This is good preaching. All right, so in Second Chronicles, there's a king named Amaziah, and Amaziah is going to go off to battle. And the Bible says that he hires an army to go fight. But as he's about to. So he's already spent the money. He's paid money to fight. And the prophet comes and the prophet says, God's not in this fight, because God's not in every fight. Paul said, I fought the good fight of faith. There are good fights and there are bad fights, and most fights aren't good. And so I'm just pushing something here in the conflict of your heart, the offense of your heart, trying to get you to let go of some things. God's not in every fight. And so the prophet says, God's not in this one. And Amaziah responds and says this, but what about the hundred talents I paid for this Israelite troop? I already paid for them. There's a no refund policy. Final sale. What do I do? And the man of God replied, the Lord can give you much more than you're worried about a hundred talents. The Lord can give you much more than that. Let me just remind you who God is. He's a God of much more. All right, no amens. Can I get an amen from the rapture section up here? Can I get an amen from somebody up here? He's the God of much more. He's not the God of not enough. He's the God of more than enough. He's not the God who can just give you enough to get by. He's the God of much more. Much more than you lost, much more than you went through, much more than was taken, much more than the devil.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

So he's the God of much more. And we're tripping out over the mountain. God's going, I'm so much bigger than an amount. Much more.

[Pastor Jabin]

My wife and I, years ago. Feels like a million years ago now, but we were owed an amount of money, an amount of compensation that never came. And we were talking. We were mad. It was like, do we start a blog? Do we open up a YouTube page? Do we sue? Do we call the cops? Do we slash tires? I don't know. I'm from New Mexico. I mean, we're kind of hood. And Belen, you know, what do we do? And the Lord gave me that word. Can we put it up one more time? Just so people believe it's in the Bible? God said, you're tripping over an amount. I'm much more than that. I'm much more. I'm much more, much more. And we're freaking out over this amount that. It was a lot of money back then, but now I know the God of much more. And when we let that go and we released it. Thank you. When we let that go, I ended up meeting a man who's a mentor in my life, a hero of my life. His name is Joseph Prince. He pastors a church in Singapore. And I'm so honored. I get to actually go preach there in November this year. I'm so fired up about it. But I met him randomly. There's nothing random in God. And ended up meeting him. And we were fresh evangelists. We were traveling, we were preaching, and we were trying to help churches. And Joseph just looked at me and said, so who's your support church? And I said, the body of Christ. And he said, no, no, no, no, I get that. He goes, who. Who makes sure food's on the table? Jehovah Jireh, you know, he said, no, no, Jabin. Like, who makes sure that your. Who makes sure your wife doesn't have to worry about the mortgage? And I just said, well, no, I don't know. God, I don't know. It's okay. It was kind of awkward. And we kind of kept eating. It's kind of weird. And one of his assistants found me after that meal, and he said, hey, pastor wants to make sure. That you never have to worry about money. And they gave us an amount of money. And he said, this is for the next year. It was a massive amount of money. This is for the next year to just make sure you don't have to worry about money. It was more money than we made at our former employment, and it was more money than we would have made in love offerings in one amount. Because he's the God of much more. Now, I know you can't clap for my miracle. Where's my miracle? Well, listen, lot, let all that go and maybe God will bless you. Just relax. Because I had to learn. He's the God of much more. I had to learn how to let go. I had to learn how to go, no, this isn't God's fight. This isn't my fight. I'm gonna let it go. By the way, years later, we planted this church and they came to us again and they said, we want to make sure Jabin's salary is covered for the first year. So we're gonna give this amount for Jabin's salary and we're gonna give it to you personally. They were just gonna give it to us. And we said, there goes my little thing. We said, we really don't want to take that. We want you to give that to City Light to help start the church. Because we need speakers and we need flags and we need screens and we need chairs. We need all this stuff. Just give that to the church. God will take care of us. Because now I know the God of much More. I'm not tripping. I'm like, no, God will supernaturally take care of us. No, no, no. It's going to go to you. No, it's not going to go to us. Just give it to Sea Light. We won't take it. And God has done much more. See, people, how did all this happen? In seven years, I got in covenant with the God of Much More. I'm just telling you. Not bragging, I'm just saying stuff comes into our life and we just give it away. And we just go, no, no, no, this ain't much. This is a lot. But it's not much more. And I just know what God can do. And I've just learned. I've just learned to let go and let God. I'm just telling you. What do you need to let go of today? Who do you need to forgive today? If you're wondering who I need to forgive, it's the person you're thinking about right now. The person that the moment I said it. They were like, hey, that person. The person that, when you see them on Instagram, your stomach turns. That person. Some of y' all are mad at people you don't even know. You don't even know. We got Democrats in here so mad at Trump. Let that go. We got Republicans in here so mad at Biden. You're still mad at Biden. Let it go. Just let it go. Like, what are we talking about? Let it go. They don't know us. And I dare say to offend everybody, I don't think they give a rip about us. Sorry. No. See, now y' all mad at me.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

No, Biden really loved me.

[Pastor Jabin]

Trump really cares. Okay, okay, okay. Bet. I know a God who cares. I know a God who knows.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

I know a God much more, who will take care of you, who will feed you, who will clothe you, who will sustain you, no matter who's in the White House, Much more.

[Pastor Jabin]

Who do you need to forgive me? You need to forgive me. What do you need to let go? What memory are you still holding onto? What are you still obsessing over? What if you just let that go today so that now your hands are empty so God can fill them? Jesus said, if you hold on to your life, you lose it. But if you lose your life, you find it. And I know that to be true. I know what it is to hold on. I know what it is to control, and I know what it is to let go. And this is. It's so counterintuitive, like all faith is. But it's not until you let go that the peace of God can come into your life. And then you end up meeting the God of much more. Once you let go number two, now you get to look up. I love what the scripture said in verse 14. After lot had gone, there was a necessary transition and a necessary separation. And now that that was able to happen, the Lord says, look, look north, look south, look east, look west. It's all yours. Let me just say this. Including the land that Lot took. You see Sodom over there? Yeah. Gomorrah. Yeah. Yeah. The land that Lot took, He's borrowing it from you. It's yours, too. Which, by the way, it's still part of Israel. It's the Dead Sea. It's still there. Think about that. Even the things we let go of, God has a way of the things that are supposed to come back into your life, they end up coming back into your life. The things you hold on to, you lose forever. But the things you let go of if it's supposed to be a part of your life, God has a way of weaving that back into your life. Abraham gave lots of the choice. God gave Abraham the land. God says, can you see it? Can you see the possibility? Can you expand your vision? Can you see what I could do? I've got a three word prayer for every person in this room. I want you to memorize it. It's Psalm 119, verse 18. Open my eyes, you could also pray. Open my ears. You could also pray. Open my heart. You could also say, open my mind, God, open my eyes to what you're doing. My eyes have been so focused on the past. My eyes have been so focused on. My eyes have been so focused on disappointment. But God opened my eyes to the possibilities of heaven. Abraham did not feel cheated. Abraham did not feel robbed. Abraham did not feel like he missed out. Why? Because Lot was not his source. And man is not your source. And that past conflict is not your source. And that means that it cannot decide your tomorrow. God gets a say in your tomorrow, not Lot. Lot did not decide anything for Abraham. God decided it for Abraham. God is bigger. God is bigger than Lot. God is bigger than this moment. Friend, pray. Open my eyes. Where could you be in a year if you let go? Where could your faith level be in a year if you looked up? Where could your joy level be? Where could your peace be? Where could your relationships be? Where could your marriage be? Where could your walk with Jesus be if you looked up and you let go? Thirdly, let the team come. Light a fire. Light a fire. So Abram moved his camp to Hebron, and he settled near the oak grove. And there he built another altar. I want you to notice that he did not build a house. He built an altar. There's two key words there in verse 18. He settled and he built. When I say settled, I don't mean settling for less. I mean he had a settled spirit. He was settled. He was settled and he built an altar. Abraham never built himself a house. Bible says in Hebrews 11, his whole entire life he lived in tents. But he always made sure to build an altar. He would be in one region, and then God would move him on, and he would build another altar. And God would move him on. He'd build another altar. God would move him on. While Lot was building a life all about himself, Abraham was building an altar. And friend, when you build that altar, when you build that space of consecration, that space of worship, that space of sacrifice, that place of trust in God, God will always meet you. At an altar. While Lot was looking at the lights and the glitter of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was building an altar. While the lights shine bright in Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham had a fire. And the Bible says this of your altar. Make me an altar. Sacrifice your burnt offerings there, your peace offerings, your sheep, your cattle. In other words, have a place of consecration and prayer and worship. Have a place where you meet with God. Every place where I cause my name to be honored in your worship, notice this. I'll be there. God says, if you'll build an altar, I'll meet you there. Don't let anything get in between you and your altar. Don't let anything get between you and God.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

Don't let Lot.

[Pastor Jabin]

Drive a wedge between you and your walk with Jesus. Because God says, if you'll build an altar, I will be there myself. And notice what he'll do. I'll bless you there. God's blessing is found at the altar. And your ability to build an altar in your life will directly determine your spiritual health, your spiritual success in your walk with God. The Bible says that he built this altar in a place called Hebron. Hebron means friendship, alliance. To be joined together, like in marriage. To be joined together. While Lot is chasing opportunity, Abraham's getting joined together with God. And Romans 4 tells us that Abraham became a friend of God. I want to be God's friend. What if. What if you decided to go beyond just being God's child and you became his friend? Hello. Here's what Jesus said about friendship with him in John 16. He said, Friends know the master's business secrets. My daughter, she's 8 right now, there's a lot of secrets. There's a lot I don't tell her because she's 8. Come on, somebody. She ain't my friend yet. She my kid. I hope, though, one day, as she grows and matures, we can become friends. I can start letting her know why I cried that day. I could start letting her know what we went through that season. I could start letting her know what's going on in my heart. I can't let her know yet. She's too immature. It would freak. Freak her out. So right now, she's my child. And you might be a child of God. That's wonderful. You know, you can become a friend of God where you start learning secrets, where you start knowing a God that a lot of people don't get to know. Why? Because you built an altar. You built an altar of friendship. You built an altar of Consecration built an altar of joining together. I want to be a friend of God. You got to let go. And while lots out there chasing Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's tending his altar. Give me cheese. Give me Jesus. Hey, lot, you can have all this world. You can have all this world. Just give me Jesus. If I have this, he'll meet me here. If I have this, he'll bless me here. So I'm gonna let go and I'm gonna let God.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

Oh, just give me Jesus. Jesus.

[Pastor Jabin]

Give me Jesus.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

I just want Jesus. You can have. You can have all this world. Just give me Jesus. I just need an altar with Jesus. I just need an al with Jesus. Lord, meet me at the Al. Just give me Jesus. If I have you, I have everything. Just give me Jesus.

[Pastor Jabin]

If that's your prayer, why don't you just. Just lift up both hands and open your hands and let go. Just let go. Just let go. Just let go. Just let go. If you need to forgive somebody, lift up your hands and just let go. If you've got a season of disappointment, why don't you just name it right now and tell God about it? Tell God about it for a moment. Just talk to him. He's the God of much more. He's the God of much more. He's the God of much more. I feel this for somebody. God has you right where he wants you. Let's put your hands down for a moment. We're already past time. Traffic's already starting, so now we're just gonna have chaos. Look at me. God has you right where he wants you. And here's what the Lord just told. I've never said this in my life. Some of you feel like God tricked me. God lied to me. God goes, I didn't trick you, and I didn't lie to you. I know exactly where you're at, and you're exactly where I want you. And you haven't seen it yet with these eyes, but I'm trying to do something deep down in here. And until you deal with that, you're going to keep trying to fight something out here, and you're going to try to make something happen out here. God's going, I've already got all that worked out. I'm going to figure, I've already got all that. I'm a hundred steps in front of you. But you're. But you're. But you need to let me in right here. Can I pray for that person or that group? Can you lift your hands if you're. If You've been in that battle. He's not a liar. And I know what it is to feel like I'm doing what God told me to do and be disappointed. I know that feeling. I know the feeling of feeling like I'm obeying to the best of my ability and feeling like I'm in a pit and feeling like I'm in a prison and feeling like I'm facing false accusation. I know that feeling. But the Bible says just with your hands lifted in Psalm 105, until it was time for the dream to come to pass, God tested Joseph's character. And you're at a test right now. But you're not going to fail the test, man. There's an anointing here because I just felt this. It's an open book test. And God's word is going to be with you, and God's word is sustaining you, and God's altar going to keep you warm. And I know you're in a test of your faith right now, but I'd ask you, don't quit in the middle of this test. The dream will come to pass, but it's not time yet. So you're still in the middle of it. And you're being tested right now, but the devil's trying to tell you he tricked you. The devil's trying to tell you God lied to you. The devil's trying to tell you God's a deceiver. Oh, but the Bible says, let God be true and every man a liar. God's not lying to you.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

Don't give up.

[Pastor Jabin]

Let go. There's a difference between giving up and letting go. Giving up is. I'm gonna take my ball and go home.

[Congregant or Worship Leader]

I tried the God thing.

[Pastor Jabin]

It didn't work. I'm gonna do this. That's not what I'm. I'm not talking about giving up. I'm talking about letting go. I'm talking about, okay, God, you got me in a prison right now, all right? But here I am. You got Potiphar's wife lying on me. Here I am sorry I'm giving you biblical references you may not understand. Let me just tell you something. You might be in a season right now where you're like, man, this is. This is not what I felt like I signed up for. I felt like I was saying yes to something else. And God's saying, you did say yes to something else. And I'm still going to get you to that something else. I haven't forgotten about that. And I didn't lie when I told you what I was, what I was going to bring you into. But right now you're in a proving ground. And if you won't give up on that proving ground, you'll be ready to carry the weight when God gives you the thing that he promised you. And I feel this, you got to start speaking well of God again. It may not have come out of your mouth yet, but you've started to change your words about God in your heart. And I just feel to tell somebody, begin to speak well of him again. I'm talking about worship, I'm talking about praise. I'm talking about God, you're good, God, you're awesome. God, you're mighty. God, you're wonderful. God, you're amazing. God, you're awesome. And your emotions might not even feel that yet. Let go. Let go. This is a word for somebody. Let go. I've been there. I've been there and I'm on the other side. And I could tell you it's worth it because he's the God of much more.