Sacred Steps | Week 1 | Pastor Kevin Kringel
Sacred Steps: A Deliberate Walk with God Towards the Cross
Week 1
Step One | Walking by Faith When You Don’t Understand
MOVEMENT ONE:
Faith Begins with a Step Into What You Don’t Fully Understand
Genesis 12:1-4
God calls Abram to walk toward:
Faith Begins with a Step Into What You Don’t Fully Understand
Genesis 12:1-4
God calls Abram to walk toward:
- a place he has never seen
- a future he cannot confirm
- a promise he doesn’t fully understand (he thinks it’s about him, it's about the whole world, it's about you, a person he would never meet.)
“Go… to the land I will show you.”
Not:
“I showed you.”
“I mapped it for you.”
“I explained it to you.”
Not:
“I showed you.”
“I mapped it for you.”
“I explained it to you.”
“Faith often starts with motion, not explanation.”
MOVEMENT TWO:
You Learn God is Faithful While You Walk
Psalm 121- Song of Ascent up to Jerusalem (To a higher place, come up here-Rev. 4)
Pilgrims sang this on the road. Not at the destination.
What are you singing or saying on your journey?
“My help comes from the Lord…”
You Learn God is Faithful While You Walk
Psalm 121- Song of Ascent up to Jerusalem (To a higher place, come up here-Rev. 4)
Pilgrims sang this on the road. Not at the destination.
What are you singing or saying on your journey?
“My help comes from the Lord…”
Notice:
God doesn’t remove the hills or the climb. You are elevating, you are not staying on the same level.
God doesn’t remove the hills or the climb. You are elevating, you are not staying on the same level.
He promises to keep you on the way.
Sacred Steps are where:
God’s presence becomes more important than your need for clarity. The journey is to help you become aware of Him, not to get you somewhere.
Sacred Steps are where:
God’s presence becomes more important than your need for clarity. The journey is to help you become aware of Him, not to get you somewhere.
MOVEMENT THREE:
Faith is Trusting the Promise Before Evidence
Romans 4:1-3,13-17
Paul says Abram believed:
“God… who calls into existence things that do not exist.”
There is always a distance between what God has said and when we see it or understand it.
That’s the journey to Easter.
Forgiveness didn’t look real on Friday.
Hope didn’t look real on Saturday.
But resurrection and life were already promised.
Some of us are waiting to see change or victory before we believe in it:
Faith is Trusting the Promise Before Evidence
Romans 4:1-3,13-17
Paul says Abram believed:
“God… who calls into existence things that do not exist.”
There is always a distance between what God has said and when we see it or understand it.
That’s the journey to Easter.
Forgiveness didn’t look real on Friday.
Hope didn’t look real on Saturday.
But resurrection and life were already promised.
Some of us are waiting to see change or victory before we believe in it:
- in your marriage
- in our habits
- in your business
The call to follow God is a call to begin toward a life we do not yet see.
Believe -walk- see.
Believe -walk- see.
MOVEMENT FOUR:
God Gives Glimpses to Prepare You for Valleys
Matthew 17:1-9 — Transfiguration (this is a picture of the fullness of the promise to Abraham). Bigger than even Abraham imagined.
Jesus lets the disciples see His glory right before they lose sight of hope at the cross.
Peter wants to stay there:
“Let us build three shelters…”
But the mountaintop was not the mission. It was preparation.
Some of us:
felt God strongly in a past season —
a service, an altar call, an encounter night —
Now you feel like you’re walking through fog.
That’s not failure.
That’s formation.
Sacred Steps often go:
mountain → valley → resurrection.
MOVEMENT FIVE:
Sacred Steps to Enter the Promise, Surrender Your Questions, and Trust Him.
John 3:1-17- You must be born again
Nicodemus wants understanding before surrender. “How can this be?”
It’s a work of the Spirit. You won’t fully understand until you surrender and your eyes are open.
Conclusion: Every resurrection story begins with someone who chooses to walk by faith before they can see by sight.
This story is Abraham’s story, it’s Jesus ' story, it's Nicodemus' story, it’s your story.
-Are you Nicodemus today? Jesus is saying, “You must be born again.” You are trying to figure it all out in your head. What about this? How can I be sure? God is calling you to follow Him to a land He will show you as you go…
Communion: Jesus is inviting you to His table. In response to this message today, take steps towards Him. Imagine Him calling you higher. When you take the cup and bread, say to Jesus, “I trust you, I will follow you, on the journey, on mountain tops and valleys, I will follow you.”