The eleventh gate of the City of God is named after Asher, whose name means "happy." Everyone wants to be happy, but the problem is that when we follow the world's recipe for happiness, it always leaves us wanting more. God's plan for happiness and blessing may surprise you, but it never fails!

This is the first message in a new series that we're calling "Standing on the Promises." In today's message, Pastor Dave talks about how we live in the flow of God's blessings every day.

After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pulled up his stakes and moved. He ended up near the city of Gerar, which was ruled by Abimelech. Fearing that Abimelech would kill him and take Sarah as his wife, Abraham reverted to an old sin - lying. The result the second time wasn't any better than the first time.

After waiting for ten years for God's promise to come to fruition, Abram and Sarai embark on a plan to pursue God's promise outside of God's plan. The result was disastrous and echoes throughout history even to this day. When we're waiting on God, we can't give in to the temptation to run ahead of Him.

God called Abraham his friend. That friendship entailed the same characteristics that we would ascribe to friendship, including times of conversation and sharing our hearts with those whom we trust. In Genesis 15, God and Abram have a conversation and it teaches us much about the friendship we can have with God.

Abram received a promise from God that he would be the father of many nations. However, Abram still didn't have a single child at an advanced age. The dream seemed impossible, but Abram trusted God to make the dream a reality.