10/18/15 You Have a Call Waiting For You!
New Beginnings Series – Genesis 12:1-9
Intro: I
grew up in Jackson Michigan, in the early 80’s I was living in a 12 x 65 foot
long mobile home. Because of the financial hardship that hit this State, I
packed up and left my one year old child and my wife who I had just married a
year earlier behind to end up living out of a tent for several weeks in Umstead
State Park outside of Raleigh NC. All of this in hopes of finding a new job and
a future place to call home. I have always felt it was a major adjustment to
leave my home the place where I grew up, left all my brothers and sisters and
parents and move 850 miles south to Clayton NC. I had a call waiting for me and
didn’t even know it! I didn’t know where I was going and didn’t even know where
I would end up. I believe I had a few things in common with Abram who one day
would be called Abraham the father of a great nation. This second week in my
series on “New Beginnings’ takes a look at Genesis 12 and introduces one of the
most historical Covenants God would ever establish with mankind. This text
introduces The Call, The Commitment, and The Covenant God makes with Abraham.
Abram answers his call and receives a promise blessing from God! “By faith
Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive
as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.’ Hebrews
11:8
Text: Genesis 12:1-9
“Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of
your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I
will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make
your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless
you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to
him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he
departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his
brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people
whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan.
So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the
place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were
then in the land. Application: A call to a life of separation?
Are phones are
able to keep a record of who last left a message; God has left a message. When
the message technology first came out, there would be a blinking light on the
phone notifying you have a message. Christian “You have a Call waiting for
you!” have you answered it? Did you respond to the message God left you? Did
you respond like the prophet from the Old Testament who said “Here am I, send
me.” Or are you the one who questioned God and said I can’t. Maybe you’re the
one who fled and sat on the hill top and pouted! Which one are you. Abram
received the call and went!
1. The Call: Vs. 1-3
“Now the LORD had said to Abram:
"Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To
a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will
bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will
bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all
the families of the earth shall be blessed."
The Hebrew actually reads: "Go
for yourself" or "Leave for yourself." God was calling Abram to
leave and get away from his old life. Abram would reap enormous results if he
separated himself from the ungodly of this world. God was demanding a life of
separation from the ungodly of the world. So it is with every one of us.
Abram
had to believe God enough to make the supreme sacrifice to God, Abram had to
sacrifice his life, his world, and all that he was and had. Abram had to
surrender, submit, and deny himself: he had to totally commit his life to God.
He had to die to self and seek after God with his whole heart. If Abram
believed and obeyed God that much, God would do these three very special things
for him. God promised to give Abram; the promised land, the promised seed,
meaning a great nation of people & a special blessing to all the people on
the earth.
Abram's assurance of God's presence symbolizes the believer's
experience. The believer can be assured of God's presence: of God's love, care,
provision, and protection. The promise given to Abram is also given to the
believer, BUT! will the believer by faith respond as Abram did? You might not
have to do everything Abram did, but you will have to separate yourself. This
could be the New Beginning you have been waiting for!
2. The Commitment: Vs. 4-6
‘So
Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was
seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took
Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they
had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed
to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram
passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree
of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.’
Abram was obedient: “So
Abraham departed…”
Abram lives in a well-established city called Ur. God calls
him to leave this comfortable home and venture out on a life of faith which
takes commitment. Abram is to receive a new land and found a great nation. Abram
becomes a nomadic shepherd, seeking to discover God through his experiences.
With his wife Sarai and nephew Lot, he travels from Mesopotamia down through
Canaan to the Negev desert. At Shechem, the heart of the future ‘Promised
Land’, Abram builds an altar to the Lord, much as astronauts might plant their
national flag on the moon. “And he said, "Brethren and fathers, listen:
The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia,
before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from
your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.' 4 Then he came
out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his
father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.” Acts 7:2-4
The
Journey and all the changes Abram made allowed him to experience “A New Beginning.”
A beginning and a commitment that all of the believers today can be a part of.
Our commitment might be different but there must still be a denying of self and
an application of Faith!
3. The Covenant: Vs. 7-9
“Then the LORD appeared to Abram
and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he
built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there
to the mountain east of Bethel, and he 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. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.”
This
call was completely of grace and the blessings of the covenant wholly from the
Lord’s goodness. God promised to give Abraham a land; a great name; a great
nation; and a blessing that would spread to the whole world. It took a good
deal of faith for Abraham to respond to these promises for he had no children,
and he and his wife were getting old. From the lips of God He says: “I Will!”
God would do it all if only Abraham would believe. Certainly God has fulfilled
His promises; for Israel has her land (and will get more); the Jews have
blessed all nations by giving us the Bible and Christ; and Abraham’s name is
revered by Jews, Moslems, Christians, and even unbelievers. The men of Babel
wanted to make a name for themselves and failed; but Abraham trusted God and
God gave him a great name!
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and
appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should
remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.’ John
15:16
The conclusion for this story; “The Lord appeared…” God blessed Abram. For
several hundred years God had not spoken to man like He does with Abram: “And
the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations
shall be blessed." Galatians 3:8
Blessings is the key word in His promise.
There is somethings that puts this all into the proper perspective; it adds a
picture to the puzzle of life this comes from what is applied in verse 8. Abram
built an Altar! “he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the
LORD.”
“You have a call waiting for you!” Time to answer it, push line 3 ask
for F.A.I.T.H: Forsaking All I Trust Him…
Conclusion:
There is a doctrine call
Justification that is applied here: Abram is the first to trust God’s promises
against all the odds. From now on, faith means believing what God says. This
simple trust in God’s Word counts as ‘righteousness’—being right with God. The
apostle Paul looks back to Abram as the father of all who have faith. Abram
wasn’t at peace with God because he was circumcised or had kept God’s law.
These developments came later. Abram was right with God because he believed
God’s promises. He was old (75 years to be exact) and his wife was past
childbearing, but he believed God would give him an heir. He was homeless and a
nomad, but he believed God would give him a land: “He did not waver at the
promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to
God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to
perform.” Romans 4:20-21
One might say God’s instructions lead Sarah and
Abraham from barrenness toward fertility. The faith they rallied around was not
a faith that was for them only. We can have that faith and move from a
spiritual barrenness toward a spiritual fertility. When you answer the call
there is a blessing to receive on the other end of the line. “We know that all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose.”
For the Christian, the person who has a
relationship with Christ, the problem is usually one of faith. We struggle to
obey because we struggle to believe that God’s way will really work out for the
best. So, like Abram, we need to listen to and trust God’s promises! “Abram
went forth as the Lord had spoken” because he believed that God would do as he
said: that he would bless him; that he would care for him; that he wouldn’t
leave him wandering in the wilderness, but would truly bring him to “the land
which I will show you.” Abram’s simple faith that God really was on his side
allowed him to do what was right again and again! Learn from Abram. God is not
stingy! He will not leave you in the desert when once you have obeyed. No! He
brought Abram to the Promised Land, and he will fulfill all his promises to us
if we will but trust and obey! ANSWER THE CALL!
In : Sermon
Tags: "new beginnings series" "book of genesis"
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