A Summons to Receive God’s Blessings

23 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Abraham: Life of Faith

Tags

blessings and curses, divine favor, Genesis 12:2-3, Gilbert K Chesterton, great nation and blessing, hope and future, journey of faith, off spring, promise of protection, success and character

In the past two blogs I have been writing about all Abraham had to release in order to follow the Lord. As someone said, “you cannot out give God.” The blessings God promised Abraham far outweighed those things he gave up. Below is a summary of those blessings.

2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3

1) Hope and Future ~

The provision of hope is found in the Lord’s promise to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation.” How would God make Abraham into a great nation when Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren? God provided by giving Abraham and Sarah a promise first. The very thing Sarah longed for was now promised by God. It took 25 years but God’s word came to pass in their lives.

2) Divine Favor ~

The provision of divine favor is found in the Lord’s statement, “I will bless you.” God’s blessings are beyond what we can think or imagine. This promise was a promise of personal blessing, a blessing that would bring about prosperity upon Abraham’s life. God would prosper Abraham in his family, in his business, and ultimately in his entire journey of faith.

3) Success and Character ~

This provision is found in the Lord’s statement, “and make your name great.” Abraham could have chosen to make a great name for himself or allow the Lord to do it.

In the previous chapter (Genesis 11:4) the people of Babel said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name.” Humanity strives to make names for themselves and become successful. True success is only found in the life of faith. It is only by trusting in the Lord and following the Lord that one can truly have a great name.

The idea of a great name goes beyond fame. In ancient times a great name was a “revelation of character.” A great name referred to one who had “superior character.” A life of faith produces a life of righteous character. A character that can only find its source in God.

4) A Great Nation and Blessing ~

This promise is a promise of purpose and destiny. As Abraham obeys the Lord by relinquishing all, he will then be a blessing for all to see. He will become an example a life blessed of God.

The implication of this promise of purpose goes beyond just being an example. If God is going to bless all the families of the earth, then Abraham and his descendants would have to be the message bearers to the rest of the world. Thus, being blessed by God has a responsibility of letting the rest of the world know about God’s blessings.

5) The Promise of Protection ~

“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” This promise is significant when you realize that the Lord was asking Abraham to leave the security and safety of his country, culture, and clan, and go to a place of uncertainty and hostility. Those who will bless Abraham in his journey of faith will be enriched, but those who hinder and become an enemy of Abraham will be cursed. One only has to observe the life of Abraham as well as the life of Israel to see that the Lord has been faithful to fulfill this promise.

In Abraham we discover what it means to walk in faith before the Lord. These promises are not just given to Abraham. They are extended to his children and to all who would follow. How about you, do you wish to walk in faith? Just as God invited Abraham to walk in faith, we too are given that opportunity as well. Like Abraham, we must respond to God’s call to leave the world behind and follow hard after Him. Your journey awaits!

Blessings,

Pastor

Letting Go of …Your Country, Relatives, and House

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Abraham: Life of Faith

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Abraham, Canaan, cs lewis, faith, Genesis 12:1, go forth, inheritance, journey of faith, leave relatives, relinquish, Ur

If Abraham was ever to enjoy the blessings of God he would have to relinquish the comfortable, the worldly, and wholly follow the Lord. The difficult portion of God’s summons to a life of faith was this call to relinquish those things which ultimately hinder the journey.

“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;” Genesis 12:1

God’s summons was simple …“go forth.” It was an imperative command. Everything hinged on Abraham obeying those first words. Abraham was commanded to disassociate himself and relinquish those things which might cause him to stumble. All bridges to his past had to be burned by his own hand. The Lord was asking Abraham to give up his past and his present situation in order to give him hope and a future.

I have never been to Ur. Some believe it was an ancient port city. When my wife and I moved to New Orleans we thought we were moving to another country. Port cities are different because of the influx of people. We saw things in New Orleans that we haven’t seen since! This was probably the type of environment God wanted Abraham to leave behind.

Sometimes God calls us out of bad environments and sometimes He calls us into these situations. He knows what is best. What we do know is that Ur would become the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans would become the Babylonians. The Babylonians would become the Syrians. Canaan did not compare to the luxurious comforts of Ur. Yet the Lord was asking him to relinquish his country for the sake of Canaan.

In addition, Abraham was commanded to leave his relatives. Acceptance, affluence, and protection would now be forfeited. This included his inheritance and rights to family property. Had Abraham and extended family been able to move as a clan, he could have kept his identity and inheritance. In addition, there would have been a small group to lend support and protection in a new country and a new culture.

This seems harsh when we look at all that God was asking Abraham to relinquish. God knows what is best when it comes to the journey of faith, and He knows what is best for our spiritual development and progress in our life of faith.

Throughout the ages God has consistently called people to leave places of safety and security in order to place our total trust in Him. Jesus echoed these same principles only in a different way.

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

The summons to a life of faith is a summons to total commitment to the Lord. What many people fail to understand is that though the summons to a life of faith is a summons to relinquish, it is also a summons to receive. For when we relinquish all to follow the Lord we receive in return the greatest blessings that don’t come close to comparing to those things we give up. Tomorrow I will share a few of those blessings.

Blessings,

Pastor

Have You Received Your Summons to Live a Life of Faith?

21 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Abraham: Life of Faith

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Abraham, Acts 7:24, blessings of God, Canaan, Genesis 12:1-2, journey of faith, redidicate, renew God's call, settled for less, stay in the process, Stephen Covey, Terah, Ur

“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;” Genesis 12:1-2

I have been spending some time reading and praying through Abraham’s life. Chapter 12 begins the story of Abraham’s call to leave behind his extended family and follow after God. I was reminded that this was not the first time Abraham heard the summons of God. Chapter 12 could be a renewed summons of God’s call upon Abraham’s life. It was on this occasion when Abraham became fully obedient. I have been at this place. Maybe you have been at this crossroad as well, when you finally made the choice to go full throttle for the Lord. There are several reasons to believe this was God calling Abraham to rededicate or renew his life to the journey of faith.

Chapter 11 indicates the Lord had originally called Terah, Abraham’s father, to leave Ur and go to Canaan. “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan…”

Now we don’t see the Lord speaking directly to Terah or Abraham in this text, but we do see God directing them to leave Ur for the purpose of going to Canaan. This indicates that some form of God calling Terah and his family took place.

In Acts Stephen reiterates this truth.

“Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ’Depart from your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ “Then he departed from the land of the Chaldeans, and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God removed him into this country in which you are now living.” Acts 7:2-4

Did you notice the tense of these verses. It reminds us the Lord considered the call on Terah’s life to be also a call on Abraham’s life. It was a process that took an entire lifetime to fulfill.

All this suggests this was not the first time that Abraham heard God speak to him. No, the Lord had already spoken to Abraham and now the Lord was calling Abraham to rededicate himself to a life of faith.

Knowing this truth blesses me. I have not always gotten the Lord’s call and word right the first time. Like Abraham, if our heart wants to be obedient, the Lord will continue to speak and work with us until our obedience is sure.

We should avoid Terah’s mistake. He stopped short of God’s call. He settled in Haran. Terah never made it to the Canaan. Instead, he settled for what life had to offer short of what God promised. It was possible that Terah started a life of faith, but became a castaway. Terah wanted the blessings of God, like so many people. I have known many who started the journey of faith in good shape and with strong convictions. But somewhere down the road they settled for less than God ordained.

Even Abraham at first had a hard time believing God in the beginning. The truths gleaned from his life are that the life of faith is a process. When we begin the journey of faith, our ability to trust in God is not perfect. In fact, the journey of faith is really a journey into maturity. Abram’s faith matured over the years because his life of faith was a process.

Just as Abraham had his moments of struggling to trust God, so will everyone else who receives God’s summons. Just as Abram wanted to hold on to the comfortable, the familiar, and the worldly, so will we. The main thing is to stay in our process.

If you are currently in the process of following the Lord, stay in your process. Keep on, keeping on. Things may not look pretty today, but if you stay with God’s word, His word will eventually have its effect in your life.

Blessings,

Pastor