Download "Pursuing God`s Will" Gen. 11:27

"Pursuing God's Will"
Gen. 11:27 - 12:9
You and I have a responsibility to pursue the will of God everyday
of our lives, wherever we are in lifes journey.
There is nothing more important in life than to discover and do
the will of God.
There are two types of Christians and how they apporaoch the
will of God.
First there are the Christians who spend their lives discovering the
will of God. These could be described as the Marys of the church.
Forever sitting at the feet of Jesus. They attend every bible
studies, buy every book and always praying with the hope of
discovering God's will for their lives.
Tragically, these believers often end up frustrated and exhausted
after a while as they discover their lives not getting any better
and the world has passed them by.
Then there are the "Do the will of God Christians." These are the
Martha's. They are constantly working and doing something. They
often are found teaching sunday school, on commitees, when the
church doors are open, they are not just their, they are cleaning,
cooking the meals.
Their frustration is with those Christians who they perceive to not
be as committed to the work of the Lord as they are.
We will see in the story of Abram, who is called later Abraham.
*This is the story of Abram, whose life is talked about in the Old
and New Testament.
*As we read Gen. 11:27 - 32 it talks of the geneology of Abram
starting from his father Terah.
*Abram wife was Sarah and she was ten years younger than
Abram.
*Abram was about 75 so it made Sarah 65.
There's a place in God's will for you no matter what your age or
past. 12:1-4
*Terah probably was to old to proceed on his journey.
*Many reach to Haran, and yet fall short of Cannan, they are not
far from the kingdom of God, and yet never enter in.
Chapter 12:1 - 3
*Here the call by which Abram was removed out of the land of his
nativity into the land of promise.
*This was designed both to try his faith and obedience and also to
separate him and set him apart for God, and for special services
and favor which were further designed.
*This call was given directly to him by God, so there was no
question.
*There was no room for doubt the divine authority of this call.
*He appeared as the God of glory.
*12:1
*He was told to leave his country, his kindred, and from his
fathers house and go.
*The call was made in Ur and in obedience to this call in Acts 7:4
tells us Abraham came out.
*They dwelt in Haran and after his father died, the Lord removed
him into Cannan.
*See they were there for so long, and seem like home to them
and they were comfortable but needed to remind them that this
is not the place he was taking them too.
*If God loves us, and has mercy in store for us, he will not suffer
us to take up our rest any where short of Cannan, but will
graciously repeat his calls, till the good work is begun.
*In the call itself we have precept and a promise.
*The precept "Get thee out of thy country".
*His country had become idolatrous, his family , his fathers house
was a temptation to him.
*He could not live there and be infected by them.
*Therefore God said Get out.
*Get out, escape for your life.
*See, we need to come out from the things of the world.
*If you are in a sinful state, it is your concern to get out of it.
*He is returning soon, we can not continue to be in that sinful
state.
*Those who leave their sins, and turn to God, will themselves be
unspeakable gainers by the change.
*Proverbs 9:12 says If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself;
but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
*Job 22:2 Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise
is profitable to himself.
*Gal. 6:5 each will have to bear his own load.
*It is for your good and what you do is for your reward.
*So this command which God gave to Abram is much the same
with the gospel call by which all the spiritual seed of faithful
Abram are brought into covernant with God.
*Through this, there are 3 things that we should learn from this.
1. Natural affection must give way to divine grace.
*Our country is dear to us, our kindred or family is dear,
and our parent's house dearest of all, we should turn away from
it, that is, we must love them less than Christ.
*According to Luke 14:26
*If any man come to me, and hate not his father and
mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
*Luke 14:33 also says, so therefore any one of you who
does not give up all that he has cannot be my disciple.
*Also in Luke 16:13 it says, no man can serve two
masters, need to hate one and love the other or devoted to one
and despise the other for you cannot serve God and what ever
you put before God.
*Again, in Matthew 10:37 whoever loves father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me and even if you love
your son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
*What is all this teaching us today?
*Deu. 33:9 Who said of his father and nother, I regard
them not; he disowned his brothers and ignored his children. For
they observed your word and kept your covenant.
*Simple, nothing comes be our Lord and Savior, he is
always first in our lives then any thing of this world.
2.Sin and all the occasions of it, must be forsaken and particularly
bad company; we must abandon all the idols of iniquity which
have been set up in our hearts and get out of the way of
temptation, even to pluck out the right eye that leads us to sin
(Matthew 5:29)
*Get out of the way of temptation.
*Willingly parting with that which is dearest to us,
for this is hazardest to our life.
*Those that resolve to keep the commandments
of God must quit the society of evil doers.
3.The world and all our enjoyments in it, must be looked upon
with a holy indifference and contemp.
*We must no longer look upon it as our
country, or home but as our inn.
*See, we just passing thru on our way to our
mansion which Jesus is preparing for us.
*So, by this precept, could Abram trust God further than he saw
him.
*He needs to leave everything, country, family and father's house
which he must have been comfortable in.
*And he had to go, and God said to a land I will show you.
*He does not say "It is a land that I will give thee".
*Nor does he tell him what land it was, nor what kind of land but
he must follow God.
*Those of us who deals with God, must deal upon trust.
*We need to quit the thing that are seen for those that are not
seen.
*We need to submit, in hopes of a glory that is yet to be revealed
(read Rom. 7:18)
*For it doth not yet appear what we shall be (read 1 John 3:2)
*So in this it teaches us to have a continual dependance upon his
directions and with our eye always toward him.
*It is an encouraging promise which is great and precious.
*All God's precepts are attended with promises to the obedient.
*When he makes himself known to us as a commander he makes
himself known as a rewarder.
*If we obey the command, God will not fail to perform the
promise.
*Here are six promises:
1. I will make of thee a great nation.
*When God took him from his own people, he promise
to make him a head of another.
*God cuts him off from being the branch of a wild
olive, to make him the root of a good olive.
*This was a relief for Abram, for he had no children.
*See God knows how to suit his favors to the wants
and necessities of his children.
*A great trial to Abram's faith, for his wife had been
long barren.
*God makes nations (your families are from God.
*If nations be made great in wealth and power, it is
God that makes it great.
*God can raise great nations out of dr ground, and can
make a little one to be a thousand.
2. I will bless thee;
*It could be a particularly with blessings of fruitfulness
and increase, as God had blessed Adam and Noah.
*Or, it could be a general blessing, as all manner of
blessings.
*God said leave thy father's house and I will give
thee a father's blessing.
*Note, obedient believers will be sure to inherit the
blessing.
3. I will make thy name great;
*By deserting his country, he lost his name there.
*Care not for that says God, but trust me and I will
make thee a greater namethan ever thou couldst have had there.
*God is the fountain of honor and from him
promotion comes (1 Samuel 2:8)
*The name of obedient believers shall certainly be
celebrated and made great.
4. Thou shall be a blessing;
*God's dealing with obedient believers are so
kind and gracious that we need not desire for ourselves or our
friends to be any better dealt with, to have God as our friend is
blessing enough.
*Your life shall be a blessing where ever you go.
5. I will bless those that bless thee and curse him that
curseth thee.
*God's promise is he shall be a friend to his friends.
*To take kindness done to Abram as done to
himself.
*God will take care of those that does good to his
people, even a cup of cold water will be a reward.
*There were those that cursed Abram but could not
hurt him but God's righteousness curse will over take and ruin
them (Num. 24:9).
*This is a good reason why we should bless those
that curse us because it is enough that God will curse them.
6. In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
*This is the promise that crowns all the rest.
*For it points to the Messiah, in whom all the
promises are yea and amen.
*Note, Jesus Christ is the great blessing of the
world, the greatest that ever the world was blessed with.
*He is a family blessing, by him salvation was
brought to the house (Luke 19:9)
*Christ is the blessing of blessings.
*But how are all the families of the earth blessed
in Christ, when so many are strangers to him?
*Answers:
(1) All that are blessed are blessed in him
(2)All that believe, of what family soever they
be, shall be blessed in him.
(3)There are some blessings which all the
families of the earth are blessed with in Christ, for the gospel
salvation is a common salvation (Jude 3)
*But in all, it is God's will for all to let them
know.
*Believers must go and let them know of this
salvation and when that last ear shall hear and have the
oppertunity to accept him then the Son of Man shall return.
*It is a great honor to be related to Christ, this
made Abram's name great, that the Messiah was to descend from
his loins, much more than that he would be the father of many
nations.
*It was Abram's honor to be his father by
nature; it will be ours to be his brethren by grace (Matt. 12:50)
Genesis 12:4,5
*Abraham's removal out of Ur and than Haran according to the
call of God.
*He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but did as he was
bidden, not conferring with flesh and blood.
*When we are called we do not talk with flesh and blood as Gal.
1:16,17, for we talk to the Lord.
*His obedience was speedy and without delay.
*Submissive and without dispute, he just went and not knowing
where.
*But he knew who he followed and in whose direction.
*He was at an age of 75, which he probably would want to rest
and have a settlement.
*But yet at a Kupuna age, when God calls, he submit.
*It doesn't matter on the age or past.
*One of the common misbeliefs concerning God's will is that God
only uses the young. After all it is the young who possess all the
evergy, and resources and creativity. God could not use someone
who is over 40 or 50 or 60.
*Yet the Bible says, that David was called by God as a shepherd
boy of 15. Mary the mother of Jesus was probably about 14 when
the angel Gabriel announced fo her that she would be the mother
of the Savior.
*Among Jesus disciples there were young men in their late teens
and early twenties.
*David son Solomon, at the end of his life, after wealth,
education, power and influence.
*But the most important thing is to serve God starting when you
are young.
*Some mistakenly believe that God could never use a person who
is old and out of touch.
*Yet when God wanted a person who would model faith for
generations to come, he chose Abraham at the age of 75. God
could have called him when he was a young business man living in
power and influence in his 30's. But he didn't. In his wisdom, God
reached out and touched Abraham shoulder and spoke vision into
his heart at a time of life, when Abram should have been thinking
of fishing on the Euphrates, not starting life over in a new
country.
*Others mistakenly believe that God cannot call a person who has
an undesirable past. Yet it was when Moses was a wahed up, has
been prince of 80 that God said, "God to Egypt, I have a job for
you to do."
*Look at the geneology of Jesus. There you will find a prostitute,
an adulterer, a murderer, an idol worshipper. And all these God
called and used inspite of their pasts.
*You see all of responsibility is upon the Lord. When he calls a
man or woman, young person or grandma, he always provides
the gift and annointing to fulfill the plan.*Do not write yourself
off of Gods program. Do not assume God's will is for someone
else. Don't presume he is finihed with you or has set you aside.
*So, if the responsibility of the call is God's, then my responsibility
is to submit to his call and humbly follow him.
*The company and the cargo he took with him, was his wife, Lot
his nephew, not by force or against their will.
*Sarah his wife be sure to go with him, for as God joins a man and
a woman, nothing should put them asunder.
*If Abram leaves all to follow God then Sarah will leave all to
follow him.
*Abram would not leave such a companion in his travels, a help
meet for him.
*It is very comfortable when husband and wife agree to go
together in the way to heaven.
*As for Lot, by the example Abram led, he was willing to go along
with him too.
*We need to set an example in our family, community, schools,
and at work.
*Note, that those who go to Cannan need not go alone.
*It is our wisdom to go with those with whom God is, where ever
they go (Zech. 8:23)
*They took all their goods, all movable.
*With themselves they would give up all to be at God's desposal.
*They would take what is needed for both for the service of God
and their family.
*To throw away all they had because God would bless them is to
tempt God.
*They would not be returning at any time.
*They took the soul they had gotten, which were servants they
had bought.
*These servants or souls has followed the only true God and
gathered under wings of the divine Majesty.
*Those who serve and follow God should do all they can to bring
others to serve and follow him too.
*As entering the land of Cannan, which was said the land God had
promised to show them, they were not discouraged.
*See there was lot of difficulties they met with in their way, nor
diverted but prassed forward.
*Note, those that set out for heaven must presevere to the end,
still reaching forth to those things that are before.
*That which we undertake in obedience to God's command, and a
humble attendance upon his providence will certainly succeed
and end with confort at last.
*But they stopped half way, in Haran.
*Perhaps they only intended to stay a day or two. This became a
couple of weeks. Soon thins began to get comfortable until before
they knew it, they were settling in.
*I can here the family conference now. Well, dad is sick and we
don't want to burden him. Lot: There is an excellent university
here, that I can go too. Sarah: I just joined the ladies sewing at the
temple. Then there were the business contracts. The meetings. Its
just like home. There are so many people here to witness and
minister too. Yes all good reasons to stay. BUT IT WAS NOT GODS
INTENTION FOR THEM TO STAY IN HARAN.
*All excuses of why this and that.
*Like Abraham and his family, many christians are frustrated in
their lives simply because in the pursuit of God's will, they fall
short. They grow comfortable where they are, and just settle for
second best.
*The have not backsliden or lost their salvation. But many have
lost their passion for the Lord, simply because they stopped short
of God's best.
*This some examples of second best.
*Pastor, I know God says not to marry an unbeliever, but well,
there are no Christian men in our church and well my boyfriend
he is a nice person, has a good job, and well he has no problem
with me going to church. Besides, I can always lead him to the
Lord... Haran.
*Pastor, I know I should go to Bible College and train for the
ministry, but things are just too good at work now, I can't leave at
a time like this. My kids are going to college, mywife has a good
job, and what about the mortgage? I'll wait till the kids have
graduated, then go into the ministry... Haran.
*Pastor, I know I should tithe, but there's the light bill, and the
cable bill and the kids hockey registration and my golf
membership is due...Maybe nest month I'll have mor cash flow...
Haran.
*Haran is the place of second best. It sounds like home. It is
comfortable. It is sensible. But it is the place of second best. The
words of verse ring somberly in our ears, Terah lived to 205 and
DIED IN HARAN! Haran is the place of death. I do not mean
eternal death. But when we choose the second best over God's
best for our lives, we invite spiritual death to take over. Our
passion for God turns to tradition and convenience.
*The lesson is that pursuing God's
of our comfort zones.
will involve being caled out
*Get out of your country.
*Pursuing God's will is never easy. We sing the chorus, where you
lead me I will follow.
*Do you sense God saying to teach that Sunday school class, tells
you to make a pie for the obnoxious neighbor or leads you to
witness to the high school drug dealer.
*And you answer: I can't do that. I'm not qualified. I'm too young.
Or the best of all, "I don't think God would have me do that".
*What we are saying really is, I don't want to leave my comfort
zone.
*When God calls you to do His will, He may very well wrench you
away from that which is familiar to you, that which causes you to
build your security upon things you know, rather than upon what
you know about him.
*So understand what this statement doesn't mean. It doesn't
mean that God will is to quit your job tomorrow, sell your house
and move your family to some remote native tribe in Africa.
*What this statement is saying is , when God calls your to pursue
Him, He will stretch you in those areas you have placed your
security.
Genesis 12:6-9
*How little comfort he had, he didn't have the land for himself
but the Cannanite lived in the land.
*He felt the people and Cannanites in the country would be but
bad neighbours and landlords.
*And would appear he would not have a place to pitch his tent
but unless he has permission.
*He past through the land in verse 6.
*He removed to the mountains in verse 8.
*His journey was still going, in verse 9.
*We all must look upon ourselves as strangers in this world.
*As we journey by faith in this strange land.
*Pursuing God's will does not end with a destination, it is a
journey of pursuing God's presence.
*It is a fact, that when life begins to produce change, our first
reaction is to grab hold of those securities which give us comfort.
The thins that are known.
*When God brings changes into our lives, it is not meant to
destroy us but to stretch us in our faith and knowledge of God's
presence and faithfulness.
*You see, when you set out to pursue God's will for your life, do
not make the mistake that you are heading for a destimation,
and once you have reached it your search is over.
*Discovering God's will does not end with a destination and once
you have reached it your search is over.
*While we are here in this present state, we must be journeying,
and going on still from strength to strength, as having not yet
attained.
*There will be times in our lives, when our world will be rocked in
order for us to take our eyes off the things of this world, that are
passing away, and place our faith onto the things that are eternal.
*Our world has recently endured a physical shaking.
*Things that people had placed their securities in have litterally
been washed away.
*Let me ask you, when your world is rocked, by disease, financial
hardship, family problems, where do you turn for security?
*You can place your security in stocks, family, education,
government, even the church, but the fact is, this world is falling
apart.
*The Bible says, "And the world is passeth away and the lust
thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abide for ever." 1 John
2:17
*We need the same faith as Abraham.
*Heb. 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out iinto a
place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed;
and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
*All that he had gone through as he followed God, he never gave
up.
*Communion with God is kept up by the word and by prayer.
*Abram's communion with God was kept up in the land of his
pilgrimage.
*God spoke comfort unto Abram, unto thy seed will I give this
land.
*No place nor condition of life can shut us out from the comfort
of God's precious visits.
*Even though you leave all and you might be alone on your
journey, remember God is always with you.
*His promises is sure and satisfying to all those who
conscientiously observe and obey his precepts.
*Just imagine when the people asked Abram, why are you
packing. Abram: I'm moving. Where are you moving too. I don't
know yet. Why are you moving? Because God told me.
That's incredible, you mean to tell me you're going to follow God
and you don't even know where you're going?
When I follow God, I know where I am going, I just know the
coordinates. It has been wisely said that it is better to follow the
Lord and not know exactly where you are going, then to think you
know where you are going and not be following the Lord.
*Those who, in compliance with God's call, leave or lose any thing
that is dear to them, shall be sure of something else abundantly
better.
*Abraham did not know the specific details of God's will, but one
assurance he did have was as he obey, God said I will bless you.
*Isn't that where you and I want to be? Where the blessing of
God abides.
*Abram left his land and now God says "i will give you this
land."(Matt. 19:29)
*God reveals himself and his favor to his people, before he had
promised to show him this land, now to give it to him.
*As grace is growing, so is comfort.
*Mercies to the children is mercies to the parents. I will give it,
not to thee, but to thy seed.
*So the land is given to his seeds, but Abram was looking for a
heavenly country (Heb. 11:16)
*He built an alter unto the Lord, who appeared unto him verse
7,8.
*When God appeared unto him, there and than, he built an alter,
looking unto the Lord.
*He returned God's visit, and kept up his correspondence with
heaven.
*He acknowledge with thankfulness.
*God's kindness to him in making him that gracious visit and
promise.
*Thus he testified his confidence in and dependence upon the
word which God had spoken.
*We must trust what God has to say, his words.
*Abram prayed always, an alter was set where ever his tent was
up.
*He not only use it for ceremonial part of religion, the offering of
sacrifice, but made conscience of the natural duty of seeking God.
*Calling on his name, that spiritual sacrifice which God is well
pleased.
*He preached concerning the name of the Lord, that is, he
instructed his family and neighbors in the knowledge of the true
God and his holy religion.
*Note: Those that would approve themselves the children of
faithful Abram, and would inherit the blessing of Abram, must
make conscience of keeping up the solemn worship of God,
*Particularly in their families, according to the example of Abram.
*The family worship is a good old way, nothing new, but the
ancient usage of all the saints.
*Abram was very rich and had a numerous family, was now
unsettled and in the midst of enemies and yet, wherever he
pithed his tent, he built an altar.
*Wherever we go, let us not fail to take our religion along with us.
*For we pray all the time, in season and out of season.
We need to always be doing something for the Lord. Many
Christians are just waiting for the will of God. We saw what the
will of God is, to continue in his ways. Pursuing God's will is to
walk with him, get out from the world, do what is need to be
done for the Lord, trust in him by having faith, take the step
forward, don't just sit back in your comfort zone.
Sadly many times these, workers for the Lord end up on the
ash-heap of spiritual burn-out where they lose their energy,
passion and effectiveness for serving God.
What we often forget is that little connecting word "And". The
will of God is not exclusively activity nor is it exclusively waiting. It
is both working in tandem together.
Many Christian life, or just life in general, as a matter of getting
from here to there, from point A to point B. God's will for us in
this life is not some black and white objective equation designed
to take us to an appointed destination here on earth as much as it
is about the journey itself. It is not so much about our own well
thought through mission for our lives as it is about what matters
to him in our lives.
Our human tendency is to focus solely on our calling on where we
should go, how we should get there and what exactly we should
do about it. God's concern is the process that he is taking us
through to mature us and ready us, making us more like his Son.
In other words, all of us are works in process.
You and I have a responsibility to pursue the will of God everyday
of our lives, wherever we are in lifes journey.
So as we heard the life of Abraham, it teaches us in Pursuing The
Will Of God for our lives.
AMEN!!!!