Leaving A Place

• In Genesis 12:10-20, Abraham is seen leaving Canaan (The Promised Land) during A TIME OF FAMINE to go to Egypt (a picture of the world).

• In Genesis 13 we see Abraham recognizing his mistake of going to Egypt, and returning back to Canaan land.

It was a big mistake for Abraham to leave Canaan land to go into Egypt.

Have you noticed, our lives are filled with all kinds of mistakes also? Sometimes some have made mistakes in emails that have caused some serious consequences.

Illus: Consider the case of the Illinois man who left the snow-filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day. When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email.

Unfortunately, when typing her address, he missed one letter, and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife whose husband had passed away only the day before.

When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint.

At the sound of her scream, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

"Dearest Wife, Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow. By the way, it sure is hot down here."

Illus: A lot of mistakes have been made also in other communications.

A husband, while on a business trip sent a telegram to his wife, “I am having a fantastic time, I wish you were here.” But in his haste, he misspelled the word “Here” and the letter he sent her was, “I am having a fantastic time, I wish you were her.”

The moral of the story is, double check every message before you send it.

Illus: Also, some serious mistakes have been made in church bulletins.

• Don't let worry kill you. Let the Church help.

• Thursday night - Potluck Supper. Prayer and medication to follow.

• Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.

• Thursday at 5 PM there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to become Little Mothers, please see the minister in his private study.

• At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be, "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

• The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen in the church basement Friday.

• Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

• The Senior Choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.

• Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Many of us have made unintentional mistakes. But when Abraham left Cannan and went to Egypt, this was one of the worst mistakes he had ever made. After he made this mistake, I am sure he deeply regretted it.

Illus: Life seems to be filled with situations where we find ourselves saying, “If I had to do it over again, I WOULD NOT DO IT!”

• I have heard people say, “I use to owned a certain kind of a car. I sold it, but if I had to do it over again, I WOULD NOT HAVE SOLD IT!”

• I have heard people who owned a certain parcel of land say, “If I had it to do over again, I WOULD HAVE NEVER SOLD THAT LAND!”

• I have heard people say, “I used to work at a certain place. I left that job, but if I had it to do over again I would still be there.”

• I have heard people that were married and left their spouse say, “IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER AGAIN WOULD NOT HAVE LEFT!”

• I have heard people that left a good church and later they said, “IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER AGAIN, I WOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT!”

Any time a believer leaves the place where God has placed them, they are on a downward path. This is seen in the actions of Abraham while in Egypt.

• He lied about Sarai, 12:12, 18

• He encouraged her to commit the same sin, 12:12

• He became self-centered, 12:14

• He created the potential for others to fall into sin, 12:14-15

• He left Egypt worse than he found it, 12:17

• He ruined his testimony in the eyes of the Egyptians, 12:19-20

To say the least, Abram's little trip to Egypt was a disaster!

But while life is filled with many things WE NO LONGER HAVE A CHANCE TO GO BACK AND RE-DO, in the Christian life no failure need be permanent in the walk of faith!