THE CYCLE OF SETTLING
Gen. 11:31-12:1, Cor. 14:3,
I love Sunday afternoon. There is something special about having worshipped God, going out to eat with your family, and then coming home to this!!! Can I get a witness? What would happen though if I did this (point to chair) all of the time? As good as this is on Sunday afternoon, would I be productive if I did it everyday? Can you say “Divorce?” “Loss of job and income?” I want to talk with you about “The Cycle of Settling”. It is what I call the “Lazy Boy Syndrome”. And we can find it all throughout the Bible. But where it strikes me is in Gen. 11:31-12:1. This is the account of Terah. He was Abram’s father and Lot’s uncle. Terah experienced the moral decay in his world. He decided that it was time to leave. What concerns me about our world is that we have become numb to our moral decay. We tolerate sexual innuendos. We tolerate … At least it appears that Terah saw that something was wrong with his society and came to the conclusion that he needed to move them away.
Along the way I am sure he became tired. Weary from
the journey, they stopped to rest. They found Haran. It
was about halfway there. I am not sure what was
appealing about Haran, but it satisfied Terah. This is
where I get really concerned for us. Terah recognized
that something needed to change. So he moved. He set
out for God’s dream.
He was hungry for righteousness. Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be
filled. Mt. 5. God was filling him. He was eating from
the hand of God. Notice what Prov. 30:8-10 says.
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Settling for less than God affects me.
· Terah settled for less than what God had for him
and it affected him personally. Terah became an idolater Josh 24:2.
· Terah never experienced all that God had for him;
impacting his world the way God wanted; His walk was definitely impeded.
Settling for less than God affects my loved ones.
· Terah settled for less than what God had for him
and it affected his children. Terah left a bad example that they had to overcome.
· Terah left a mess to for Abram to clean up. (12:1)
"Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor." Benjamin Franklin.
Terah settled in the land of Haran. He made it half way. His goal was Canaan, the promised land. His goal was a Godly goal. After all, that is where God sent Abram!
When we settle for less than God it affects us, but it also affects the ones we love! Prov. 14:14; The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above. (NKJV)
Settle for what God gives! In Philippians Paul writes, “11Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (NKJV) The key to settling with what God offers is not in what you have or don’t have, but what He says! (verse 13)
· Settle for God.
Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren’t you out there fishing?" he asked.
"Because I’ve caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman. Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?’ the rich man asked. "What would I do with them?"
"You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me." The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?" "You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist. "What do you think I’m doing now?" the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea. Our Daily Bread, May 18, 1994.
Be content with what you have, never with what you are.
1 Cor. 14:3 say, “He who prophesies speaks to men edification, exhortation, and comfort.” This is my life verse. It speaks to me in so many ways. It has an absolute truth that applies to most areas in life. The absolute truth is this; hear from God! Those who prophesy must first hear from God! In order for Paul to be content no matter the state, he first had to hear that it was God’s will. The key to Holy contentment is hearing and obeying.
How many of you have or had dreams of impacting your community? You wanted to be successful some way, somehow. You wanted people to see you and say, “there is someone who has it together.” You wanted people to come to you for advice or counsel. Let me tell you how that can happen in your life.
Prophets hear from God, and then they go out and speak or do what God says. I don’t mean to belittle or water down the word prophet. But at the same time it is not rocket science. The good news to us is that through Jesus Christ we all can hear God. And then we all can go and speak or do what He commands. Notice what happens when we hear from God and do what God says.
· A building up occurs. (edification)
· A calling back occurs. (exhortation, repentance)
· A comfort is established. (peace in the midst of a
storm) The comfort that this lazy-boy offers can be interrupted. As you settle into it the phone rings and you have to go to the hospital; your child comes to you with a broken bone. But when you settle for God, He gives you comfort in the midst of your storm.
Close with 1 Tim. 6:6-8**
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing we will be content with that.
Bow your heads with me…
Have you settled for the wrong things lately? Have you found yourself sitting on your lazy boy of life too often? Have you settled for ungodly things? Have you settled for less than God in your prayer life? In your Bible study? In your walk with God? Are you at a halfway mark in your spiritual life? You are not there yet, but you are starting to want to give in; to quit. Are you hungry for what God wants? Then pray with me. Every head bowed, and eyes closed.
You are not here by accident. God wanted you to hear
this so that you could experience godly success in your life. Christian, here is what you need to do. Pray with me a prayer that rededicates your life to Him. Pray that He will redefine your path, your direction in life. And then listen. The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God”. Being still is hard for most of us. But we must take the time to hear from God. (Pray)
If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, then your first step is to say yes to God. This is how you accept Jesus. (Lead in prayer)
