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Why settle for less when God gives you the best?
Scripture: Genesis 17
Introduction: How many of you have started for something big in life and ended up with something small? In the process you have compromised your life, compromised your calling and settled for something small. Now you may be content with what you have achieved whereas the promises of God were something high. This reminds me of the story where a fox being hungry was chasing down a hen. After about a mile a rabbit came on the way and the fox started chasing the rabbit. After about another mile a rat came on the way and the fox ended up chasing the rat. Finally, the rat ran straight into its hole and the fox ended up waiting in front of the rat hole. Many times we are like this fox, content with small achievements whereas we started for something big. God wants you to have the best in life, so do not compromise God’s standards. This morning I want to challenge you to move to a new level of vision and faith in the Lord. Do not compromise and settle for the least. Do not think the best is behind you, it is yet to come. God will fulfill it for you.
This morning I want to speak to you from the series ‘Abraham – Father of Faith.’ The subject is ‘Why settle for less when God gives you the best?’
Biblical Background:
In Genesis 15 God confirmed to Abram his promised son through a covenant, walking in-between slain animals. It means if God was unfaithful in fulfilling the promise it has to be done to Him as they have done to the animals. A son was a covenant from God.
In Genesis 16 Abram’s faith seems to waver and Abram in his haste conceived a child through Hagar, the maidservant. Now Abram got something, a child to satisfy him. He chose to settle for the least when God wanted to give him the best.
When we come to Genesis 17, Abram is 99 years old and 24 years since he received the promise of a son. It has been 13 years since Ishmael has been born and God has not spoken to Abram so far after the birth of Ishmael.
Read Genesis 17:1-2 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
Abram had a new encounter with God. That brings us to my first point of the message.
1. If we have to have the best from God we have to have a new/fresh encounter with God.
Thirteen years earlier Abram committed a mistake and Ishmael was born. God was silent on the other end. The presence of Ishmael, Hagar, and Sarai produced unhappiness, bitterness, strife, and envy in the house. God used these 13 years to teach Abram the consequences of living by flesh and being impatient. It was a tough time for Abram, God never spoke. There was constant fight in the house.
It could be that you have had similar experiences in life. A time when you took your own decisions which failed. A time when God allowed you to take your own way and the results have been painful and failure. One of the most frightening things in life is that you insist in having your own way and God may let you have it. Remember you will have to bear the consequences of your decisions, many of you are struggling because of the wrong decisions that you made.
Abram was tired, fed up with life, and God comes near him with a fresh encounter. This morning God is here for a new encounter. Let us come near him with a heart of repentance.
What does God tell Abram?
a. I am God Almighty (Gen. 17:1)
In the Hebrew language, it is El-Shaddai meaning ‘one who is all sufficient.’ Until now Abram knew Yahweh, now for the first time in the Bible God tells Abram I am El-Shaddai – I am all sufficient for you. God is telling Abram if you want a child your body may be insufficient but I am your sufficiency. Child of God whatever you want is there in our God. He is an all sufficient God. What is it that is bothering you? Do you want peace, blessings, wisdom or anything? All what we need is in God. Now listen to what God says.
2. If we have to have the best of God we have to walk blameless before God.
Gen. 17:1. With the new encounter comes a new demand ‘walk before me blameless.’ This shows the covenant is an agreement between 2 parties. There are mutual obligations and responsibilities in a covenant. God gives the best and Abram had to walk blameless. God wanted sincerity, honesty, holiness, and integrity from Abram and today he wants the same from us. Child of God many times we do not get the best from God because our ways are faulty. How is your Christian walk this morning? Will God find wickedness in you? If you want to get the best from God lead a blameless life.
Now, God gives 7 promises for leading a blameless life.
1. (V2) I will make a covenant with you.
2. (V2) I will multiply you.
3. (V6) I will make you fruitful exceedingly.
4. (V6) I will make of you many nations.
5. (V7) I will establish my covenant with your seed.
6. (V8) I will give your descendants the land of Canaan.
7. (V8) I will be their God.
Read Galatians 3:16 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.
Now Abram’s seed is Jesus Christ. God is telling us that all promises to Abram and to his seed is summed up or possessed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus is the inheritor of this promise. Therefore if you want to have that promise – the best of God in your life, we have to be in Christ, united with Him, and identified with Him. Remember we get those promises by walking blameless in Christ. For such a child of God He always gives his best.
3. Remember God is persistent in giving his best for you.
Child of God we must understand that God always wants the best for you and it is His persistence that we have the best even when we are content with the least.
a. God took initiative to come to Abram (Gen.17:1). Take note, for this new encounter, the initiative was taken by God. Abram probably was satisfied with his life but God wanted the best for him therefore He took the initiative. Child of God even when you are satisfied with what you have achieved maybe in your ministry, in your life, in your family etc., God is here to give you the best that you have ever seen.
b. God is persistent even when our faith struggles (Gen. 17:16-19). In Genesis 17:1-16 God said all that he is going to do with the promised son through Sarai. Look at Abram’s response. Abram is still thinking the promise of God is in Ishmael. He is content with Ishmael but God persists with his promise, i.e. the best for Abram.
Listen, God always is persistent with his promise to give you the best but we are not able to achieve it because many times we are satisfied with what we have. Today, what are the dreams that you have lost? Where do you think you are a failure? Remember God wants to give you success. All we have to do is change our thinking and say ‘I can do all things through him who gives me strength (Phil. 4:13).
Conclusion: God wants to give you the best in your life, then why settle for the least? Remember, your best years of life are ahead of you when God will give you his best. Your age is not a problem for God. Look at Abram, God gave him the best when he was 100 years of age. Therefore remember the best is yet to come for which we have to have a fresh encounter with God and God wants us to be blameless before him. Finally understand child of God it is God who is persistent to give you His best. Amen!
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