Intro:
1. Bill White, "Two days ago, I was kneeling in prayer in the front room of our house at 6:30 a.m. I’d just confessed sins and was asking God for a blessing that day, needing to feel loved by him.
Our little boy, Timothy, twenty-two months old, had just gotten up, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he had sneaked quietly into the front room. He is always quiet in the morning when I’m praying because his mom tells him to be, but this time he ambled straight over to me, put a hand on my clasped hands, and said, "Hi, special one. Hi, special one. Hi, special one."
Never once has he called me that before. Six times he called me "special one." He said it enough for me actually to get it — that God was speaking to me and giving me a blessing.
2. Abram was a "special one" not because of what he had done, but because of what God was about to do for him. Truth is, every believer is a "special one" blessed by what God has done.
3. Blessed!
Trans:Gen. 12:1-3
I. FIRST, BLESSING OF THE SECOND CHANCE.
A. The Lord had said.
Now the Lord had said to Abram - Ac. 7 is clear that God first spoke to Abram when he was in Ur.
B. The Lord is now speaking.
Some 15 years later, the Lord speaks again while Abram is in Haran. v. 4
Trans:This is a second chance!
God is the God of the Second Chance [not second and in one, two; but as in another chance].
Moses murdered a man, but 40 years later God gave him a second chance to deliver Israel...
Israelites entire history is that of second chances, in the book of Judges, a repeated cycle of Rebellion and Restoration...
David's kingdom was restored after his fling with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah...
Peter denied the Lord 3 times, yet was restored to being the key note speaker at Pentecost...
John Mark deserted Paul but was restored to service...
Jonah willfully turned his back on God's commission, but the "word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time!"
IN FOOTBALL, basketball, and most sports, there is a halftime. Halftime is an extended break in the middle of a game so that the players can get themselves together.
This is also a time for a coach to call in a struggling team, acknowledge the team's performance, and encourage them to do a better job in the second half.
The beauty of halftime is that there is a whole second half in which a team can turn things around. Halftime acts as a grace period. No matter how messed up the first half might have been, the second half provides an opportunity to make things right.
For many Christians, they have had a bad first half of play in the Christian life. The good news is that God gives halftimes where He encourages us to repent of sin, and begin depending upon His Spirit to live a transformed life.
II. FURTHERMORE, BLESSED BY BEING SELECTED BY A DIVINE CALL.
Abraham had a divine call from God! Ac. 7:2-3
Moses got a divine call from God. Ex. 3:10
Gideon got a divine call from God. Jud.6:14
Isaiah the prophet. Isa. 6:8
Paul. Ac.9:15
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." John 15:16 (NKJV)
You are just as chosen! To Salvation - "4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:4-6
To Service - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)
Trans:What a blessing to be chosen by God!
Bridget Willard, gave this testimony, "A coworker and I were trading stories today about how we got our jobs. We were expressing thanksgiving that, during this time of uncertainty, we each have such a wonderful job, with unspeakable benefits, and a great boss.
An appointment today with Aflac caused us to both investigate and really think about our company’s benefits. Line by line, our employer has already provided anything we would ever need. From disability to a fully-funded pension. We were literally relishing in our "blessing."
I "got my job" because the Corporate Secretary, my boss’ mom, called me at my old job (while I was training my replacements) and said, "I heard you are available." That, at the time, was God showing me His Provision. They were not advertising for the position of "office manager." They were not collecting resumes. I had not made it known that I was available nor had I applied or inquired for my job. The longer I look back, the more I realize that I was chosen.
That's true of all Christians! God calls us not based on our advertising or skills or resume or even seeking Him out.
III. NEXT, BLESSED BY BEING SEPARATED FROM A PAGAN COUNTRY AND FAMILY.
Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house - We are to be separtated from this world-system and from those who would draw us away from our commitment to Christ.
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open. 14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." 17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." 18 "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:11-18 (NKJV)
Tozer, "The church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different, rises with the degree in which she differs and sinks as the difference diminishes.
This is so fully and clearly taught in the Scriptures and so well illustrated in Church history that it is hard to see how we can miss it. But miss it we do, for we hear constantly that the Church must try to be as much like the world as possible, excepting, of course, where the world is too, too sinful....
Let us plant ourselves on the hill of Zion and invite the world to come over to us, but never under any circumstances will we go over to them. The cross is the symbol of Christianity, and the cross speaks of death and separation, never of compromise. No one ever compromised with a cross. The cross separated between the dead and the living. The timid and the fearful will cry "Extreme!" and they will be right. The cross is the essence of all that is extreme and final. The message of Christ is a call across a gulf from death to life, from sin to righteousness and from Satan to God."
IV. FOURTH, BLESSED BY BEING SUPPLIED WITH COUNTLESS BLESSINGS.
A. Property.
To a land that I will show you - this is an earthly, literal land which God has given unconditionally to Abraham and his physical descendants.
They have never occupied all the land that God has promised them, but will when Christ returns and sets up His earthly kingdom. Gen. 13:14-15, 17
B. Posterity.
I will make you a great nation - his descendants would turn into a great nation. Turn of the TV and watch the news, it won't be long before you hear of the Nation of Israel.
Today the Jews are surrounded by a multitude of enemies who want to drive them into the Mediterranian sea.
Recently, the Iranian president, Ahmadinejad declared, "Israel must be wiped off the map."
The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader, Muhammad Mehdi Akef, "I declare that we will not recognize Israel which is an alien entity in the region. And we expect the demise of this cancer soon."
Did you know, that no Arab country, not Egypt, not Jordan, not in any Arab country, does Israel appear in official maps.
All major Palestinian organizations are centered around the goal of destroying Israel. The Palestinian National Charter declares its aim to be "the elimination of Zionism in Palestine."
The charters of Hamas and Hezbollah both explicitly state that their goal is to "obliterate Israel."
There are about 5 million Jews in Israel, by contrast you have 21 countries with a combined population of about 360 million, straddling North Africa and Wester Asia. We are talking over 15 million Jews in the world, compare that with 1.57 billion Muslins in the world.
Outnumber, hated, and yet there they are - and there they will remain! How can this be? God!
C. Prosperity.
I will bless you -
1. Spiritually.
Abraham was declared righteous; experienced many close encounters with God; and we have been blessed also. Eph.1:3
Consider:
An acceptance that can never be questioned. (Ephesians 1:6).
An inheritance that can never be lost (I Peter 1:3-5).
A deliverance that can never be excelled (2 Corinthians l:10).
A grace that can never be limited (2 Corinthians 12:9).
A hope that can never be disappointed. (Hebrews 6:18, 19).
A bounty that can never be withdrawn. (I Colossians 3:21-23).
A joy that need never be diminished (John 15:11).
A nearness to God that can never be reversed (Ephesians 2:13).
A peace that can never be disturbed (John 14:27).
A righteousness that can never be tarnished (2 Corinthians 5:21).
A salvation that can never be canceled (Hebrews 5:9).
2. Materially.
As we will see Abraham was blessed with Livestock, Silver and gold, and Servants. Gen. 13:2; 15:7; 24:34-35
Trans:While we reject the name it and claim it mentality, we are often guilty of belittling material blessings and earthly life.
Mt.6:33/Ro.8:32...
Fred Smith, an influential Christian businessman was seriously ill in the summer of 2004. He was hospitalized, semiconscious, and not expected to live.
Periodically he would mutter, "I want to go home, I want to go home." After an emotional family conference, the family concluded they should respect Fred’s wishes and allow him to die. They agreed to remove him from dialysis, knowing that his death would come in a few days.
For the 36 hours, Fred’s family sang, read Scripture, prayed, and said their good-byes. Fred seemed to get worse; he went into pulmonary failure and choking aspiration. His daughter Brenda sat with him at midnight, begging God for answers.
Fred awoke. Brenda quietly told her dad of the family’s decision to follow his desire to "go home." She explained that he would slip into unconsciousness and then step "from here to there."
Suddenly Fred’s eyes were wide open: "Home? I didn’t mean heaven; I meant Parkchester [his house on Parkchester Drive]." Laughing through tears, Brenda quickly called the doctors to reschedule his dialysis, and Fred returned to what he called "the washing machine." A year later, while still prepared to go to his heavenly home, Fred was happy to be at his current home in Dallas.
This past week was like a vacation - did not have any grandkids to watch; no wednesday service; I looked forward to a time of spiritual blessing.
But there was no great revelation - just a refreshing week of sleeping in, enjoying the beauty of sitting outside, leasurly reading my Bible and enjoying being alive!
D. Prominence.
I will make your name great - Abraham is highly respected even today in Judaism, among Muslims, and Christians.
E. Provision for others. 12:2b-13a
We will see this throughout the book...
F. Protection.
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; - God has protected Israel throughout her history.
As Hitler found out - those who curse her will be cursed and that includes America!
We, the church has also been promised the blessing of protection. Ac.5:33/Rom. 8:31-
Lorrie Anderson, missionary to the head-shrinking Candoshi Shapra Indians of Peru, was looking for a quiet place for her daily time of Bible reading and prayer, so she went down by the edge of the river.
After reading the Bible, she took up her prayer list. Eyes closed, she did not see the deadly ana-conda weaving through the water until it struck, burying its fangs into her flesh. It withdrew to strike, hitting her arm again and again as it held her.
It reared up for the death blows. Then suddenly the giant snake, never known to release its prey, relaxed its grip and slithered off through the water. While Lorrie was being treated, a witch doctor from a nearby village burst into the hut and stared at her. She couldn't believe Lorrie had survived. She said her son-in-law, also a witch doctor, had chanted to the spirit of the ana-conda that morning and sent it to kill the young missionary. "I'm certain," Lorrie said, "that except for the protection of God, it would have worked."
Satan would love do kill us, but He can do nothing without God permission.
G. Promise seed.
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed - this is talking about the Messiah.
"17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:17-18 (NKJV)
"15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ." Galatians 3:15-16 (NKJV)
Spurgeon, "The very essence of it, was that Abraham, was to be made a blessing to the world, by virture of his connection with Jesus Christ. Our Lord was descended from Abraham; Our Savior was a Jew...."
Con:
1. Blessed! I wonder if we realize that we are "special ones," those blessed by God.
2. One day a group of young boys decided that they would dig a hole in their backyard "all the way through to China." They dug for several days, playing games in the hole, collecting bugs and worms, and attracting the attention of others in the neighborhood.
After a few days, an older sibling wandered by and demanded to know what the young boys were doing. When he heard the answer, he laughed as only "big brothers" seem to know how to do. "How ridiculous!" he trumpeted. "You'll never get all the way to China!"
One of the young boys responded by picking up the container full of bugs and worms and declaring, "Even if we don't get to China, look at all the neat stuff we found along the way!"
Don't get so preoccupied with trying to reaching all those big goal, that you miss the neat blessings along the way!
I have spent many weeks in my life seeking some big Charles Finny experience and ended up disappointed and even angry at God for not responding;
How refreshing to just experience, the ordinary neat stuff, of being blessed by God.
Johnny Palmer Jr
