Our Journey Through Life
Genesis 12: 1-9
I heard a story recently that a sailor started talking with a pirate, and they take turns telling about their adventures on the seas. The sailor notes that the pirate has a peg-leg, a hook-hand, and an eye patch. The sailor asks "So, how did you end up with the peg-leg?"
The pirate replies "We were in a storm at sea, and I was swept overboard into a school of sharks. Just as my men were pulling me out, a shark bit my leg off."
"Wow!" said the sailor. "What about your hook"?
"Well...", replied the pirate, "We were boarding an enemy ship and were battling the other men with swords. One of the enemy cut my hand off."
"Incredible!" remarked the sailor. "How did you get the eye patch"?
"A big bug flew into my eye.", replied the pirate.
"You lost your eye to a bug!?" the sailor asked incredulously.
"Well, yes...", said the pirate, "...it was my first day with the hook..."
. Things happen in life don’t they?
. We can be going along just fine and things happen.
. That’s what happens with the call of God also.
. We are going along in life and God calls.
. First He calls us to salvation and belief in him. That’s the first call.
. We looked at that call last week in Paul’s opening remarks to the Corinthian believers.
. That is not the only call we have though.
. After our salvation we are called also to work for God. The great passage in Ephesians that talks about our salvation being by God’s grace alone also tells us this.
.Ephesians 2:10: 10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
. We are saved for a purpose, we are called out, set apart to do the things that God has planned.
. Most of the time, this happens as part of our life. Not many are called into vocational ministry but we if we are Christians, we are called to do more than just warm a pew on Sunday morning.
. This morning sermon is about the other calls in our life after salvation.
. We are back in Genesis this morning. Chapter 12, we are starting to look at the life of Abram. We will start with the call of Abram.
.How many of you know who Abram is? You may know him better under another name, Abraham.
. Abram has been saved. We see this recorded for us in Joshua chapter 24.
. God is reminding the nation of Israel of their past and He is renewing his covenant with them. He tells them this in verse 2.
. 2Joshua said to the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods.
3But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan …
. God called Abram’s father and his entire family into a relationship with him. They were saved. That was God’s first call to them. He called Abram’s father Terah to pick up his family and move away from the worship of other Gods.
. Terah answered Gods’ call and moved his family to Haran. While there, he died and his son Abram became the leader of the family.
. That’s where our scripture picks up this morning.
. Genesis 12: 1-9
1The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
4So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan,
6Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD.
9Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
. Abram had moved to Haran and life was moving along. His father had died and all of a sudden, he had a call from God.
. God said Get up Abram and move away from most of your family. I have a job for you.
. You are saved, you have placed your faith and your trust in me and now I have something for you to do.
. God took this man Abram, later known as Abraham and created a nation. For Abraham came the nation of Israel.
. From the descendants of Abraham came our savior Jesus Christ. All because this man Answered God’s call as He was going through life.
. God didn’t call him to be a prophet or a preacher, He called him to live his life the way God wanted him to do.
. Just like the way He calls you this morning Christian.
.As you live your life, as you go through life, God will call you to work and minister in his kingdom.
. In this story this morning we see some principles that applied to Abram or anybody else that allows God to use them.
. The first thing we see is that;
. It doesn’t matter who you are
. You don’t have to be somebody special.
. Look at Abram, He was nothing special. Joshua tells us that before he was saved, he worshipped idols.
. His only claim to fame was that he was the son of Terah. That’s all we know. God didn’t go out looking for some charismatic leader to build a nation. All He required was someone who believed in him and was obedient to his call. He did the rest.
. That’s how God still works today.
. He does not call us based on who or what we are; He calls us to obedience and then He will do with us as He needs.
. I am a prime example of this. If God had used any criteria other than my Salvation, I would not be standing in front of you today. There is nothing good or great about me.
. Anything good that you see in me today is there because of what God has done in me.
. God’s call on our life means that He desires to call us, as we are, where we are and begin to lead us to the place He desires us to be and to become all that He wants to make us.
. Look back at verse 1 again;
. “ Leave your native country … go to the land I will show you…”
. God’s call is his desire to take us, as we are, where we are, to the place that will allow us to be all that God wants to make us.
. There is another principle that we see in the call of Abram.
. God’s Call will always require sacrifice
. It will always require a sacrifice that moves you away from something and toward what He wants you to do and be. That could be time. It could be money. It will always carry some type of sacrifice with it.
. Look at the sacrifice that Abram made.
. 1The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
. God called Abram to sacrifice for him.
. God called him to leave the country that he lived in, leave his relatives, and take off on a journey that you don’t even know the destination.
. God was calling him out of his comfort zone. It would have been real easy to ignore what God was telling him. Real easy to stay there with his family. I’m sure he was comfortable there. He was living in a country that he was familiar with. God was calling him out of his comfort zone and into the work that He had for him to do.
. Abram was willing to do what God wanted him to do. He was willing to give up all that he had accumulated, all the comforts of home, all the security of having his family close, in order to answer God’s call.
.Folks, if you and I are going to truly answer the call of God on our lives, we must be willing to give up the things necessary to answer his call. There will always be sacrifice in answering God’s call on our life.
. While we may have to sacrifice something, we can rest assured that God’s call will always:
.Come With Promises
. Look at verse 2&3 again:
. 2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
. I will make you a great nation Abram.
. In order for that to happen, he had to leave the nation he was in. He had to answer God’s call. He could only receive God’s promise if he answered his call.
. I will bless you Abram. You used to serve other Gods with your father but now, when you answer my call, I will bless you. If you will answer the call, you will be blessed.
. I will make your name great. I will make you famous Abram.
. Abram ,as Abraham went on to father the Jewish nation. Even today, Jews, Christians and Muslims speak of the greatness of Abraham.
. Jews as their patriarch, Christians as the ancestor of our Savior Jesus Christ and Muslims look upon him as their patriarch.
. Jews trace themselves back through Isaac, Abrahams son with Sarah and the Muslims trace themselves back through Ishmael, Abrahams son with his hand maiden Hagar.
.God did this because Abram answered the call.
. God’s final promise was that all the families of the earth would be blessed through Abram if he responded to God’s call.
. God fulfilled this promise through the birth death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. You and I would not be sitting here today if Abram had not responded to God’s call.
. God gives us a promise also when we respond to his call on our life.
. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He will always be there for us.
. In John chapter 15, Jesus is talking to his disciples, preparing them for what they will face after He is gone. He is giving them instructions, He is placing a call on their lives.
. In verse 26, He gives them and us a promise.
. 26“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
. Jesus is telling them and us; if you respond to my call, the Holy Spirit will be with you. The Spirit of God will strengthen you.
. That’s our promise today folks, God will bless you as you respond to his call in your life. If you don’t believe me, just ask someone who has stepped out on faith, stepped out of their comfort zone and been obedient to God. Ask them how God has blessed them and how they were strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit.
. Finally, answering God’s call on and in your life requires:
.Blind Faith
. Abram didn’t know where he was going but he trusted God.
. Abraham was seventy five years old when God told him that he would be the father of a great nation. He could have said come on God, I’m 75 years old, how can that be. How can you use an old man like that. He stepped out on faith though and look what happened.
. All of these obstacles were present but Abram still responded.
. Look at verse 4:
.4So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed …
. As we are going through our life, folks, God will ask us, call us, to action. That’s what Abrams call was. A call to action.
. In your life, God will call you to action.
. It does not matter who you are
. It will require sacrifice in some way
. God promises to be with you and bless you through it
. When God calls just respond to him in faith.
. As we go through this Journey we call life, God will call us to action in some way or another.
. God is calling some of you today.
. Some to serve. Christians, you are called to serve, will you respond to his call.
. Some are receiving their first call. The call to Salvation. Will you answer God’s call on your lives today.
Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
Brannon Revel, God’s Call, Sermon Central
Illustration from sermon central
