TRAVELING WITH A PURPOSE
When you are traveling you have a destination in mind. When you are traveling with a purpose you are traveling with an objective in mind. When you're traveling with a promise you are traveling because you have a goal to reach.
The Journey Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Verse 1, now the Lord had said to Abram:
Those who leave their sins, and turn to God, will be unspeakable gainers by the change.
The command God gave to Abram is much the same with the gospel call, for natural affection must give way to Divine grace.
Sin, and all the occasions of it, must be forsaken; particularly the wrong type of company one keeps.
I. AS GOD GIVE ABRAM INSTRUCTIONS, WE HAVE TO ASK OUR SELF:
1. Are you willing to listen? To listen means- you hear.
2. I Corinthians- Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
a. Before you can take off on your journey you have to hear God you have to:
b. Your heart have to be in the right place
c. You must have a listening ear
II. ABRAHAM LISTENED TO GOD
a. There are 3 points I need you to remember about Abraham
i. He understood the Timing-There is a time when God wants to move in our lives and we have to be prepared to make the move.
ii. Servants attitude-Humility is essential, God don’t need any puffed, stiff-necked people.
iii. Determination- He has a tendency to move in a fixed direction.
III. BEING A SERVANT OF CHRIST IS LIKE A BUS RIDE:
a. We need to view our Christian walk as being like a bus ride. We ride for a while and stop at various stations along the way
b. Then we get off the bus at the station to stretch their legs, go for a walk, buy an ice-cream
c. But every time we stop, there is a risk that we’re taking. We may decide to stay where we’re at.
d. We like the little city, like the climate, the people are friendly, the real estate is cheap.
e. But a servant of Christ does not have that option. We need to get back on the bus because THAT station is not the place God’s want us to be at.
f. His destination is the Holy City, New Jerusalem, He wants us in the Garden of Gethsemane, on Solomon’s Porch, He wants us in His glory.
g. We continue to hop back on the bus because like Abraham, we trust the Lord to lead us on the next part of our journey.
h. And that journey takes us in the exact direction we need, individually and as a church.
i. When we get off the bus, and stay put, we are missing out on the next exciting installment in the journey, a journey that takes us closer to our ultimate destination, and one that promises exciting spiritual growth.
IV. THE APOSTLE PAUL
a. He traveled with a purpose.
b. He had encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road.
c. He was left blind from it.
d. He was the archenemy of Christians.
e. Now he needed a friend.
f. God was at work in his life.
V. PAUL WAS BEFRIENDED (Acts 9:10-22)
a. God asked Annanias to go to Saul
b. Annanias was afraid (vv. 13-14)
c. God assured Annanias (vv. 15-16)
d. Annanias obeyed God. (v. 17)
e. Paul is helped (vv. 18-19)
f. His life was changed (vv.20-22)
VI. PAUL WAS BAPTIZED (Acts 9:7-18)
a. He surrendered to God’s will (vv. 5-6)
b. He acted on his commitment by following the Lord in baptism
c. Have you followed the Lord in baptism?
VII. PAUL WAS PERSECUTED (Acts 9: 23-35)
a. Paul gave up a lot to follow Jesus, but he gained love, peace, joy, purpose
b. The Jews sought to kill him (v.23)
c. Greeks sought to kill him (v.29)
d. Christians rejected him (v.26)
e. We pray for God to change people & then won’t accept them when He does!
VIII. PAUL UNITED WITH THE CHURCH (Acts 9:26-30)
a. Paul did not give up on the church in spite of being rejected by some. Some of you may feel like doing so today.
b. Barnabas stood up for Paul & he was finally accepted (vv. 27-28)
c. What keeps you from uniting with a church? Is this God’s place for you? If it is, don’t put this decision off.
CONCLUSION
Paul’s Journey was not so different from our own. Have you completed it?
1. Abraham had to climb Mount Moriah
2. Noah had to build a boat before it ever rained
3. Moses had to travel through the wilderness to go back to Egypt
4. David had to be a King in a cave
5. Daniel had to be a lion tamer
6. Shadrach, Meshach, and a bad negro had to be fireproof
7. Elijah had to run faster than a chariot
8. Jeremiah had to preach to a people who he was told would never receive his message
9. Ezekiel had to prophesy life into dead dry bones and watch them turn into a great army
10. Sampson had to push down a pagan temple with his bare hands
11. Jonah had to go where didn’t wanna go
12. John had preach in the middle of nowhere
13. Jesus had to deny himself and face the enemy
14. Paul was a preacher that was born out-of-season
So, I encourage to keep preaching when folks won’t listen
Keep preaching if the seats are empty
Preach on rainy days just like on sunny days
Preach on the highways and the byways
Preach in season and out of season
Preach whether the folks like your preaching or not
Preach that sin is still sin
Preach that the church is relevant, restorative and right
Preach that about this time on tomorrow
Preach the word, preacher while you’re traveling with a purpose.
Some folks are like a Canoe-need paddling
Some folks are like a Kite-so high strung
Some folks are like a Light-On and off
Some folks are like a Clouds-when they go away it's a brighter day
Some folks are like a Slinkie-aint good for nothing
Some folks are like a Trees-they take forever to grow up
Some folks are like a Snakes-forked tongue and poisonous
Some folks are like a Wooden nickel-two side and still worthless
Some folks are like Gnats-they always buzzing in your ear
Some people are like a piano-always playing in the church
Some people mouths are like a refrigerator-always running
Some folks are like a tag on new shirt-always on your back
Some folks are like a Almond Joy-some are sweet but then you have some nuts
But despite all of that keep preaching man of God, keep preaching woman of God
