2024.03.17. Sermon Notes. IN THE BEGINNING – WALK BY FAITH. The Surrendered Life.
William Akehurst, HSWC
BIG IDEA: Abram was told by GOD to pack up his things, take his wife and leave his home place without even knowing where GOD was leading him. Can and would you do the same?
I’m reminded of a song that says, “Go Where GOD Leads you, for wherever HE Leads you is the WAY you should go. He’ll walk beside you all the way and HIS blessings you will know... if you’ll go.”
SCRIPTURES: 2 Corinthians 5:7, Genesis 12:1-20, Psalms 33:12, Psalms 122:6, Genesis 13:1-18, Acts 7:2-5, Isaiah 48:17, 2 Corinthians 2:14, Psalms 23:1-6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:21, Proverbs 16:9, Psalms 32:8, Psalms 37:23, Isaiah 58:11, Proverbs 20:24, Galatians 5:25, Romans 8:14, Psalms 143:10, Psalms 25:4-5, Psalms 119:105, Psalms 119:133, Psalms 143:8, Psalms 73:28, Hebrews 2:13, Galatians 2:20
HYMNS: 'Trust and Obey'; 'I Surrender All'
KEY VERSE
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
PROMISES
Genesis 12:1-20 Promises to Abram (Acts 7:2–5)
1 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.”
BLESSINGS
Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
Psalms 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.
Genesis 12:4-20
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Abram in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
Genesis 13:1-18 Abram Inherits Canaan
1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.
ACT OF FAITH
Acts 7:2-5
2 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
GO WHERE GOD LEADS YOU
When GOD asked Abram to pick up and go leaving his relatives behind. Abram obediently surrendered control to allow God to lead him. This is not only a profound act of faith, but of trust and obedience to the LORD.
When we walk by faith, we surrender from our control and turn to trust and allow GOD to lead us. Doing so releases HIS Blessings.
Be encouraged to Trust in GOD’s Guidance, Follow HIS Direction and Surrender your plans to HIM.
Blessings come from submitting to GOD’s Will and the Peace that accompanies walking in His ways.
May we be inspired to surrender our lives to GOD and experience the transforming Power of HIS leadership.
WHERE HE LEADS ME, I WILL FOLLOW…
Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.
WHEN WE ALLOW GOD TO LEAD US, WE CARRY HIS MESSAGE TO OTHERS
2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
Psalms 23:1-6
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
ORDERING OUR STEPS
Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
Proverbs 20:24 A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?
HOW? – SURRENDERING TO THE LORD
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
LISTEN AND SURRENDER TO HOLY SPIRIT
Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
ALLOWING GOD TO HAVE CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE
Psalms 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.
Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
A SPIRIT LED WALK BY FAITH FOR EVERY CHILD OF GOD
Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
CONCLUSION:
When we trust God completely and acknowledge Him in every area of our lives, He promises to lead, guide and direct our paths. It requires us to let go of our limited understanding and to Fully Rely On God’s infinite wisdom and providence instead. (F.R.O.G. – Fully Rely On GOD)
APPLICATION AND PRAYER - Are you ready and willing to surrender your life to a life that will FULLY RELY ON GOD?
Then Let’s Pray GOD's WORD out loud over your life,
FATHER,
Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. Ps 143:10
Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Ps 25:4-5
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Ps 119:105
Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. Ps 119:133
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. Ps 143:8
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
It is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works. Ps 73:28
And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” Hebrews 2:13a
Open my ears to hear, and let YOUR WORD change my life, in JESUS’ Name. Amen
DECLARATION (Speak GOD's WORD out loud over your life)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Bill
