Get Up And Go! 7-30-06
Series: Can You Hear Me Now? Gen. 12:1-10
Intro. Walking from the back saying – “Can you hear me now?” I love cell phones. They’re convenient, inexpensive and practical. But as we all know, they do have a few little quirks. Do you know what drives me crazy about my cell phone? NO, it’s not the dropped calls because I know I can just call you right back. The thing that makes me want to smash my phone on the floor is when I’m talking to a friend and I can only hear every 3rd or 4th word. When that first happens I try to act like I know what you’ve said. But sooner or later I get so frustrated having to ask, “What’d you say?” that I normally just hang up and decide to talk with you later.
That same level of frustration due to the lack of communication is evident in the church today. Just look around you and notice all the xians who have given up on hearing and understanding God’s voice. They’ve decided it’s just plain easier to let others hear from God and then tell them what to do. Now that certainly is easier, but it’s not God’s plan for your life. He wants to speak directly into your life; he wants to communicate to you personally; He wants you to not only know what to do, but how to do it. And that’s what leads to the abundant life that Jesus promised…hearing and obeying God’s voice.
Over the next 4 weeks we’re going to work our way through a new series called, “Can you hear me now”. What I want us to do is to investigate how God continues to speak into the lives of individuals just like you and me. What I want you to remember is that my call and your call may look very different, that is God may speak to us in different ways, using different methods. But there is one similarity in every call that God issues to every human heart…He expects obedience.
We’re going to begin our series by looking at one of the most famous calls in Scripture. It is the call of Abraham found in Genesis 12. Let’s listen in as God calls Abraham and then step back to see what kind of eternal principles we can apply to God’s call in our lives. Read Gen. 12:1-10
I. God’s call requires major adjustments.
In v.1 God tells Abraham to do 2 specific things. Abraham is supposed to leave what he knows and go to a place that he doesn’t know. Leaving the familiar and going to the unknown is what I call having to make some major adjustments. In Henry Blackaby’s classic study, “Experiencing God” he says, “You can’t go with God and yet stay where you are”. In other words, following God always means moving into some unfamiliar territory. When God calls you, it will be a call from the familiar to the unknown. Think about it for a moment. When God called Moses it was from the backside of the desert to the palace of Pharaoh. When he called David it was from tending sheep to killing giants. And when God called the apostle Paul it was from persecuting the church to preaching the gospel. In every life, the call of God demands some major adjustments.
Now what kinds of adjustments did Abraham have to make in order to follow God? I think we can categorize his adjustments using 2 familiar words. Abraham was called to make a step of action and a step of faith. The action step finds its focus in the word “leave”. It took real determination for Abraham to leave behind the things we find listed here in v.1. Leave your country, you relatives and your father’s house. To leave his country meant leaving behind his old associations. It meant breaking way from some old friendships, the buddies he grew up with; the business associates he trusted and worked with. Leaving his country meant Abraham would have to relinquish his inheritance; he’d be giving up his security and his sense of belonging. This was a call to break away from the past and look to the future.
God’s call on Abraham to leave his relatives and his father’s house was a demand to sever the ties of that, which was once familiar and comfortable. To put it simply this was a call of separation. So instead of finding his strength and security in the things he knew, from this moment on Abraham would have to rely on God. Now before we get too embedded in the life of Abraham, let me remind you that the same call is issued to every person who follows Christ. That’s why 2 Cor. 5:17 says when a “person becomes a xian, he becomes a new person, they’re not the same anymore, the old life is gone and a new life has begun.”
God’s call on your life will always demand action, but that action will mean very little in the scheme of things unless it is accompanied by faith. In the last part of v.1 God says, “Go to the land that I will show you.” Hebrews 11:8 makes it a little clearer, “Abraham obeyed God and he went w/o knowing where he was going.” Now I’ve got to tell you, there’s not much that makes me more uncomfortable than NOT knowing where I’m headed. If Nancy and I are going to take a leisurely motorcycle ride, I can’t just head out w/o a destination. I’ve got to know where I’m going. But when God calls you, the chances are great that He won’t disclose your final destination. Do you know why? Because He’s more interested in what you’ll do during the journey than He is in arriving at the final destination. And guess what? The journey is all about FAITH!
Can you imagine what Abraham’s family and friends thought when he told them about his upcoming journey? “Hey guys, I’m talking off now. I’m leaving everything I’ve every known behind. All the things I’ve grown accustomed to and familiar with are in my past. And I’m going to follow God where ever he leads me.” Then his family asks – where is God leading you? And Abraham says, “I don’t really know yet, but I do know this - He is leading me somewhere.” Now that’s what faith is all about!
Faith is both scary and exciting at the same time. It’s scary because it’s a journey into unknown. But it’s exciting because it’s a journey into unknown. As I wrote this sermon I began to think about the journey our church is on right now. Do you realize how similar the life of our church is to the life of Abraham? We’ve been called to leave that which is familiar and comfortable and go to a place that’s unknown. God is calling our church to break with our past, to uproot our present and to dream about our future. Just in case it’s been a while since you’ve dreamed about our future let me give you a verse to think about – 1 Cor 2:9 (NLT) “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” Can I share you with some of my dreams about our future? I dream about a facility that can accommodate 1,000 people. It’s got a stage big enough to handle our band, our praise teams, our dramas and dance teams. Out front we’ve got a café and bookstore where people come everyday of the week to read and relax. In this dream our ministries reach way beyond our church. We’ve got ministries that meet physical needs like clothes closets, food pantries, car repairs, and hair stylists. We’ve also got ministries designed to touch the medical needs of our community – medical clinic, chiropractic and maybe even dental work. I see a counseling center that meets the emotional needs of our community and of course the heart of our church is a worship center where people come to hear about and experience the forgiveness and love of our great God. Abraham had no idea where he would end up, but that was OK because he trusted God. I think that’s what God is looking for out of you and me – a simple trust regardless of where we end up.
II. God’s call is accompanied by his promises. Vs.1-3
I love these first 3 verses because they are filled with the “I will’s” of God. “I will show you, I will cause you, I will bless you and I will make you.” Now do you notice anything that seems to be missing? It’s usually the one thing we all want when God calls us to do something. We want a reason for doing what we’re called to do. We want an explanation for leaving the familiar and heading out into the unknown. But instead of reasons, God gives us His promises.
Now we don’t have the time to go into these promises individually. So let me group them together into 3 distinct categories. When God calls you to serve him, he makes the promise of adequate provision, a hopeful future and eternal impact.
The promise of provision in Abraham’s life was the land that would one day belong to his descendents. The peculiar thing about this land was the fact that Abraham never owned a single acre of it and yet it supported him for most of his life. Here’s what I want you to remember – provision is not always the same as ownership. It doesn’t matter how many acres we own. What matters is, what are we doing with the things God has provided for us?
The second promise has to do with the future. Look at what God said in v.2 – I will make you the father of a great nation. Now look back at 11:30 – Sari, Abraham’s wife was barren, she couldn’t have kids. So how was God going to make Abraham a father? It was going to take a miracle…and God did exactly what was needed! Now remember God’s promise took a lot longer than Abraham was comfortable with. In fact this promise wasn’t fulfilled until Abraham was 100 yrs old! But I’ll guarantee you that Abraham would say it was worth the wait! When it comes to our future – it may be a ways off yet, but I promise what ever God does will be worth the wait.
The third promise is one that reaches beyond the physical realm and touches eternity. The last phrase in v.3 promises that all the families of earth will be blessed through you. What in the world did that mean? How could Abraham, a simple nomad, living in the middle of nowhere bless every family in the world? This is what’s known as a prophetic blessing. It’s really speaking about the coming of the messiah through the line of Abraham. God was promising Abraham that one of his descendents would be the messiah and through Him, we all would be blessed. When I think about that promise and apply it to The Mount it excites me to know that we have the potential to change eternal destinies. By simply sharing the truth about Jesus Christ we can make an impact on eternity. When we choose to leave our comfort zones and go into the unknown areas of this world, that’s when we can claim the power and provision of these promises. I hope you’re ready to go! I know I am.
III. God’s call knows no boundaries. V.4
It amazes me when I stop and think about all the boundaries and barriers that we tend to erect when it comes to God’s call. What’s one of the first things that comes to your mind when you think about God using you for anything that might be considered significant? Do you say something like “Oh I’m not capable of that, I’m not gifted in that area, I’ve never done that before”? That’s what I would call the boundary of ability. God doesn’t chose you according to your abilities, if he did none of us would ever be chosen. Look at Abraham – what kind of abilities did he possess to become the father of the faithful or the leader of a new nation? NONE – and yet God used him in spite of his lack of ability.
There’s another popular boundary that people use to disqualify themselves or others from God’s call. It’s something we all have to deal with…its our past. Have you ever thought to yourself, “God could never use me because of the things I’ve done”? If you dig deep enough into anyone’s life you’ll probably find something that would disqualify them from public office. But that’s not the truth when it comes to God’s call on your life. Just look at Abraham’s past. When God called him out of Ur he wasn’t the righteous, faithful man we all hear about in Sunday School. In fact he was a pagan idol worshipper. He was just like everybody else in Ur – lost and clueless about the one true God. But that kind of past life didn’t stop God from calling him and using him to change the destinies of millions of people. And your past doesn’t have to disqualify you either.
There’s one other boundary that often comes to mind – AGE. How many times have you heard someone say “God can’t use them…they’re too old or too young”? Age is not boundary for God – look at v.4 – how old was Abraham when God called him? 75 yrs old! Do you remember what he apostle Paul said to Timothy? Don’t let anyone look down on your youth. In other words – you’re not too young for God’s call. Some of you here today fall into this category. You’ve decided that you’re either too young or too old to hear from God and make a difference for eternity. Listen to me closely – age is no boundary for God. He’ll use you, if you are willing to leave the familiar and go towards the unknown.
IV. Unexpected results from your obedience.
The bible says that we can expect 2 things when we respond to God’s call on our life. The first one is exciting and positive, but the second one is negative and a bit scary. But both of these results play an important role in the drama of our faith. The first thing we can expect from obedience is a new found intimacy with God. Look at v.7 – “The Lord appeared to Abram”. This is the first time we see this expression in Scripture. It is an indication of intimacy. God reveals himself to those who are wiling to obey his word. So if you’re feeling estranged from God, perhaps it has something to do with your lack of obedience? Pray about it and ask God to show you where you need to obey.
The second thing that happens when we obey isn’t quite as much fun as intimacy with God. Look at v.10 – “At that time there was a severe famine”. It was so severe that Abraham had to leave the Promise land and go down to Egypt. Now wait a minute, I thought when you obeyed God everything worked out A-OK? Well, not exactly. You see obedience is never the guarantee of an easy, leisurely life. In fact it’s just the opposite. Obeying God is often the most difficult thing you’ll ever do. There will be hardships and heartaches along the way. You need to know this, you know to understand following God daily is the toughest thing you’ll ever do. BUT – it is by far the greatest and most exciting lifestyle you can choose. Jesus said, in this world you’ll have tribulations, troubles, but I have overcome the world. Following God’s call on your life is an adventure and with every adventure there are trying times. But these are the things that make you strong and spiritually mature.
I’m convinced that God has called our church to one of the greatest adventures in her life. You and I get the privilege of helping our church leave the familiar and launch out into the unknown. There will be hardships and trials, but the intimacy with God will outweigh anything we’ll have to face. So I invite you to join me on this great adventure as we hear and obey God’s call on our life.
