You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine

Have you ever found yourself in a desperate situation?

Perhaps, you’ve found yourself surrounded by people that didn’t mean you any good.

Perhaps, you’ve found yourself overwhelmed with financial stress and strain.

Perhaps, you’ve found yourself going through some type of personal problem within your family life that has caused you to find yourself trapped in the difficulty and dilemma of desperation.

Have you gotten to a point in life where it seems as if the enemy has kept you from the destiny that G-D has ordained for you?

Have you gotten to the point where you’re just about ready to give up?

Does it seem like your FAITH has FALTERED GUMPTION is GONE

Your HOPE has been HALTED

YOUR VICTORY has VANISHED

If so, you have a choice to make....

Do you remember the game show “Let’s Make a Deal” w/ Monty Hall and later w/Wayne Brady?

The premise of “Let’s Make a Deal” was such that contestants were selected from the audience who would adorn themselves in crazy costumes to catch the attention of the host; the contestants were referred to as “traders” and in most cases the “trader” would be offered something of value and given the choice to keep what they have been given or perhaps exchange it for something else.

What is unknown to the “trader” is what the other item is – so they have to choose what’s behind “Door Number 1” “Door Number 2” or “Door Number 3” and hoping that whatever they choose they don’t “Zonk Out” – but as we all have come to learn is, life is no game show...

Now the last time Abram had gone to Egypt it was because of famine, but prior to that the L- RD (in Chapter 12) had given Abram instructions for his destiny.

Abram was told:

1. Leave your Country

2. Leave your Family

3. Leave your Daddy’s House

4. Get to your Destiny (the land I will show you)!

So what does Abram do, he leaves Haran at the age of 75 with his wife and his nephew....

They leave Haran, go into Canaan, travels through (I’m still in Chapter 12 of Genesis verse 6 now), Shechem and at this time Canaanites were in the land.

G-D says to him (Abram), “I’m going to give this land to your children”. With such a mighty WORD from the L-RD comes a time for worship, so Abram builds an altar unto the L- RD. He moves on east of Bethel and pitches a tent with Bethel now on the west and (H)Ai on the east and then builds another altar unto the L- RD (watch this now, he builds himself a tent, but builds G-D an altar) and begins to worship our G-D.

In verse 9 it lets us know Abram kept moving towards the South (Negev); and then there was famine so severe, they go to Egypt.

Now Abram (although given promises by G- D), but his faith was tested, and he fails this test miserably....but isn’t it just like G-D that when we fail HIM, HE is yet faithful towards us?

The commands of G-D are always attached to a Promise; HE told Abram to separate himself from his country, kindred, his father’s house and go to your “Destiny”!

Now look what happens here in our text (back in Chapter 13), Abram returns to this land what was promised to his children; and he goes back to the place where he originally built an altar.

G-D had shown HIMself faithful and blessed Abram with wealth and possessions, but before he goes back to the place where he worshipped G-D, our text in Verse 1 says that Abram left Egypt and went South (the interesting thing about this South is, this is the same direction Moses takes Israel when they make their Exodus from Egypt, they too go South, we refer to this place as “the wilderness” (there they wandered for 40 years).

Likewise Abram goes through this “wilderness”.

Do you see what’s happening here? In Chapter 12, Abram messes up, he doubts G-D; he got off track, so here he is back-tracking!

Abram is retracing his steps and heading back to the place where he first came, heading back to the place where he first called on the NAME of the L-RD, but before he does this he goes through a wilderness experience.

Then, verse 4 says to us, ‘Abram finds himself at the altar which he made there at first and begins to call upon the L-RD.’

So you see, Abram is giving us a pattern (a methodology) towards DESTINY!

Abram messed up, but he remembered the best way to get back on track is to go back to the place we were before we messed up! So, Abram worships the L-RD.