Preparing to Go

Excuses

It’s amazing when chores need to be done, how quickly my children can make themselves scarce.

Actually, it’s perhaps only fair to acknowledge that for the most part, my children are generally pretty good when it comes to doing chores around the house.

But that being said, if I were to call out for example - ‘hey, can someone set the table for dinner’… well, let’s just say I normally hear a whole lot of silence.

But then when you push one in particular, I can almost predict the response - but I did it last night.... I always have to do it.

Again, I can’t really complain. For the most part they are good.

But it’s a behaviour that I think we can all be guilty of at times.

We see a need, and our brain straight away thinks of the excuse to get out of it.

Now, it’s possible that the excuse is actually legitimate. Just because there is a need, doesn’t mean that it’s your job to fill it.

But sometimes it’s more than just seeing a need. Sometimes we see the need, and whether we’re prepared to acknowledge it or not, we actually have this prompting inside us… ‘maybe this is for you’.

This could be something biggish, like stepping out into a new ministry role, but it could also be something quite different, like finally inviting your next door neighbour to church.

Whatever it is, we can be quick to point out how we would not be good for the task. Perhaps it’s something different to what we’ve done in the past. Or maybe it’s actually something you’ve done so much in the past that your just a bit sick and tired of it now.

In some ways, the specifics of your excuse is not the point. The reality is, God is trying to nudge you in a certain direction, but you don’t really want to go.

And that’s what I want to think about this morning. What’s stopping you from moving in the direction God wants you to move? And how are you going to get over this so that you can stop dragging your feet, and actually start moving?

Abram

Well, I’m going to use Genesis 12 as a bit of a case study for us this morning.

Where going to meet Abram, and in the one chapter where going to see how he both simply moves in the direction God sends him, but also how he also moves in the wrong direction after coming up with some pretty convincing excuses.

But let me first introduce our main character - Abram.

First thing to note is that I’m calling him Abram, which perhaps some of you might be thinking - I’ve heard of Abraham, but who’s Abram. The simple answer is, they’re the same person.

It’s actually later in chapter 17 that God himself changes his name from Abram to Abraham. It’s a significant change, but one that falls outside what I’m talking about today - so perhaps you can ask me later about it if you want to know.

But because we’re looking at chapter 12 this morning, I’m going to call him Abram.

Right, so I’ve established his name, but what do we know about him.

Well, the first mention of his name actually comes at the end of chapter 11.

His Father’s name is Terah, and he has two brother named Nahor and Haran. Sadly, his brother Haran dies, leaving a son named Lot, who we’ll find becomes actually quite close to Abram, even if they do have their significant differences.

In addition to this, Abram has a wife called Sarai, although like Abram, you’re probably more familiar with the name she receives later, namely Sarah.

Well, at the end of chapter 11, we learn that Terah, Abram, Sarai and Lot, get up and move from a place called Ur of the Chaldeans, and settled in a place called Harran.

Why did this move take place? Well, we’re not actually told. At the end of chapter 11, it’s not particularly specific about why various moves happen.

In the last verse of chapter 11, we’re told that the father Terah, dies while they are in Harran. Abram is now in that role as leader.

The call to Go

But then comes chapter 12, and it starts with God speaking directly to Abram.

And it starts with the word ‘Go’.

In fact, what’s perhaps most surprising about this opening command is actually how simple it is.

God just says, I want you to go from your country… more than that in fact… to also go from your people and even go from your father’s household… but surely to go in such a way, you want to know where you’re going. But God simple says, go to the land I will show you.

Now I’m think at this point, if I were Abram, I might be saying - ‘wait a sec God… I’m going to need a few more details… I’m going to need to know specifically where it is your leading. Is it going to be hot or cold. Are the people there going to be friendly and hostile?’

Now this perhaps sounds a bit like me as I go up to PNG in a few weeks time.

Many of you know that I’m going to Gono. Something that it completely different to anything I’ve ever done. And part of me wants to know everything now. I want all surprising to be revealed now.

And look, it is actually good to be prepared. Having good preparation is actually part of using the wisdom that God has given us.

But sometimes it moves from beyond just being wise, and into the territory of not actually trusting God.

A matter of trust

And that’s what this boils down to. Do we actually trust God.

When God tells Abram to go… he’s got a choice. He can say, well, if God has told me to go, and he has said that he will guide me, then I just need to trust him. Or he could say, no, I’m not going to trust God, I want to know everything now.

Thankfully for us - Abram chose to trust God.

I say thankfully for us, because what happens as a result is actually the start of God’s most amazing plan of redeeming all of humanity.

It’s not my plan to focus for too long on this today, but if we were to explore verses 2 and 3 in detail, we would find a promise God makes to Abram, that not only will Abram become blessed, but quite incredibly, all peoples on earth will be blessed through him.

What you actually find, is that this promise here is essentially the entire story line of the Bible - a story line that will climax in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

But here’s the thing… Abram didn’t realise exactly what this promise was at the time. Sure there is some hints - it certainly sounds like it’s going to be something big. But Abram just needed to take God at his word.

Verse 4 simply says - “so Abram went”.

We’re not exactly told what’s going through Abram thoughts at this particular point in time. I suspect he’s questioning the wisdom in this move. But he goes.

He takes his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, and they travel through the land, as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem.

More information

It’s interesting that when we get to verse 7, Abram gets a little more information.

Previously he’d been told to go to the land that God will show him - not exactly a precise location… but not, while they are in the land of the Canaanites - he’s finally told - this is the land… this is the land that I’m going to give to your offspring.

But what I want you to notice here is that quite often, when God tell us to do something, it’s not until we’re on the move that we actually get the extra details.

My calling

I know this was the case for me when I went in to pastoral ministry.

There was quite a long process of calling, which I won’t go into all those details just now.

But eventually I was convinced that yes, God was calling me to ministry.

And to be honest, I wanted to know what’s next. I wanted to map out all of the next steps before I finally put my resignation in at my current job.

You see, for those who don’t know, I had a nice little secure job at Hunter Water.

In fact, I had an experience where I applied for accreditation with the Baptist Association while I was still at Hunter Water. When I first applied, I actually got knocked back - something that I found very confusing.

But looking back on it, what I believe is clear, is that God was saying, I need you to trust me. I want you to step out without some self-formed safety net. God wanted me to show that I trusted him.

So eventually I realised I needed to put my resignation in without knowing what was going to happen next.

I did just that, and for a few months, it was like God left me hanging. But when the time was right, God finally said, okay, I’m going to send you to Tanilba Bay.

Even then, I had to follow that path God set before me before I would see where things would lead.

Fear

But let me get back to the story of Abram, because after we see this great example of Abram moving in faith - something for which he is commended in the New Testament… well, let’s just say the second half of chapter 12 doesn’t go quite so well.

But this is often what happens. You see, as much as Abram was a mighty man of faith, he also had his moments of weakness.

In verse 10, we read that there was a famine in the land.

Up to this point in the story, Abram has been following where God tells him to go.

This time however, there is no indication from God at all for Abram to move on.

Now maybe you could form an argument that perhaps some of Abram’s other movements aren’t specifically preceded by a direct command from God, but what seems quite apparent on this situation is that Abram is actually moving out of fear.

And it’s not as if it was a completely unfounded fear. Presumably the rains have stopped meaning there’s not enough food.

And when there’s not enough food, I can understand why Abram wanted something more secure. He knows there’s a very fertile land down at Egypt, and so off he goes with his wife.

Now what would have happened had he actually stopped a moment and asked God what he should be doing?

I am getting into the territory of speculating here as the Bible doesn’t specify it for us, but I certainly wonder whether God would have actually told Abram had he asked - no, I want you to stay and trust me.

Whatever the case, Abram does go down to Egypt.

Now we can argue whether we think this first move was one done out of fear or not. However the narrative seems to make it very clear that Abram’s next move was very much done out of fear.

You see, the Bible records for us some of the interaction between Abram and his wife Sarai. He explains his fear that because of the beauty of his wife, if he says that Sarai is his wife, then they will just kill him - so we’re best to just lie about it and say that they are brother and sister.

Where has that man who had such a simple trust in God?

But this is so easy to do.

How many times have you stopped doing something out of fear?

Has God ever told you to be more generous with giving your money, only for you to hesitate, because after all, you need that money… you’ve got plans for that money… you won’t be able to cope without it.

Or have you felt a prompting to do something more up front, only for this niggling fear to develop inside you… what if I make a fool of myself? What if people don’t like what I do?

Sometimes you don’t even need a lot of reason for that fear. Once a little seed of fear enters, it often doesn’t take much for it to find a fertile field to grow in your mind.

You see, in the case of Abram, the tragedy is that because of the fear-induced decision, Sarai was taken by Pharaoh. While it’s left slightly ambiguous, it would seem that Pharaoh had sexual relations with Sarai.

We might be able to consider that Abram ended up being materially blessed by this whole situation, but we can’t forget that this came at the cost of a violation of his wife.

Are we letting fear affect the decisions we make for God.

Because fear is not a good driver for these things.

There is only one sort of fear that we should have, and that is a fear of the Lord. And believe me, having a fear of the Lord is very different to the type of fear that our brain normally generates.

Having a fear of the Lord is more akin to a very healthy respect for the power and majesty of God.

It’s when we fear the Lord, that we actually begin to realise that those other (shall-I-say) silly fears actually are exposed for what they are. Because if we believe that God really is powerful, then why would think those other possibilities will derail God’s plan.

God is telling us to move.

It might be a significant move. It might be just a slight recalibration of what we’re currently doing. But we need to step out in faith, and when the inevitable thoughts of what could go wrong start to sprout, rather than being driven away from God’s plan, we listen to God and do whatever it is that he tells us to do.

Other Abraham stories

If we were to continue through the story of Abram, we would see lots of ups and downs in this journey of faith.

There’s a story I love in chapter 14, where Abram, with the trained men from his household, defeat a much more powerful enemy.

But then there’s the story of chapter 16 - one which in hindsight we now know has had a massive impact today. Rather than trusting that God would provide a baby from his aged wife, he again tries to take matters in his own hand and has a baby with his wife’s slave. The impact today, is that this child becomes essentially one of the patriarchs of the Islamic faith.

But then at the age of 100, Abram, who is then known as Abraham, finally has a child with his wife, who has also had a name change to Sarah.

It’s really a huge journey of faith. Abram shows a great deal of faith at times, but also on multiple occasions really slips up big time.

What is amazing throughout all of the story of Abram, is that even when he does slip up, God never stops being faithful.

This is something that I have found in my own journey.

At times I have had the ability to step out in faith. But not always. Just like Abram, there have been plenty of times when I’ve stumbled on that faith journey. I’ve tried to do things my own way. I’ve worried about possible events that could have an impact on me, some being very real possibilities… some just perceived purely in my own mind.

But the great thing is, even when I have stumbled, God has remained one hundred percent faithful to me. He never lets me down.

That is not an excuse to just be unfaithful - in fact it is the opposite. Because what you find is that even though God will always be faithful, whether you are or not… when you are faithful to God, God will take you on the most wonderful journey, where you will find the most amazing blessings.

Conclusion

What is God asking you to do?

It may be something big. Or maybe something relatively small. If you don’t know, then let the start of this year be a time to really sit with God and say to him, Lord, I’m ready for you to use me, show we where you would like me to be.

Don’t expect a full detailed plan straight away for what that will look like.

But just start moving in that direction.

If it’s to be more generous, then open up your wallet, and see where it leads.

If it’s to be more active in a ministry role, put your hand up and see where it leads.

You’ll find that as you start moving, God will likely reveal the next part.

But as you move, the fear will grow. When the fear enters, let this be a reminder to drop on your knees and ask God what to do. Let God be the driver, not your fear.

Abraham became for us the great father of the faith. Your role is going to be very different to the specific role of Abraham, but yet, God has a plan for you. You just need to start moving.

Let me pray…