New Beginnings

New beginnings. Tonight is a night of new beginnings.

This night is a vision fulfilled… as the altar prayer benches have returned to this house of worship.

I am NOT trying to say that these last several years have been years of defiance or neglect toward the altar… God has simply laid on my heart the need for His people to get back to an altar.

We are living in the last days… and in these last days God has promised to pour His Spirit on on those who would receive it.

Going back to Acts 1 and 2, the people had to obey the instructions of Jesus in order to receive what God was pouring out. They remained until they received.

God has led us to this moment… that it WOULD NOT be a one-time thing, but a renewed commitment to Him. And… as we obey… I believe He is going to do incredible things… things only our God can do!

And it’s not so much about a particular space… as it is about our willingness to obey. And my prayer is that we will continue to be a people of prayer… who understand the importance and significance of the Altar.

This evening we take a brief look at the life of Abram in Genesis 12.

Chapter 12 focuses in on Abram specifically and for good reason.. After having settled in Haran, God speaks to Abram and gives him some incredible news.

Genesis 12:1–3 NIV

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God drops an AMAZING promise on Abram! That is a great word to receive from God!

Abram will be made into a GREAT nation. He is going to be blessed by God! His name will be great and he is going to be a blessing. ALL peoples on earth will be blessed through him! Sounds great, right?

In order for this to come about, Abram had to embrace a few things...

One, he had to leave what he knew… behind.

He had to leave his country.

He had to leave his people.

He had to leave his father’s household.

It was time for Abram to step out on his own. He had to leave the comforts of what was known… and venture into what was unknown.

Two, he had to trust God fully.

in order to become a great nation, Abram would need descendents. One problem with that was… Sarai was barren… she was without child.

Abram had no idea how this promise could happen… there were some pretty significant roadblocks in his way according to the world’s standards.

Three, he had to go where God showed him to go.

God would lead Abram to the land He would show him. Abram did not know his final destination… he only knew that God said to go… and God would show him where to go.

Nations were building up.... cultures were being developed… the world had taken a completely different form.

Although the promise God gave Abram was amazing, it would take an enormous amount of faith to say, “okay Lord… where You lead me I will follow.”

Abram was on the cusp of something entirely new to him. Abram was crossing a thresh hold… entering into a new season of new beginnings… a season that began with a promise… a season that would require complete faith in the One who made the promise.

If Abram had placed his trust in his personal knowledge of the situation or his surrounding circumstances, he may have stayed home and completely missed out on God’s promises.

It would have been easy to stay with his people… easy to dismiss the idea that children were a possibility… and easy to say “I will go where and when I want to go.”

And we might scoff at such thoughts tonight as we study this but let’s get real for a moment...

It can be easy to slip into this mindset when God calls us out of our comfort zone and into the unknown. God gave Abram some details within the promise He made to Abram… but He didn’t specify how those details would come about.

And I believe that is a test that God places in front of us. WILL WE TRUST HIM? Is our faith up to the challenge of going as God would lead us to go?

Are you willing… to stand and move on the promise of God?

We stand when we allow for His promise to become our priority. NOTHING is more important.

We move when we apply that priority to our present. We align ourselves with God’s instruction.

Abram does just that.

Genesis 12:4–9 NIV

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and 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 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

At 75 years old, Abram does as the Lord told Him. He gathers up his family and his things and sets out… with God as His guide.

Abram trusted in the word of the Lord and moved accordingly. And there are a couple of things I want us to see that takes place in response to Abram’s decision to go.

God Gives Assurance Along the Way.

Look at Genesis 12:7 again. Abram had arrived in the land of Canaan and he had traveled deep into the territory. Scripture indicates that the Canaanites were there in the land.

Abram is in a country he does not know. The country is inhabited by a people he does not know. There is no talk of battles or tension between Abram and the Canaanites, but imagine being where Abram is. And in this moment… God says something amazing.

Genesis 12:7 NIV

7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Maybe Abram was feeling a bit out of place. Maybe Abram was feeling a bit lost. Or… maybe Abram was having the time of his life. We don’t know what Abram was feeling… but God made a point to speak to him and to give him some reassurance in his journey. God not only speaks… He APPEARS to Abram! Talk about an amazing encounter with the Lord!

The land they found themselves would be given to Abram’s offspring. Two things to consider:

The land was inhabited

The land would be given to Abram’s offspring - Sarai could not have children.

God mentions two amazing soon-to-come realities that would require miracle works in order for them to come to fruition!

Abram had taken a step of faith to go and now God began to unpack His promise a bit. God gives some additional details regarding what He had in store for Abram and assures Abram that He is with him in this journey.

As we step out in faith, God WILL give us assurances that we are headed in the right direction.

God is NOT the author of confusion. Although God does move in mysterious ways… His ways are not chaotic and out of control. He is orderly and will always keep to His Word.

We can expect God to give us words of assurance as needed in our journey of faith.

Those words are given to us through His Word… this special revelation He has given to each of us.

Those words are given to us through His Spirit… a special in-filling of His presence that guides us daily.

Bottom line, God is WITH US in the journey. His presence guides us into His promises.

Abram saw the inhabitants. Abram knew his wife was unable to conceive. But Abram HEARD God and believed Him. How do we know he received God’s word as truth?

Abram Built Altars.

The passage we read mentions that Abram built an altar not once… but twice in his journey.

The first altar was built after God assured Abram of His promise.

In response to what God said, Abram stopped to honor the Lord.

When he reached a place between Bethel and Ai… he pitched his tents, built an altar, and called on the name of the Lord.

Abram knew God had brought him this far… and God would continue to lead him further into His promise. THEREFORE… Abram made a point to honor God… to worship the Lord.

Abram was an altar builder. Abram was quick to honor God as he moved according to His promise. Just as Abram stopped to remember all that God had done… so should we be in the habit of giving God praise along the way.

Often times I fear we take God’s blessings and guidance for granted… as if it is something God owes us.

Church, we need to be a people of praise. We need to be a people of worship. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Abram and his entourage to travel as they did. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to leave all they knew behind. Abram still did not have all the details regarding how tings were going to happen… but he praised God anyway.

Praise helps us to keep our priorities in line. Praise helps us to keep God on the top of the list… and it helps to keep everything else secondary to Him.

Praise also helps to keep our hearts in check.

Altars were built for a specific purpose. To worship God and what else? To make an offering or sacrifice to the Lord - a sacrifice for our sins.

Altars are places of sacrifice… places of giving. It is the place where God’s worthiness is declared.

It is the place… where sins were atoned for. Although we no longer make sacrifices like this anymore because of what Christ has done… it is still a place where we are to offer a sacrifice of praise - sacrifice that ought to cost us something.

What would that “cost” be?

Ultimately… it should be the cost of self. It should be the surrender of all that we are for all that God is. It places our full focus and attention on Him.

Closing

Abram listened to what God instructed him to do. And along the way… he placed his trust in the Lord.

God gave Abram words of assurance. God helped Abram to know he was on the right track.

Abram built altars to God. Abram made the journey about God and His promises. He did not get caught up in self.

I truly feel like God is leading us into something amazing.

I do not know all the details… I do not know everything that is to come… but this I do know:

God is in control and God has a plan. That plan will include details that go beyond our limited abilities.

Remember, Sarai could not have children. God was going to give the land to Abram’s offspring. There were some unknown details in the story. But Abram knew God… and that was enough.

God is able to take what we view or perceive as impossible… and make all things possible!

IT IS NOT ABOUT US… and time spent in these altars helps us to remember that. The new beginnings that are ahead will happen BECAUSE OF GOD.

But we must be willing to take the steps of faith… to go as God leads us and… to spend time in the altars giving ourselves through praise and surrender.

So tonight, that’s what we are going to do. We have made room at the front of this Sanctuary for this very reason. God has given us amazing promises in His Word, and He has given us words of assurance along the way. Tonight we stand on the thresh hold of what the Lord has in store… and it’s time to seek His face in these altars He instructed us to build.

Prayer Points:

Prayer Point One: God, help us to be obedient to the commands You have given us and faithful to the promises You have spoken. Your Word is faithful and true. Your promises are yes and amen.

Prayer Point Two: God, help me FULLY surrender to Your ways. I lay my old self down that I might come fully alive in the new. I surrender my heart to You.

Prayer Point Three: God, help me to praise You no matter what. Help me to continually bring the sacrifice of praise

Hebrews 13:15 NIV

15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

Let’s get in these altars tonight and give the Lord praise. Let’s seek His face as we give of ourselves and honor His holy name.