Genesis 12
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1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
This is the first time we see God talking to Abram and what does he tell him to do? He says Go.
Ok here is where I get to preach a little bit so stay with me. I don’t want us to pass this up.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Abram or Abraham doesn’t know where he is going. We have heard that before. We know this. God is saying I want you to go but I will show you where and I won’t show you till we get there. I don’t know about you but if God tells me to go the very first question out of my mouth is where. Where are we going. God says I will show you but all i want to know right now is are you ready to go. Are you ready to say to God that my go is on the table.
That sounds so Christian and straight forward and how holy are you. Yes lord my go is on the table. Wherever whenever but maybe yall are just a bit further down the road on your christian faith walk than I am, but it appears to me that i am still working on that contract. I have spent a lot of time terrified where he might send me. I mean we stand here at the altar and say yes lord its all yours unless. And just so we are clear, if God called you to Gaza right now, you going? What if he called you to Afghanistan? What about Iran? Israel? What if he said give up your job and go to this place I will send you and start over. Now you will never starve and you’ll have a roof but you will be all alone except for me and the life will be different? You ready to go?
Do we have conditions on the go? What about your kids go? What if he called your kids to one of those places hostile to them and God has a history of calling people to inhospitable places and it actually costing them their lives. Don’t shout out it is on the table. Count the cost men.
But Abraham hears this and look at verse 4
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
That was his saving faith that he went. Not that he believed God was claling him but that he went. He actually put it into practice and left. You can say all day long I beleive God is scalling me here or there but if you never go you don’t really believe it and that will not save you. The truth is what we do not what we say.
If my dad who was 6’4’ told me to cut the crass. Do you think for a moment that I could sit there and say, Dad, I believe you want me to cut the grass. How good would that fly over? Like a lead balloon? If I didn’t get up and cut that grass he would convince me that it was time to get up. And lets be truthful for a moment, God will get you to where he wants you so he can make you who he wants you and if my earthly father can use physical persuasion, don’t you think our heavenly father can do the same. And does. Ladies yall are geting some insight into our mens discussions. But God can and will use punishment as correction and he says no one likes it at the time but if God wants you to get to Canaan, he will get you there. Again I wish i wasn’t so hard headed and no comment from the my other side. You don’t want to go that way. So listen. I should have just gotten up and cut the grass.
I will go lord even if I don’t think it is right father. It feels so great to be where he calls you. He just makes you miserable if you ignore it. Is your Go there. My go has less fine print than it used to, but I haven’t killed all of myself yet. trying to. I am so thankful for his patience with me. But remember he is slow to anger. He does still get angry.
Now what is the perfect number of God? 7 Let’s look back at verses 2 and 3
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Let’s count these
I will make you a great nation.
I will bless you
I will make your name great
You will be a blessing
I will bless those who bless you
I will curse those who curse you
In you all the families of the earth will be blessed
Wait a minute. How you gonna make me a great nation and remember that back in 11 Sarai was barren.
God is showing that he has control of the womb. Abram is 75 and Sarai is barren and God says so what. I am God. He is setting us up for the immaculate conception of Jesus and Mary.
Then he says I will bless you. Don’t tell me God don’t bless. Don’t tell me he doesn’t cause people to prosper and yes in money or monetary thing. Some people are just blessed. We have to get this notion out of the church that God doesn’t want anyone to be blessed. That is not true.
Then I will make your name great. Men another teaching point right here. Only God can confer a great name. You cannot do it. You cannot build a big enough business you cannot be honest enough you cannot shake enough hands or take enough offices. What did they try to do at the beginning of 11. The tower of Babel. They said we can make a name for ourselves. Here is god calling Abraham and saying that I will do that for you. It is the response to what they all wanted right there. I don’t care how many awards, how many people love you if He doesn’t do it, it is not great. So is God using you? Don’t be successful at something that is meaningless.
He tells us to make disciples. Are you? He says you figured out what I wanted by reading my word. Are you? Well done servant. You came to me in prayer not just to ask me stuff but to get to know me. This right here is meaningless if people don’t come to know him by me doing it.
The 4th one is about what you do with the blessing you just received. I want to be blessed but the blessing for you is not for you. It si to be through you. You have no idea how much fun it is to give it away. Get your life together so you can. I am trying lord.
I will bless those that bless you. Abrams blessing will become blessing to others and those that bless him back will then get the blessing by God.
Those that come against you, I am vengence. God says I will deal with them. DOn’t you worry about it. Don’t worry about what they say what stories they make up or even ones that are true from your past. God says I will handle it.
All the families will be blessed in you. What does that mean. The seed that is in you, will bless the who world. Who si that? Jesus.
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
Lot went with him? Wait wait wait. Abram. God said leave your family except your wife. Why are you taking Lot? You were told it just you and your wife. But remember what does Lot not have? A father. What does Abram not have? A son. So both of those are filling gaps in the lives of the other one. Who is supposed to be the gap filler? God. So Abram is making Lot an idol. Oh boy we will get into that later. Don’t let me preach it now.
Abram is blessed and has a lot of possessions. We see that. It is not that all wealthy people are bad and the poorer you are does not mean you are closer to God.