The Holy Mission

Introduction:

This morning, we are going to start a new series on “The Mission.”

God has a mission for every human being on the face of the earth, “to make them holy”

Holy- is a church word, and it’s the word that belongs to God. If I had one word to describe what God is like, it’s holy.

And He’s also love, and strength, and power, and friend, but all of that is under the atttribute “holy”

is the set apart from all sin, for everything that brings life.

God has a plan to make every person in the world holy: every person and holy person, and every people a holy people.

He starts with a man named Abram

Abraham is the father of nations, one of the most important people in all of history.

He gets his own Sunday school song, “Father Abraham had many sons’

He is the one where all of the things started

a patriarch of the Old Testament

He is the ultimate late bloomer- nothing special about him, but about the GOd who called him.

I think of him as like a might oak tree, with 175 rings around his trunk, because he died at age 175

His story doesn’t begin until he hears God’s call.

Bible Passage: Genesis 12:1–9

Genesis 12:1–9 HCSB

The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, 1and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Yahweh there, and he called on the name of Yahweh. Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

1. God is calling you to Step Out-

Genesis 12:1-3

God’s call to Abraham at frist, s the calling to leave behind his country, family, and his past.

A call to holiness can begin by looking around and asking yourself, “What am I doing right now?” Is the life I am living going to make me more of who God has made me to be?

God challenges Abraham from the get-go. God wants Abraham to be holy, to be set apart, and because of that, Abraham has to intentionally set himself apart.

Is God calling you out?

TV Shows that we consume, books that we read, and social media influencers are all trying to take up residency in our minds

Is God calling you out, not to embarrass or harass you, but calling you out of the old life that you have been living so you can step intot the life that He wants yout to live?

Sometimes God’s journey will start by looking at the neighbourhood of our heart, and saying that is time to move.

what we are moving from is comfort, security, familiartiy. and it can be scary.

God’s promises to bless Abraham and make him a great nation were contingent on Abraham’s willingness to let go of his past.

I don’t want to limit what God is able to do, but our souls are only so big,

Hobby Lobby- Holding too many things, spilling my coffee

no matter how comforting our past feels, there are things that our God might ask us to leave behind.

When we do, there is a promise in store.

The reward of the holy living is great

You will be a blessing to all nations, regardless of where they come from. Abram, you’ll be a blessing. You will be able to offer this world a power unlike anything else. The consequences of a one person’s commitment to the mission of holiness will change the course of humanity.

This point can encourage listeners to reflect on their own hesitations and how embracing God’s call can lead to new blessings and directions.

2. Taking the Steps

Genesis 12:4-5

Abraham's obedience as he took immediate action, not knowing what lay ahead.

Personal story:

When I was living in KC, I was driving for Uber,

* first day

* Gardner to Holton, KS, it’s just under a two-hour drive,

I looked out over the beautiful plains of KS, and they are beautiful, but I felt lost

I knew it was a good thing, I was driving for Uber, this was a long trip, but it felt like I was just out in the open

I like the hills and valleys

There are moments that we have with God that do not require discussion. If God is calling you closer to Him, you don’t need to wait; start walking.

Abram jumps into

This passage demonstrates the faith required to embark on God’s path when details are unclear.

When God calls you onto the path of holiness, focus on the WHO instead of HOW.

The invitation to the Holy life will have us in unfamiliar territory. Abraham is an example for us that, when things get bad. When we have situations in our lives that pop up and seem impossible, we turn our eyes away from impossible situations, and we point our eyes toward the God of all possibilities.

When Christ calls you, you do not have to negotiate. You can just follow. When Christ is present, you do not need certainty of the outcome; you don’t need to know the HOW, the where, or the why. You need to know WHO is in charge of the journey.

Uber

2. Abraham takes his family with him.

Take people with you on the journey. The call to a holy life does not have to be a lonely one.

3. Listening for Reassurance

Genesis 12:6-7

When they get to the land, after all that wandering, and stopping, and pulling off on the exits so the camels can get something to eat, there are Canaanites in the land.

Now, Lord didn’t say anything about the Canaanites,

Strong people, mighty people, larger frames, industrious, they got it going on. a

They are living in the good parts of the land, learned how to defend it. This land looks completely out of reach.

There is a life that God has created for you, there is a home that God has prepared for you, and don’t think that it's out of your reach; that is a lie from the enemy.

Instead, give God thanks for the promise. God is committed to you; God was committed to Abraham

4. Living in Worship

Genesis 12:8-9

Abram continues on, and he lives in worship.

Worship God before it all works out

I don’t know the outcome, but I know that he’ll be with me, so I will worship

Make an altar

This is the first time that he does it, but soon Abraham will be setting up altars to know that

“God was here” in the ancient world; an altar is like spending time with our God. Having a meal with him, just to get to know him.

JESUS

God has a mission to make every person holy. to be set apart from sin and for everlasting life.

This morning, we celebrate the time that God took on flesh and wanted time with us, and before we made this church our home, we took the first step of faith out, our Lord chose to make an altar. He shed his blood and broke his body, H died by the hands of evil men

to let us know that God was here, God is here, and will always be here.

Call to Action this morning

Quiet Your Minds

Is God calling you now? Calling you out of sin and into life. Take the step

Do you remember when God called you?

God has been trying to reach your number for a while. Pick up the phone.

Call the congregation to regularly renew their dedication and cultivate a lifestyle defined by continual worship.