Blessed to be a blessing I

Galatians 3: 6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.

He believed God
those who believe are children of Abraham

First of all let’s look at who Abraham was.

“Those who believe are children of Abraham” Many do not understand what our relationship to Abraham means. How important it is to understand how God dealt with him and how that affects us today.

We want to begin to study his life and see if we can understand more what it means to be a child of Abraham, learn how to follow his example of faith and experience the blessings that came to us because of him.

Genesis 12: 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go 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.” 4 So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

“If you believe you will leave”

Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and Go to the land I will show you

Your country
Your people
Your Father’s household

Go to the land I will show you

Abram, the first missionary sent by God. Called out and sent.

It must have been so hard for him. God knows that it is hard for us!

He was 75 years old when the Lord spoke to him.

He was probably thinking more about retirement than moving. Thinking about death and who would get everything that he had.

This as far as we can see from scripture, the first time that God spoke to him.

Why such a radical first command, why not something smaller first?
God told him the most important thing first!
**Getting saved is like this first word! **

Luke 9: 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Before there is an entering in, there must be a leaving. Leave Father and Mother to enter into marriage, leave your past to enter your future, leave darkness to enter light, leave the old to enter the new. Leaving the known for the exciting unknown, leaving your comfort zone for the new things ahead.

Hebrews 11: 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

God must have known that it would be difficult for him, so he spoke also his promises to Abram. I will replace all that you give up and more!

I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you; (Your nation)
I will make your name great (I will make you into people)
you will be a blessing
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse (Your household)
All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (I am expanding your realm of influence to the whole world) (that means us)

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him

It’s time to leave in order to arrive at the place that God has prepared for you. The place where he will make you great and make you a blessing!