Last week we looked at the call of Abram from the standpoint of God’s commencing the call. We remember that when God commences a work in the life of a believer, he also completes it. We saw that God always initiates the call to service, not the believer; and that God is constantly searching throughout the world for loyal hearts he can bless by such a call.

Today, I would like for us to look at how the call of God affects the life of a believer. If you have sensed God at work in your life, then the bible’s account of Abram will show you how to respond. If you have sensed the Lord leading you to serve Him in an area of His choosing, if you have felt that burden of the heart to serve Him in a certain way, then you will want to draw now to His word and respond to that urging from Him today.

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. KJV

Abraham is recorded here as one of the great characters of faith, one of those whose life demonstrates the type of faith and trust which God desires from every one of us.

The text says that Abraham was called by God to go to a place he had never seen before. He was called to follow a path he had never followed before (“not knowing where he was going”). He was told by the Lord that this place would be given to him as an inheritance, yet he had no way of knowing how much of an inheritance was to be received, little or much.

God gave him no further details, no further descriptions, only to “go”. We can read into this passage that Abraham would have to trust God for the directions he was to follow, perhaps one day at a time. God did not initially show Abraham where He wanted him to go.

1.   God requires our obedience.

A.  The uncertainty of change.

Abram went out, not knowing where he was going. What if he had been concerned about what others would think? “Why, I don’t think the others would go for this change, Abram.” Or, “I am afraid that trying to make a change right now would not be well received.” When is a change ever well received? When has God ever called someone to do the same thing over again? The very nature of god’s working is that he wants something to change. There is no faith where there is no change. To stay within a comfortable boundary all of the time may be seen as prudent, even practical, but don’t ever confuse it with faith!

Human beings like their own personal ruts. And the less developed we are, the more vital the rut is to our life. We all know how young children can panic if their parent or care-giver is not where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there, or if certain toys are out of place, or strange people come into their life. Those of us who know the mentally slow adults know that routine is of great importance to them as well.

Why do we ever get out of our routine? How is that we can ever handle changes, disruptions in our life without panic and frustration? Only that through growth and experience we have learned that changes in life are to be expected and not always feared, that some even improve life and provide new experiences and joy.

And so it is with the Christian spiritually. As we grow in the Christian life, we learn by faith to accept the changes that come. By faith we learn to obey God even though the outcome will be something new, something we haven’t done or even heard about before.

If it difficult for an individual to accept change, you can understand what happens when a group of these individuals get together, like in a church! A group like this often magnifies the reluctance for new directions found in its members. While we may be on the edge of accepting a new direction, the reluctance of a few can easily drive us back into our safety zones.

The second thing is this -

2.   God can remove the obstacles to our responding to His call.

If we study Abram, we see that first God led his family to Haran, at the northern point of the Fertile Crescent. For all Abram knew, this may have been the final destination. But it was only a step of faith; more steps were to come.

We learn something important to following god’s call if we look carefully at Genesis 11:27.

Gen 11:31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

32    And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (KJV)

Abram may have lived with his father and family for many years in Haran. But notice that it was when his father died that God revisited Abram and sent him on the next step of his journey of faith. For whatever reason, Terah was not to be a part of the mission the Lord had for Abram. He had to first be removed before Abram was sent on his way.

No sooner had John the Baptist declared, “he must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30), than God “took him home” (he was beheaded) so Jesus alone could have the preeminence.

I have seen this in my life repeated many times. I have made the decision to follow the Lord, but there would people or jobs or situations that first had to be removed before I was ready to trust in the Lord for the next step.

God will remove the external obstacles to your walk, but you have to remove the internal obstacles. It may be an attitude, a prejudice, or an addiction. The addiction might be drugs, alcohol, or it might be money, power, popularity, sex, whatever it is that controls a part of your life: that is an addiction. A person who is addicted to any of these things has a heart that is loyal to that thing, and therefore their heart cannot be loyal to God.

I remind you again that

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. NKJV

3.   God will renew His covenant when you renew your commitment to the call.

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. KJV

We know that this was not the first time God had spoken these words to Abram. The young preacher Stephen tells us in Acts 7:2-4 that when Abram was still in Ur of the Chaldees (Mesopotamia) that God called him to leave and follow Him.

This also will not be the last time God will strengthen his covenant with Abram. At least six times God will speak this covenant to Abram, each time at a crucial point of Abram’s walk with God.

When you make the decision to obey the step God has called you to obey, He will confirm it with His Word, His covenant. How many of you have had a decision to make, or felt burdened to obey the Lord in a certain area, and then came to church and listened to a message or a bible study lesson that dealt with the very issue you were seeking the Lord in? No one else may have gotten anything from the message, but you wanted the tape.

There is another principle here, a very important one you must understand if you are to hope to be a part of what God wants for your life:

                  God never leads you do anything that violates His covenant.

“I know the bible says I am supposed to stay married, but I believe the Lord led that new secretary into my life for me to fall in love with.” God never leads you to do anything that violates his covenant.

“I know the bible says to not forsake assembling together in church, but my life is so messed up, I believe God wants me to stay at home until I get my feet under me.” No, God never leads you to do anything that violates His covenant.

4.   God removes you out of your country…to a land that He shows you.

“You cannot stay in your country and go with Me,” was God’s word to Abram. Any country, any place will not do with God. Absolute obedience to His directives is essential to God’s fulfilling His purposes.

Abram had set his heart to follow God’s directives. Later, King Rehoboam is remembered this way:

2 Chronicles 12:14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. KJV

Without heeding the counsel of God, as Abram did, Rehoboam divided the nation of God into two kingdoms, setting into motion what would eventually destroy both kingdoms.

We must go where God is working. Jesus said, “Follow me.” This Abram did faithfully.

Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, NKJV

5.   “I will make you…”

God promised to be intimately involved with the life of Abram. It would be God who was at work in Abram, “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).

Once you establish a covenant with God, the rest of your life can only be understood from His perspective and activity. That is why –

Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

When this is in place, God will make you, mold and shape you. Abram knew this, and welcomed all that God had in mind for him.

Has this been your immediate response to God’s invitations in your life? For the God of the universe to invite to shape you into the best you can be is an incredible offer!

6.   “I will make you a great nation.”

From Genesis 1 forward, when God speaks, it is so! This would be true in Abram’s life. This is always true with God!

John 14:12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. NKJV

Daily obedience to the Lord is the key. He is God, and the only response worthy of Him is, “Yes, Lord.”

God makes promises, called covenants. But when faith appropriates a promise from God, it is done; it is accomplished.

7.   “I will bless you.”

Abram was about to enter into a relationship with God which would overwhelm him! In so many ways, his live would become a demonstration of what it means for God to bless a person.

Jesus said if we abide in Him, we would bear “much fruit.” Why? Because He Himself would “abide” in us. This is part of Christ’s covenant promise to us.

8.   “I will make your name great.”

A name in the bible was tied directly to that person’s character. For God to say this meant He would be involved in shaping Abram’s character.

The key is not so much how Abram walked with God, as it was how God walked with Abram. The sheep have to decide to follow the shepherd, but it is the shepherd who “leads them beside still waters.”

Abram would be “… His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).