New Life Resolutions: A lesson from Abraham's Servant

New Building Next Week

Prayer Tonight

Secret Church - April 23rd

In the OT This Coming Semester

Intro

Well as we get started, go ahead and open your Bibles to Genesis 24. I just want to take a quick poll. Who here is really glad that we are out of 2020? Who here has set some kind of goal for the year? Whether it be reading the bible, losing weight, eating healthier, finishing school, spending less time on social media…anything?

New year’s is a perfect time for a lot of people to set these goals for their life. New year’s resolutions, right? Why do we do that? Well, it’s because we have a vision for our life…where we should be in something, how we should be, what we should look like, we have this vision and we set these goals to accomplish that vision.

At Cross Con I talked about the concept of arrows and targets in seasons of our lives. This vision we have for ourselves is the target, we are the arrow, and these resolutions and goals are the means we plan to use to get to the target. They are the bow, and the wind velocity, and all the little factors that affect our overall path towards the target that is the ultimate vision of ourselves.

But it doesn’t just stop with new year’s resolutions. We are constantly making decisions in an effort to hit the target that we have set for our lives. What class to take, what school to go to, where to live, who to date, what to do for a career…I’m sure right now you can bring some of those decisions you’ve made recently to your mind.

You can all call to your mind the times recently when you’ve tried to answer the question…what should I do next? Tonight I want to present this to you. When it comes to making decisions for the trajectory of our lives…we ask the wrong question.

You see we are constantly asking the question “What should I do?” But by asking that question, we are implying that that question isn’t answered. We are implying that that answer is up for grabs, or that the answer to that question changes with the moment or season of life.

But I pray that you have seen in our time together and in your walk with the Lord that the question is actually answered already. As Christians, as children of God, we have no need for that question. Because the answer already defines our lives.

English Standard Version Chapter 43

21  the people whom I formed for myself

that they might declare my praise.

English Standard Version Chapter 22

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

English Standard Version Chapter 28

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

You’ve been created with a purpose. And you have been saved, given new life for a specific purpose. So what does God say the purpose of your life is?

To give him glory by praising him, loving him, loving others, and making disciples.

So for us believers, the question “What should I do next?, or what should I do?” is already answered. What should you do? Glorify God by loving him and others, and make disciples!

So back to my statement for us tonight. When you’ve got these decisions in your life, when you have to make some decisions…the correct question is not what should I do? The correct question is how should I do it?

Between these two classes, or schools, or jobs, or between being single or not…which decision allows me to fulfill what I am suppose to do. Which one better aids me in loving God and making disciples? Which one is the “how” that will allow me to complete what I meant to do

I’m here to tell you, the vision for your life when it comes to making decisions, and the vision for your life when it comes to setting goals for the year is far too shallow. I want to encourage you tonight to not get caught up in an individual decision as if it’s what you’re meant to do, but instead see the whole picture and know that each decision or each resolution, is simply God continuing to provide you the answer for how you’re to make your why happen. The next step you are to take in your ultimate goal of glorifying God by loving him, and making disciples.

So here’s why we are in Genesis 24 tonight. In a season when many are thinking about New Year’s resolutions, I don’t have any for you. But what I do have are New Life resolutions. Resolutions to dedicate yourself to if you’ve been given a new life in Christ, and you understand that the what in your life as been answered, and now you are just seeking the how. And this passage is meant to be an example of things we can commit ourselves in to better seek to fulfill our mission.

5 New Life Resolutions

Look at the text with me.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth,

Resolution 1: Know the Lord

The idea of putting your hand under someone’s thigh signified submission to them. It signified a relationship between the two as Lord and Servant. Just like our confession of Christ as savior signifies that we are submitting our lives to him…that he is Lord, and that we are his servants.

The servant putting his hand under his Lord’s thigh showed an intimate relationship. One that isn’t obtained by just anyone. One that is only established by the Lord who chooses his servant. Abraham, as Lord of this servant, has a word for him. But he doesn’t give him that word, he doesn’t tell him his purpose, until the servant first submits and acknowledges Abraham as Lord. Just like we’ve all be created for a purpose, we all have a meaning in life and way our life is heading…but it won’t be revealed to us until we know the Lord.

There’s two ways that we need to know the Lord. One is personally. Two is continually.

Let’s start with the personal: We need a clear, articulate testimony of our submission to him. We need that obvious moment where we have “put our hand under the thigh”, where we submitted to Christ.

The problem is there are far too many people in our church, in the church at large, and even in this room I’m sure who can not clearly articulate a testimony of submission to the Lord. Calvin and I just experienced it last night, we were meeting with a couple and I asked them to share their testimony.

They were able to talk about their love for God, their being involved in the church, the benefits they’ve received from him being their God, healing, them doing missionary work…and yet…there was no articulation of the fact that they ever actually submitted to him. There was no articulation of their sin, the weight of their sin, and the confession of Jesus as the one who died for their sin. There was no articulation of repentance, or a need to have their sins forgiven.

There was plenty of evidence that they believe in God, but little evidence that they knew their Lord…that they knew Christ.

That’s not to say that they didn’t know Christ…but it is to say that they were not able to clearly articulate and share a testimony that would lead people into a true relationship with Christ.

Let me ask you. Why do you follow Christ? What’s so good about him in your life that you would desire others to follow him? What about him is so unique and special that someone would need to seek him above all other things?

Love? I can get love from my family, or my wife, or my kids. Patience? I know patient people. Acceptance? The world’s all about that now. Caring for others? I could join a million different non-profits dedicated to helping others. True beliefs about the world? There are plenty of people that believe Godly things without knowing God. The world is filled with people who have caring, thoughtful, loving hearts…and yet they couldn’t be further from knowing God.

I want to charge you. Make sure you know your Lord personally. Make sure you can articulate to yourself and to others what’s so great about him…and why you needed him in the first place. You know, that’s the best thing about getting baptized at our church. You get to sit down with a pastor and they walk you through being able to fully comprehend and articulate your relationship with Christ. We have people that walk into wanting to be baptized who don’t truly know Christ, but by the end of the conversation they have come to new life.

I had someone like that my first baptism here...

If you’ve claimed to step into new life, make sure you actually know your lord personally…Identify that moment in your life, the moment much like the servant here…a moment of submission.

But it’s not just knowing your Lord personally you need to resolve to. It’s knowing your Lord continually.

Abraham made this request to his servant who was in charge of his whole household, in charge of everything Abraham owned....that doesn’t happen without an ongoing relationship between Lord and servant.

That means you should be keeping an ongoing relationship with Christ. Through prayers, through the word, through being a part of his body…the church.

I heard a quote the other day that Holiness is a team sport. That’s a dead on statement…because God created us to be sanctified alongside one another and with each other and through each other.

1 Peter 2:5 ESV

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

So yes, the church is also a part of your knowing the Lord…both personally and continually.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

Resolution 2: Know His Word

The servant received a word from his Lord. A mission, a purpose, a calling. Just like we have received our purpose from Christ. And what did the servant do?

He asked questions, to better understand what was told to him…to better understand his own purpose and calling. He sought to clearly remember and understand the word of his Lord.

In Christ, we are no different. We’ve been given the word from God. We’ve been given our purpose and calling, and it is up to us to inquire, to seek understanding, to ask for clarity…and to know the word to the fullest extent that we can.

If you have new life…your resolution is to Know His Word. Open it, read it, question it, repeat. If you haven’t considered it yet…get on our church’s reading plan this year.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Resolution 3: Take Prayerful Action

Let’s get rid of the adjective for a minute and focus on the general command. Take Action. That means do something about it. The servant submitted to his Lord, sought clarity in his word, and then took action. He did what he was asked.

I don’t feel the need to go into a long example of how we don’t often take enough action.

But it’s not just taking action…it’s taking prayerful action. Meaning, it’s an action you take that is reliant upon the Lord. It’s something that you are doing while yet relying on God to provide and reveal.

What’s the first thing the servant did when he got there? He prayed. and he Prayed specifically, and confidently that the lord would continue to do the work of revealing to him what to do.

I’ve talked to so many of you who are trying to figure out God’s will for your life. You’re trying to figure out how exactly he plans on helping you make the next step in making disciples…and some of you pray. But I’m telling ya…pray more boldly.

If you know the Lord, and you know his word, then you’ll be praying according to his will. The servant confidently prayed “Lord, please do this specifically”. We don’t pray enough like that. We would rather pray, “Lord, please show me what to do” as if you would like him to drop out of the clouds a big ‘ol neon sign that points “this way”.

When we really should be praying…”Lord according to your will, open or close this door.” “Lord, according to your will, let my mom just tell me no when I ask her this question.” “Father, if you don’t want me to make this decision, stop me from making this decision.” But it’s not just in our decisions that we get too wimpy…it’s in our temptations from sin.

I’m guilty of it too. But we don’t take enough prayerful action when it comes to fighting our sin. It’s like we forget that the Lord actively doesn’t want us to give in to sin, and he equips us through the power of his spirit and by his strength to overcome that sin.

How many times when you’re in the midst of temptation do you actually cry out to the Lord and say “Jesus, help me.” “I really want to do this thing I’m not suppose to do…give me strength. Have someone text me right now, or silence my mouth, or completely numb my mind of any thought for the next couple minutes.”

Get specific. And take prayerful action. In a few minutes we are going to get a chance to do just that. We are going to be praying for the building…and our ministry....

English Standard Version Chapter 24

15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.

Resolution 4: Be Discerning

English Standard Version Chapter 24

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD 27 and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

Resolution 5: Respond in Passionate Worship

These are all things that we are going to be working on together this year. These new life resolutions are going to be this ministry’s new year resolutions. But it won’t happen unless you are all in.

Come alongside us as we:

Help others Know the Lord.

Become people who Know the Word.

Take Prayerful action against the work of the enemy.

Be discerning in our personal lives and ministries.

Respond in true, unashamed, passionate worship.