Step Out

Have you ever been somewhere comfortable and out of nowhere it seems like God calls you out of that place to go somewhere unexpected and it changed the course of your life?

This is a picture a teenager named William (and some of you might recognize him) but William was a teenager who lived a pretty simple life.

He lived life on a farm and if you asked him the things that interested him he probably would have said baseball and girls.

But there was one night that an evangelist came to this small farm town and he was there for over a month

However this teenager was not interested in hearing him,

And he would not have went to hear him, however one night the evangelist made controversial comments about how the teens in the highschool were causing trouble in the town.

So William decided to go the next night because he wanted to see if there would be some drama happening.

However the night he went, something really unexpected happened where he instead of their being drama he actually ended up accepting Christ into his life.

And not only that but eventually God called him out of this small farm town to preach the gospel around the world and whats amazing is overtime he began to be known as one of the most famous evangelist “Billy Grahm”

But God met him in a really unexpected place and called him somewhere that completely changed his life.

And really in the story we are in today it starts with God calling a man “Abram” to a place that is completely unexpected.

Because Abram and his family were settled in an area and our story today starts with God interrupting this comfortable place for somewhere much better.

We are starting in Genesis 12:1-3 and look at this call:

Genesis 12:1 (NIV)

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

So I want you to notice a couple things because God calls Abram to leave the country he was settled in, to leave his fathers household, to leave the people he was familiar with, and really to leave everything comfortable to go to a place that he has no idea where it is.

And really before we go any further there is an important point here. Because whenever God places a call on your life there is almost always some sort of sacrafice that you have to make.

For some God might ask you to move somewhere

For others God calls you to do something that sacrifices time

For others it might be finanacial

For some it might be the general way you live, but whenever God calls us to somthing big there is almost a sacrafice.

But here is the thing, because sacraficing somthing in your life doesn’t sound fun does it?

No one looks forward to giving something up

But here is the thing it is so worth it!

Its almost like having kids. When you have kids you sacrafice things don’t you?

When Arika and I had Liam and Finn there were sacrifices

I think we have went to a movie once in the last two and a half years

There are nights where we sacrifice a lot of sleep

This past week Arika tried to potty train Liam and let me tell you I think she sacrificed some of her sanity!

But can I just say there is not one day where I say “wow this was a bad desion. Why?

Because the sacrifices we made were nothing compared to the blessing of our kids.

Would I like to go to the movies more, yeah.

But when I think about that I get to be a parent of these two awesome kids It barely crosses my mind.

And something like that is true in the big things of our life, how true is it in our walk with God.

And its true in this story because Abram has to leave this area that he was settled and secure in, but God tells him it is going to be so worth it! Look at the following verses (2-3) because he tells him to leave but then he says:

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.”

And so God tells Abram this and you can picture Abram thinking wow this is exciting! Because God is going to bring me to this new land and not only that, but He is going to make this great nation out of me and my family, where we will bless the entire planet!

And I didn’t include this in this in the slides but verse 4 says Abram went.

He just went. And really if I had to guess Abram was excited,

because when God calls you to do somthing new it is exciting!

I mean think about it. we love new things, Right?

When you get a new phone there is something exciting about opening it up

When you get home and there is an amazon package on your porch we get excited

And when God places something new on your heart there is an excitment that often goes with that.

If iGod nudges you to start a small group its exciting

If God nudges you to bless a family going through a hard time, there is some excitement

I have a friend who God laid on his heart to start a new church. He was excited about it

But lets get back to the story because there is this excited phase that Abram is probably in.

But after awhile that excitement probably begins to die down and challenges begin to come up.

And we learn the biggest challenge is that Abrams wife Sarai, is actually past the age of child bearing.

Not only that but they went from an area they were settled, to living in tents and on top of it all it seems like there is no way for God to fufill his promise!

But I love what Hebrews 11: 9-10 tells us about Abram, because most of us would say I am done God.

You have abandon me and I am going home.

But we are told that

Hebrews 11:9–10 (NIV)

9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Abram knew Sarai was past childbearing age

He knew he was stuck living in tents,

But I love this passage because it doesn’t say Abram sat there dwelling on it saying my life is awful.

I am living in a tent, and God seemed to forget about me, but it says what?

He looked forward to the city and foundations whose architect and builder is God.

You know to often I think we are people that like to dwell on the fact that we are in a tent rather then looking forward in faith to the promise that God has given us.

And look at Romans 4:19-20 because it says this:

Romans 4:19–20 NIV

19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

I want to just sit on the last part of that verse for a second because it does not just say Abram looked forward to God’s promises, but it says in the middle of him looking around and everything is going wrong his faith is strengthened.

Can I just ask you when things are going sideways do you allow that scenario to push you away from God or draw you closer to Him?

Because just to be honest with you I have so many friends who God laid on their heart that He wanted them to go into ministry

And almost all of them have faced challenges, some have faced things that have given them anxiety, others depression, and some of them have walked away from God, but others actually aloud those hard times to be times that pushed them closer to God.

Can I just tell you if you are dwelling in a tent right now, and you are wondeing where God is, please use this time to go closer to him, not further.

And I love what happens in this story, because God reminds Abram of this promise and He gives him tangible ways to remember that He is faithful even in the tents.

Look at Genesis 15:5 because it says:

Genesis 15:5 NIV

5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

God give Abram this huge promise that the nation that will come out of your family will be as numerous as the stars.

And like I said this is a promise, but it is also a very tangible promise, because everytime Abram would go to bed, he would look in the sky and see all the stars and remember God’s promise

Can I just tell you find tangible ways to remember a call or promise God has placed on your heart.

Because those things will keep you moving towrd that promise.

A while ago I was feeling a little discouraged, it honestly was probably something small, I do not remember why.

But somthing that was so cool is I was sitting in the coffee shop downtown

And it hit me that this coffee shop was actually where Arika and I met with the guy who is over me in our denomination prior to interviewing at this church.

and really it is where God began to stir in our heart that he was potentially calling us here.

And in that moment it gave me this tangible reminder and encouragement of the call God gave us.

But find something that is a tangible reminder of God’s promise or call in your life.

Well look what happens back in the story, because so far Abram has been faithful, and he believes God will bleess them with descendants, but he comes to this place where he does not think it will be through Sarai.

So really what we see is his view of God is to small and what happens is he sleeps with his servant to make God’s promise come true.

You know sometimes I get concerned that just like Abram we will find ourselves in a place where we comprimise on what God has called us to do

But here is the issue, because when we are not all in or all out it makes it creates a mess.

I mentioned Liam is in the middle of potty training, but he is not trianed.

And when he has to go to the bathroom he will rip off his diaper, but then wont go in the toilet (the poor people in the nursery discovered this last week)

But what happens is it creates a mess...

And really thats what happens in this story. because there is jealousy and drama

And not only that, but God comes through on his promise and Saria (even though she is past child bearing age ends up having a child named Isacc.

And there is so much more to this story and I will tell you what I told you last week. If you want to discus it more make sure to go to our small groups.

But I want to fast forward because the scene changes and Abrams son Isacc has children and they are actually set of twins named Jacob and Issac.

And to make a long story short these brothers did not get along, because Jacob not only stole Esaus birthright

But at this time the father would give a blessing over the oldest child and so at this time it was a big deal, and Jacob did not just steal his birth right but he stole his blessing that he would receive from his father.

And in true brother like fashion we see Esau the older brother want to kill Jacob over this.

And so Jacob flees the area and finds himself in a dark place because of him stealing what belonged to his brother.

But do you remember what we talked about last week because while humans are rebellious God says what?: Where are you? He persues us and this is what happens in this passage, because look at Genesis 28:10-15 because it says:

Genesis 28:10–15 NIV

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Can you just picture how badly Jacob realized he has messed up?

Because he leaves his parents house in this Land God had brought them too, and now the sun is setting and he pushes some rocks under his head to use as a pillow and decided to go to sleep.

But before he could God comes in a vision and tells him that he is not finished with him.

And really it is the same promise God gave Abram that God will go with him wherever he goes and not only that but his offspring will be bless the entire world.

And so Jacob was away from his family, but God followed through on his promise and Jacob was successful, but a time came after years of him being gone that God made it clear to Jacob that it was time to go home.

And Jacob has a full family now and you can picture the anxiety he has about this, because going home meant seeing his brother which last time they were together wanted to kill him.

You thought your family was dysfunctional?

And so the Bible does not say this but I imagine him wrestleing with God over if this was the right descion or not.

And there is a really interesting thing that happens because he is on the way home and in Genesis 32:24-28 where he gets attacked by a man. It says this this:

Genesis 32:24–28 NIV

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

And so Jacob is in this fight, and what we discover is he is actually wrestling with God

And he is physically wrestling with God, but this also shows how he had internal wrestling with God where he stole his brothers blessing.

And we are told that God ends up winning because he messes up Jacobs hip

But even though Jacob is defeated he refuses to let go of God.

And this part is neat because this man who is God actually ask Jacob what is your name?

And thats weird because why would God ask you your name, because he should know that.

but he is asking him this for a reason.

because in the Old Testament a lot of times you would see a link between a persons name and their nature.

And Jacobs name literally meant “heal catcher”

Really showing his selfish nature.

so looks what happens because he loses the fight and God says tell me your name, tell me your nature, basically tell me who you really are.

And he says I am Jacob, the heel catcher

This is him not just saying his name but him confessing who he is

And the coolest thing happens because God says this is not your name anymore, but from now on your name will be Israel, because you have struggled with God and humans and have overcome.

and not only that, but the name translated means God will fight for you.

Can end todays message by asking have you ever fought with God?

Where God calls you somewhere and you say “God, I cant do that”

Do you realize the sacrifice that would require of me?

Do you realize the pay-cut I would take

Do you realize how much hurt that person gave me.

But here is the deal because when you finally submit to God, He will fight for you.

And this does not mean a lightning bolt with hit the person who hurt you

But look what it means in this story.

Because Jacob, (now Israel) meets his brother and radical reconciliation happens

Because his brother doesn’t kill him, but the picture you get is that there are some ugly crying happening and there is reconciliation taking place in a way that seemed impossible.

Can I just say God can do this in your life.

God will fight for you

God can restore a reletionship that is long gone

God can help you get through the situation you are facing

God can help you get to the place he has called you too.

But we need to take that step out in faith.

I just want to end with sharing part of my testimoney with you.

You know I mentioned earlier how Arika and I began to feel a call to this church, and when we realize this is what God wanted us to do we were do excited,

But I also remember there were a lot of unknowns

We diden’t know if you guys would like us haha

We didn’t know how we would do moving from Chicagoland to Buchanan

We didn’t know where Arika would be able to find a job

We didn’t realize how things would play out financially

But we realized God called us here and so we decided to go.

And I am not sharing this to say “look how great we are.”

Because the truth is there was some wrestling and honestly there are plenty of people who have wrestled with bigger things.

But I am telling you this because I believe there are people in this room that God is calling somewhere,

But we are in a place where we are saying “God I can’t do that! and we are in the process of wrestling with God.

But today could be the day where we finally submit to him

And instead of fighting God we can have God fight for us.

and for some of us it could be a day where we recieve a new name.

A new nature.

But it all starts with a posture of submitting to him.

This morning is that you?

If so I just want to close by opening this last song as a time to come to God.

You can pray in your seat or even at the alter,

Because the truth is I don’t know your battle, but God does.

And today we might have some wrestling to do, but my prayer is that today we will submit to him.

Lets come to God this morning.