THE BEGINNING OF FAITH IN ACTION
Genesis 11:31-12:9
INTRODUCTION: THE START OF A NATION
This is the story of the beginning of a blessed nation, The nation began with
one man, Abram. It began with a barren married couple, Abram and Sarai.
Abram may have been near 70 years old. His wife was near the same age.
To hear God’s voice and obey His command to leave his home and relatives
suggest to me that Abram was a God fearing man.
When God gets ready to use you, He will separate you from that which will
distract you. Abram not totally obedient, left Ur with his father and his
nephew lot and his family. Partial obedience come with a cost. God knows
what He wants from us, but it come with sacrifice on our part.
THE CALL OF ABRAM
V.11:31. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.
32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.
V.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.
A. When God tells you to do something, you don’t need a committee to decide to
do it.
1. God didn’t tell the committee because He didn’t want the committee involved.
2. Abram told his father, who got his nephew and his wife involved.
B. Everybody has their own baggage.
1. When others get involved, they may try to change God’s agenda to theirs.
2. The baggage of others can slow you down and get you off course from
doing God work.
3. Abram was told to go to Canaan, but he got stopped in Haran.
4. He settled in a place that God did not intend for him to be.
B. Abram witness the death of his father and carried the problems of
his nephew with him.
1. When you don’t do what God tells you, you add problems to your
life.
2. You have to trust God enough to know that He is in charge and knows
what is best for you.
3. God will protect and provide for your family and relatives when you are
not with them doing His work.
a. Like God had already done, He would have taken care of the family
Abram left behind.
b. God does not put us in a situation to jeopardize our families.
4. When we do what we want to do, we delay the blessing God has for
us.
THE COVENANT WITH ABRAM; THE START OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL
V:12.2-5. "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.
A. God promises blessing to those who are obedient to Him.
1. There are seven “I wills” in the covenant God made with Abram.
2. The I wills were promises that were not conditional on Abram but
the goodness of the Lord
3. When you are blessed, those around you are blessed also.
4. When God blesses you , He can also blesses generation after you.
B. You may never know how many people are blessed by you being obedient
to God’s commands.
1. According to God, Abram obedience would be a blessing to all the
world.
2. We all need each other and are connected by the grace of God.
3. You never know what blessing God has for you as a result of someone
else’s presence.
4. The hand you hold may be the blessing you seek.
5. We just celebrated Memorial day, a day set aside to remember
veterans who died in past wars.
a. Each of us are blessed because of their fight and death.
b. Every non white person is blessed by the conviction and actions
of Dr. Martian Luther King.
c. The new race for equality blesses all nationalities. All this is because
one man took a stand for justice.
C. Out of all the people in Ur, God chose Abram to bless.
1. God blesses those who have their focus on Him.
2. God has a plan for each of us which can only be recognized when
our focus is on God.
THE CHRISTIAN WALK REQUIRES CONSTANT COMMUNICATION
WITH GOD.
V:6. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
A. God gave Abram the second part of His covenant with him some time later.
1. God does not always tell us all that is involved in His plan for us at
one time.
2. We have to trust that God knows what we need when we need it.
3. If God revealed all we are going to go through at one time, we
might get discouraged and start questioning Him.
B. The first part of the covenant was a blessing to all nations
1. The second part of the covenant was the promise of land given to
the Israelites.
2. No matter where we go, it is our job to worship the Lord.
3. We should prepare a special place to worship the Lord.
4. Everyday is a day of Worship
5. We should make time in our schedule to worship God.
C. We should praise God not just for what He has done but also for the
promises He has made to us.
1. We are blessed along the way to our blessings.
2. Abram did not live to see the fulfillment of the promise.
3. But He believed God and acted on the promise.
4. Faith is believing the Word of God without proof.
5. We should live like we have already received the promises of God.
PREPARE A PLACE OF WORSHIP
V:8-9. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
A. The names God gave the places where Abram set up camp has meaning.
1. Shechem means shoulder of strength.
2. Moreh means teach or teaching.
3. Bethel means house of God.
4. Ai means ruins; the scene of Joshua victory over the Canaanites.
B. Wherever we go, God is our strength.
1. Knowledge of God gives us power
2. Whenever we follow Gods direction we are covered
by His power and directed by His wisdom.
3. Spiritual knowledge comes from the power of Christ.
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North
Houston, Texas 77041
For more lessons, follow me on face book and visit my blogs:
revmmitichell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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