INNER HEALING MINISTRIES CHURCH Sermon Notes 1-27-2016 Dr. Benjamin Franklin Jr., Pastor
Genesis 12:1-5 "TIME TO BUST A MOVE" Moving By Faith from the Familiar to the Unfamiliar
The Old Testament Story of Abram's call by God to leave his comfortable and familiar surroundings in his home of Haran to go a place that was unknown was a supreme test of faith and courage. God's command for Abram to move without warning or indication of where he was going was senseless, worrisome, and unnecessary to Abram. However, Abram's success and fulfillment of his purpose was based on his obedience and trust in God. In many instances we will exhaust and deplete the places where we are in our lives, and we must move to a different place in order to be blessed. Even though our present place is comfortable and familiar, we can't grow, prosper or reach our potential unless we move to a different spiritual location. At some point in our lives, God will ask us to leave people, places, practices, positions, and pleasures that we have grown used to in order to truly follow Him! When this occurs, we must obey God without knowing all the details.
For some believers "Busting a Move" means that they must grow up and let go of childish habits they have been embracing for years. For others it could mean letting go of worldly practices and a sinful lifestyle. For some Christians it could mean ceasing their relationships with people who are a hindrance to their spiritual growth. Still for others it could mean taking on greater responsibilities. In this lesson we will see how Abram's willingness to step out on faith eventually blessed him beyond his wildest dreams and deemed him as one of the most faithful and blessed persons in the Bible.
ABRAM'S BLESSING DEPENDED UPON HIS MOVE
In the text God gives Abram a five-fold blessing if he would move. God said "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shall be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee and curse tm that curse thee. And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed "(Gen. 12: 2- 3). If we examine this blessing God said;
1) I will make thee a great nation (this meant that He would multiply Abram's seed, by giving him many spiritual children
2) I will bless thee…means that Abram would be financially and materially blessed himself
3) I will make thy name great…this means that Abram would have respect and honor in the world
4) I will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you…this meant that God would protect and cover Abram.
5) In thee shall all the families of the world be blessed…means that Abram would be a vessel and a tool for God's use. Abram would not have received these blessings in his old country. When we move in obedience we too can receive the full blessings of God. ABRAHAM'S MIRACLE DEPENDED UPON HIS MOVE Abraham and Sarah’s inability to have children was an issue of great concern, shame, ridicule, and worry in their life. It caused great dissention in his family and anxiety for him and Sarah. However, because he was obedient, God gave Abraham a miraculous man-child named Isaac when he was 100 (Gen. 21) and Sarah was 90 this was a great feat. When we are obedient to God, He will provide a miracle in our lives. God desires to do a miracle in our lives however we must move to the proper place and position in order to receive it. God would not have done such an extraordinary feat if Abram had not been obedient. Every believer has an extraordinary miracle waiting on them. It is a miracle that humanity can't take credit for. But we must be obedient to receive it.
GOD'S COVERING FOR ABRAHAM'S STUPID MISTAKES DEPENDED UPON HIS MOVE All of us make stupid mistakes sometimes in our life, we have all done things that we would like to erase from our memory banks forever, and would want no one to know about. Abram made one such mistake concerning his wife. In Gen. 12: 10-20, we see the account of how Abraham lied due to his wife's exquisite beauty. She was so stunning that he knew the Egyptian men would want her for themselves. Fearing for his life, he posed to them as her brother instead of her husband. As Abraham had predicted, upon seeing Sarah, Pharaoh wanted her for himself. Pharaoh purchased Sarah from Abraham for an exorbitant amount of money. However God intervened by bringing plagues to Pharaoh's house for this convoluted travesty. When Pharaoh found out the truth, he quickly returned Sarah to Abraham and bid them to leave their country quickly. Hallelujah, God stepped in to cover Abraham's crazy decision and stupid mistake without incident or harm coming to Abraham or Sarah. God covered Abraham's lapse in judgment chiefly because he was obedient to God's initial command to move out of Haran. God's grace and mercy will cover our stupid mistakes as well when we are obedient to Him.
ABRAHM'S SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND PERSONAL PROGRESS DEPENDED UPON HIS MOVE Abraham had gone as far as he could go in his hometown. He saw the same sights, socialized with the same people, did the same things, and worshipped the same idols, in his city of Haran. There was no room for his growth or personal development. When he left for Canaan and followed the Lord's leading, he met many challenges that stretched his faith and tried his spiritual metal. Most scholars say that Abraham faced four great episodes or tests in his faith in his life, they were….
1) Leaving Haran (Gen. 12)
2) Having the son of the flesh Ishmael with Sarah's handmaid Hagar (Gen. 16)
3) Waiting for 25 years for God to give Him the spiritual son of promise, Isaac form his own bowels (Gen. 21)
4) Being willing to give up his son Isaac as an offering to God to prove that he loved God more than he loved Isaac (Gen. 22). Each one of these were great milestones of faith in Abraham's life. Some of the tests he passed, and some he failed, however each test drew him closer to God and increased his faith. However, Abraham's journey of growth started with his initial act of obedience. God wants to take us on a journey of personal growth and Christian maturity. However, we must be willing to leave our comfort zone and do something different. We cannot expect to get different spiritual results if we continue to stay in the same place and do the same things over and over again. We must be willing to take a risk and "bust a move".