Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as [b]the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your [c]descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he 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 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Genesis 12:1-9 NKJV
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Life is rough for most people today. Just when we have hope of a life returning to normal, we are seeing things none of us have ever seen in our lifetime.
The world seems out of control, gas prices are at all-time highs. Money is worth less today than in any of our lifetimes. It takes 2-3 times the amount of money to buy a dozen eggs and a loaf of bread. Who would have ever thought that a loaf of bread would be between 5-7 dollars, or a dozen eggs for three or more dollars.
Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in what is going on around us and forget that God is Good, God is faithful, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and nothing changes God’s promises.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that faith is
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 NLT
And that without it is impossible to please God.
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NLT
With so much going on in our lives and in the world it is easy to become concerned, uncertain, anxious, and even scared. It is also just as easy to lose sight of God’s promises and begin to base beliefs on what we see.
The Word of God tells us we are to walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7).
The truth is that none of what we are experiencing has anything to do with God’s ultimate plan. And that is what I want to encourage us with today.
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 NKJV
It was Paul’s message to the Corinthians that they may have faith in the resurrection and afterlife of the body. Contrary to popular belief, some Corinthian believers at the time believed in a bodily resurrection and a soul separate from the body.
It is clear to those who follow Jesus that God has reserved a physical resurrection and a place in heaven for them.
It’s difficult for us to explore a new city, especially when the route is bumpy, the time is late, and our friends want to cancel the trip and stay in a motel. It’s difficult to focus our attention on the unknown. However, it is a requirement.
Some of you have had a long road ahead of you. It’s been a long, stormy night. I don’t want to downplay the challenges you’ve encountered along the way in any way.
And you’re worn out, as well.
In the thick of the storms, it’s difficult for you to see the city. You’re tempted to make a U-turn and get out of the car. You want to keep going, yet on some days the journey feels like an eternity.
When things get tough, it’s easy to give up and walk away. Stop, pray, and take the next step when you feel this urge. Discover a fresh sense of faith and hope.
God knows what is ahead, and we can rely on Him to keep us safe. We should take our cues from Abraham’s example. Abraham heeded God’s command to leave his homeland and family and travel to a land God would reveal to him.
Hebrews 11:8 adds, “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Abraham did not know where he was going, but because of his faith and trust in God, he obey and did as God instructed him.
God told Abraham in 12:7 “To your descendants I will give this land.”
God was not making a promise to Abram for his own benefit, but rather for the benefit of the land that his descendants would inhabit as a chosen and sanctified people in the far future. For the benefit of all of humanity, divine truth was to be sown there. Divine revelation and salvation for all of humanity were chosen to take place in this land.
A place of worship dedicated to the LORD.
When Abram did this, he publicly acknowledged his confidence in God’s promise, established the worship of the true god, and made an open confession of his religion. The first authentic place of worship ever built in the land of promise was this.
In this way, the Christian life might be summarized. In the face of uncertainty, we rely on the Lord to lead us. Our walk with God can be puzzling since we don’t know the specifics. This is the time when we are most prone to relying on our own subjective impressions, sentiments, and logic. However, there are times when He sets us in precarious situations in order to teach us to rely on Him regardless of our inability to see the path ahead or the outcomes.
Instead of trying to figure things out on our own, God wants us to walk by trust. Taking a chance may seem unwise, but the One who is directing us has complete control over the course of events and can use that knowledge and power for our benefit.
There is power in the name of Jesus. The phrase “pray in the name of Jesus” is often used by Christians, and it refers to the practice of praying to God and asking for His help, guidance, or protection.
Two things about the death of Christ. The first was that since one person died for and in place of everyone else, everyone had died. What is this death at the end? Either the death they deserved because of their sin.
It’s odd how we often acknowledge that we take on too much, and try to accomplish things in our own strength, and need to rely more on Jesus. And yet we continue to do the same thing over and over.
The conscience is a divinely given moral compass that can be swayed by many factors, such as our background, experiences, and thoughts. What is important is the truth that one has to inform their conscience.
Life is rough for most people today. Just when we have hope of a life returning to normal, we are seeing things none of us have ever seen in our lifetime.
To grasp the magnitude of our deliverance, we must first comprehend where we came from. We are not exempt from the repercussions of our actions because we are descendants of Adam.
