[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:14] Please turn to Genesis chapter number 12. Genesis chapter number 12, we will look at verses 1 through 3 tonight.
[0:25] I look forward to listening to last Thursday's message at the end of Genesis 11. I saw through the notes as Brother Robert preached and showed the life of Abraham. It looked great. I heard wonderful things about it.
[0:37] Excited seeing where God had brought Abraham from. Comes from a family of idol worshippers. As an advocate for India, I thought that was interesting. But as I think about it, those that don't worship the true God, there's no other option but to be an idol worshipper.
[0:50] And so that it would only make sense that that's what he would be involved in. But in Genesis chapter number 12, verses 1 through 3, we'll see a promise made to Abraham. And we'll see how that it relates to us today.
[1:03] And that's real important to us today and what God has for us. For those of you that didn't get to see the video before we started, this man named Rakit, he began to wonder about Christianity.
[1:14] He didn't have any Christians around him. So he got online and he printed off the book of John and he read it. And he wanted to know more. And if I remember correctly, he had to travel about 12 hours to get the girl to service and to see Aaron and get more answers to the questions that he had.
[1:30] And then he said later on how he read through the Bible completely. And that's pretty neat. In such a short amount of time, this new believer read through the Bible. Could you imagine a guy that didn't have any Christians around him?
[1:41] He didn't come from a Christian family. He didn't know another Christian. To see another Christian. He had to travel 12 hours. What it must have been like for him when he got to Genesis 12 and read about Abraham who put his faith in God.
[1:54] And God says, depart. And he begins walking. How exciting and comforting that must be for him. The scripture. And that's what scripture should be for us. In Romans 15 and verse 4, it says, For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and comfort of scriptures might have hope.
[2:11] So stories like Abraham, which is a long time ago, and we know him to be the father of the nation of Israel, it relates to you and I today, if nothing else, in the area of patience and comfort that we find in the area of scripture.
[2:27] Because we are not Jewish people in here, all of us being Gentiles. Some years ago, I was in New York City. There was a missionary there. He had planted a church in Tel Aviv.
[2:38] I feel like I've told this story before, but when you're 30, you only have so many illustrations, all right? If we stick together long enough, I'll have more, okay? But I was in New York, and we were giving out these Bibles in Hebrew.
[2:49] And as we were doing it, this lady came up, and she said in English, she said, Hey, why are you out here proselytizing? You don't find us giving you your literature. Well, she didn't know that I had a Hebrew-speaking pastor standing right beside me.
[3:04] And he just took off. And he took her through the Bible and said, That's exactly our point. That God had given you this, and it was your responsibility to take this to the nations. And now, as a church, we've been engrafted in, and that we have the opportunity to share this with other people.
[3:20] And I don't know all that he said. I wish I could bring him up here and have him say it to you in English. But whatever he said, she still walked off. But it seemed pretty impressive to me. Anything in Hebrew seemed impressive to me.
[3:31] But she didn't understand why they were proselytizing, because she had completely forgotten. And it just seemed foreign to her that this guy was saying that she ever had a responsibility of any kind to be a blessing to him or to do anything.
[3:45] And so we look at Romans chapter number 12. We see that Abraham, I'm sorry, Genesis chapter number 12 this morning, this afternoon. Wow. Back from the top.
[3:56] All right. Abraham stands as the greatest figure to be found in the ancient world. Many would say three world religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, revere him as the father of their faith. So what you would find that the world would know him as.
[4:09] National Geographic in 1966 says, Abraham is the patriarch conceived a great and simple idea, the idea of a single almighty God. Well, even though he realized there's an almighty God, he didn't conceive it or think it up for the first time, because he is the holy uncreated one, as the ladies just sung about.
[4:27] But Abraham's importance is not just found in the fact that he is today a prime model of saving faith. And we've been seeing that in Romans. And I think it's been very neat that we've seen Genesis and Romans together.
[4:38] It makes it complicated for me to get them, separate the two of them when I'm talking right now. But it's been neat because Romans speaks so much about Abraham. But the importance of Abraham in Genesis is that through Abraham, God reveals his purpose and his goal for the universe.
[4:52] And promises to Abraham, God reveals that he had a plan. And this is exciting because man falls in the garden, and they hide from him, and God comes to him and says, I got a plan.
[5:03] And he provides that for him. And then the whole world is full of iniquity, and he's going to flood the earth. But he has a plan, and he saves some. And then they become wicked again, and they try to make a great name for themselves, and he scatters them everywhere.
[5:16] And they take all that idol worship, and all that me worship that was going on there in Babel, and they just export it to all parts of the earth. They didn't just take themselves and their families, but they took all that corrupt teaching and doctrine to the ends of the earth.
[5:30] And then immediately after that, God once again says, I have a plan. And that's exciting to know that every time we mess things up, that God has a plan. So let's read Genesis chapter number 12, verses 1 through 3.
[5:42] Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, and to the land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and I will make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing.
[5:55] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curses thee. And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you will help us have wisdom according to the scripture tonight.
[6:07] Lord, I pray that you will help make application to the heart. Lord, we see that you had a plan, and Abraham acted upon it. Lord, I pray tonight as believers today in the church age, we'll see that you have a plan, and we'll act in humble obedience to it as well.
[6:24] Lord, we thank you for the example found here. I pray that we will leave here comforted and encouraged, knowing that you're doing a wonderful work still in this day, and that you have a plan for those nations, Lord, that seem so far away from us.
[6:36] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So looking at these scriptures, let's look at the promise that was given. If you hear what is the Abrahamic covenant or the promise given, most of you would know that to be Genesis verses 1 through 3.
[6:49] So let's just take a moment, and we'll look at the promise that was made. So first of all, he says, Get thee out of the country in thy father's house, and I will show thee, and I will make a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great.
[7:01] We're told in Genesis 15, 5, And he brought him forth abroad and said, Look now toward heaven and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
[7:12] And so it would be true of that time, especially now that a man's greatness would be found, and how great his family is, and how great a property that he would own, and all that he could take for himself.
[7:23] And God said, I'm going to make a great name for you. I said this when we were in the Tower of Babel, but isn't it amazing the contrast? There's a group of people that said, I'm going to make a name great for myself. And God said, That's not how it works.
[7:34] And then he picks one person, because of his grace, that he says, I'm going to make a name great for you. But it's different this time, because he says, I'm going to make a name great for you, and with that, I'm going to have you to be a blessing to all the nations.
[7:48] And so our view of greatness is much different than God's view of greatness, because he says, If we're going to be great, then I'm going to use you as a channel to help many people. And so they thought great meant power, but God teaches us that the greatest is to be a blessing.
[8:02] So we see that he's going to give them a great name. It's a promise there. And we know this in many ways, that Abraham has a great name, and it lasts. We don't know any of the names. We know of Nimrod, but we don't know much about the people that built the tower, that tried to build a great name for themselves.
[8:17] And most people aren't going to know much about that story, but we know of Abraham today, and definitely the people of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity would know much about that story.
[8:27] He is blessed in Genesis 15, 6, and he says, He believed in the Lord, and he counted unto him for righteousness. So he said, I'm going to give you a great name, and you're going to be blessed. David's definition in Romans 4, 6, that even as David also described the blessedness of man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness, without works.
[8:45] So Abraham truly becomes blessed, because he gets his sin put onto, taken away from him, and righteousness is placed there. And it's the great reversal, where Adam said, you know, that he didn't want to trust in God, and his word, and he says, I want to kind of, I want to do things my own way, and I want, I know you said I shouldn't do this, and avoid it.
[9:05] Now Abraham says, in complete faith, I'll depend on you, and I'm going to trust you at your word. I'm going to trust you, and go somewhere, that I don't even know where I'm headed, and I'm going to trust you, that you're going to provide children, even though I'm late in age, and I'm going to trust you, in all these things, even though I don't see you, and it's the complete opposite, of what we see, in the sin of rebellion there, and Adam.
[9:25] We see faith in action. Then he goes on to say, that he's going to be a blessing, to the nations. I will bless them, that bless thee, and curse them, that curse thee, and that he shall all the families, of the earth be blessed. We're going to look at that more.
[9:36] So in that promise, he says, I'm going to use you, to be a channel, to all of the world. Then he makes a promise to him, about land. He says, I'm going to give you, unto a land, that I will show thee.
[9:48] Then in Genesis 15, 18 he says, In the same day, the Lord made a covenant, with Abram saying, unto thy seed, have I given this land, from the river of Egypt, and to the great river, the river Euphrates.
[9:59] And so some of you in here, that may be the younger brother, or the younger sister, may wonder, how is it okay, that God gave somebody else's land, away? And that's typically, how a younger brother, or younger sister would think, about somebody getting something.
[10:12] But he says, one, we know that, God's able to do this, because the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell there, in. Psalms 24, 1. God can give a piece of land, to whoever he chooses, because he's the creator, of it.
[10:26] The land pledged to Abraham, was part of God's provision, for the Jewish people. After the exodus, from Egypt, the Jews were given, the promised land, confirming God's power, to predict the future, and fulfill his promise.
[10:36] Secondly, giving the land, to Abraham's descendants, in part was judgment, on the sinful Canaanites. Genesis 15, 16, he says, but in the fourth generation, they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites, is not yet full.
[10:49] So he has a timetable, when that land, will no longer belong, to those people. And Deuteronomy 9, 4 says, speak not thou, and thine heart, after that the Lord, thy God, has cast them out, from before thee, saying, for my righteousness, the Lord has brought me, in to possess this land, for the wickedness, of these nations, the Lord does drive them out, from before thee.
[11:09] So I really want to drive home, the fact here, that it was God's to give, and he gave it to the children, of Israel. Not only did he just, give this land to them, because he's good, and gracious, and he wanted to, but he had a plan in it, because his giving of the land, was a provision, for the promise, that he had given, and the plan that he had, was to be a blessing, to all people.
[11:29] And it's so exciting, to see that built into the promise, there's a command of something, for him to do, but all the provision needed, to make it possible, is there, as well. And we'll look at this, more at the end, but whatever God's calling, for you to do, whatever he's leading you, in the doing in life, know that built into that, leading a promise, he'll provide that provision.
[11:46] Those of you that read, or watch the news, you may have seen, that our president, recently went to Israel. And I got an article, this week, and it said that, President Obama, offers hope to Israel.
[11:57] And I thought that was, kind of a weird title, so I thought I would, take a moment to read. And he's a wonderful politician, and a phenomenal speaker. And as he was speaking, people were giving reactions, to what he said.
[12:09] And because we know, that there has been, since this time, and there always will be, until the Lord's return, there's fighting there, in the Middle East. And isn't it amazing, that it's always on the news, that there's fighting, that goes on in other parts, of the world, that you don't hear about.
[12:24] You know, if you want to be like, a global Christian, which we should be as Christians, you have to really work, at learning news. You have to really work, Brother Pepperdine, at knowing about North Korea, as we talked about, because it isn't put, right in front of us, on our local news.
[12:37] But if you want to know, about Israel, you just have to pick up, a newspaper, because it's always right there, in front of us, because they're fighting. Because the world understands, that there's some importance, in what's going on.
[12:48] Is there a picture there, Patrick, if you could put that up, let you see what was promised. So he says, he told them, what the promise would be, and then in chapter number 15, he said, this is the land, that I'm going to give you, the promised land, there.
[13:02] And it's a large area, and it's much bigger, than what they have, at this current time. So I thought, I would give you some points, from the Bible here. You can take that down Patrick. I thought I would give you, some talking points, because Lang, if you talk to our, commander in chief soon, would you give him, some talking points possibly, that I would like, to rewrite, his speech next time, he has an opportunity, to speak on, that subject, if somebody would like, to put it on a teleprompter, for him.
[13:29] And I don't feel, I'm not gifting there, at politics, but when it comes to the Bible, as Christians, we have some things, that should be said, and concerning land, physical property, there's some things, that the Bible teaches, about it.
[13:40] So first of all, I would like for them, to know, that the land of Canaan, which was renamed Israel, by the Lord, was given by God, to Abraham, and his descendants, as an everlasting, possession.
[13:51] That's Genesis 12, 7. And the Lord, appeared unto Abraham, and said, unto thy seed, will I give this land, and there, builded he an altar, unto the Lord, he appeared unto him. So if it had been, some type of convention, or some redrawing, of the lines, then we could argue about it, but when the Lord, gives somebody, a piece of land, an eternal possession, it gets to be, their land.
[14:11] So that would be, talking point number one, that he could give. Number two, the gift of the land, that Abraham and his descendants, was based on an unconditional covenant, from God, himself. Genesis 12, verse 8, and I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, and all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, I will be their God.
[14:30] So it was an unconditional covenant, meaning that the children of Israel, have not lost their land, because it was promised by God, and until he changes, then that fact, will never change, and he doesn't change.
[14:42] Talking point number three, this land was given to the, was not given to the descendants, of Ishmael, one of the ancestors, the Arab people, but rather, to the descendants, of Isaac.
[14:53] We find that in Genesis 17, 18. It says, Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael, might live before thee, and God said, this is what Abraham, is praying unto God. We know that Ishmael, comes from the, the maid servant there, and he's praying unto God.
[15:07] He says, O that Ishmael, will live before you. So God, would you just take this, I know I messed up, but can we start from here? I know I tried to help you out, but let's just take this plan, and run with it, and God says, no I have a plan, it's going to work.
[15:20] Thank you Abraham, but I don't need your help in this. I got it. And then God said, Sarah thy wife, shall bear thee a son indeed, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him, for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
[15:32] And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee, behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and multiply him exceedingly. Twelve princes shall even get, and will make him a great nation, but my covenant, will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee, at this set time, in the next year.
[15:49] So there's plenty of room, for Ishmael and his descendants, it's not that there's not a place for them, and it's not that God, doesn't have a place for them, that they will be taken care of, but this covenant, and this promise that I gave, this goes to Isaac, and to his descendants, and it belongs to them.
[16:05] Talking point number four, be Israel's sin, and subsequent exile from land, did not change their divine rights, to land given unto them, by the Lord, and the covenant. Leviticus 26, 44, I will not cast them away, nor neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God.
[16:23] So they were coming, and going, and I know we say possessions, nine tenths of the long, but the children of Israel, may have been pushed out, and come and go out of it, but that land, always belonged to them.
[16:35] The land, the name of the land, is not Palestine, but it is Israel. And then I would have, our vice president read this one. 2,500 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel, spoke of the restoration of Israel, and its land in the last days.
[16:50] Ezekiel spoke of dry bones, coming to land, neither before in history, has a nation been destroyed, and scattered all over the world, and then been brought back to life. It is a miracle, and a fulfillment, a Bible prophecy.
[17:01] We read in Ezekiel 37, 11 and 12, therefore prophesy, and saying to them, thus saith the Lord God, behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up, out of the graves, and bring you into the land, of Israel.
[17:14] So it was called Israel, and will be called Israel, so today we should refer to it, as Israel. And I don't want you to think, that I have a bad spirit, towards people, that would like to have that land, and that is not the purpose of this, and it's not to enchant excitement, about political things, but the Bible speaks clearly, that he made a promise to them about it, and we should watch that, and we should speak about it.
[17:34] And when people talk about that, that place is called Israel, and it belongs to them, and that is our opinion on it, because it's the Bible's opinion on it. But you know what God also does? This would be another thing, that I would like to say to them, that the stranger, the non-Jewish people, the Gentiles, will live peacefully among them, and be treated with respect.
[17:53] That all through the book of Leviticus, and the Old Testament, God makes provision, for the stranger, and that their laws, would protect them, and they would be invited in, into their lives, and that it wouldn't be a violent place, and they would not be pushed out, but they would have room there, to live with them peacefully.
[18:10] And then lastly, the land was given to Abraham, and his descendants, as part of God's, resemptive blessing, to the world. Israel was located, in the center of the ancient world, and all transportation, and communication, between the continents, had to pass through this territory, the place that we saw on the screen, to reach others.
[18:27] In doing so, the travelers, merchants, and traders, and even the armies, encountered the children, of Israel. They came, and they were going, through this place. Ezekiel 5, says, thus saith the Lord God, this is Jerusalem.
[18:41] I have set it, in the midst of the nations, and countries, that are round about her. So God chose this piece, of property for them, because it was a provision, for a plan, that he had made for them.
[18:52] And I took some time, to reiterate a point, over and over, that this is their land, and nothing will change it. Because God, when he gives a provision, for a plan, it never changes. He doesn't take it away.
[19:04] He never gives you, a plan to do something, and doesn't continue, to provide that. So you see, when God makes a promise, for the act upon, his provisions, are always guaranteed. I want you to remember this, and keep it handy, because you're going to need that, here again, in a moment.
[19:18] So not only do we find, the promise of a great name, and of a land for them, for the people, but we go on, and we find that this promise, is all throughout the Bible. It isn't that we just come to, in Genesis 12, 1 through 3, and it doesn't affect again, our Bible study, but it's all throughout the Bible.
[19:33] There's nearly 400 passages, which are a paraphrase, of this statement. And God repeats the covenant, directly, almost verbatim, three times. He'll tell it to Abraham, and then he'll tell it to Isaac, and to Jacob.
[19:47] In Genesis 26, to Isaac, and in Genesis 28, to Jacob. And it's brought again, over and over. And then it isn't just something, that dies away, when we go from the Old Testament, to the New Testament, like it doesn't apply to us, again today.
[19:59] We find that the New Testament, writers had a knowledge, of this, and they thought, that it was important, to remember it. In Acts 3, 22 through 26, these are the words of Peter, it says, For Moses truly said, unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God, raise up unto you, other brother, and like unto me, him shall you hear, in all things, whatsoever you shall say unto you.
[20:19] And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear the prophet, shall be destroyed, from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets, from Samuel, and those that will follow after, and as many have spoken, have likewise foretold these days.
[20:32] Ye are the children, of the prophets, and of the covenant, which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed, shall all the kindreds, of the earth be blessed. And unto you first, God has raised up his son, Jesus, sent him to bless you, and turning away, every one of you, from his iniquity.
[20:49] So as we're looking here, at the day of Pentecost, when he's pleading, with the people here, he reminds them, of a promise made, all the way back, in Genesis 12, and what God had wanted, to do with them, and in verse number 12, he reminds them, then he goes on, to give us some more understanding.
[21:05] Well when we would read through it, the first time, not completely understanding, and as I think about it, I go back to thinking about, that man Rakit, and he reads it for the first time. I've said this before, it would be so wonderful, if we were, as we read through the Bible, if we could cause ourselves, to do that, to explore it, and not to skip over verses, knowing, well I know what's going to happen next, so we begin to connect the dots, and so many times, we get, if you journal, when you read the Bible, it's often times amazing, how if you look at, what you got from scripture, this time, is almost exactly, what you got, a few years ago, when you got to it, something the pastor's done, for many years, is he would go through a Bible, then he gives it away, and he starts again, with a fresh one, that doesn't have notes in it, always trying to do something, to push himself, to look at it fresh, and anew, but he would get to this, and then he would get to here, and if he hadn't, already caught on by now, but he would see, that in the, it's the name of Jesus, is the seed, that would be the blesser, it says, unto the first God, having raised up his son, Jesus sent him to bless you, so how was Abraham's descendants, how were they going to be a blessing, is that Jesus was going to come, from them, and it's in Jesus, that they would be a blessing, to all people, and Peter identifies this blessing, and how would there be a blessing, in turning away every one of you, from his iniquities, and salvation, so this promise is great, this promise here, means that God had a plan, and the fact that you're sitting in here today, are any of you Jewish people, in here today,
[22:31] I didn't think so, so the fact that he made this promise, back in Genesis 12, that God would use them to be a blessing, and the fact that you heard about this, and that the seed came from Jesus, and that you're in here today, means that the promise, is working, and then Paul helps us better understand it, in the book of Galatians, he says, now to Abraham and his seed, were the promises made, and said, and to the seeds as many, but as one, and to thy seed, which is Christ, and so he promised, a great promise there, God's promise to Abraham, discloses the destiny, of every nation, and we find in Revelation, chapter number five, verse nine, that they sung a new song, and that every nation, is represented there, and we study our Bible, we'll find out in tribulation, that God will take, 144,000 virgin Jewish young men, and they'll go to the farthest parts, of it again, and we continue seeing, these people being a blessing there, so let's look at the promise here, and something we can learn about, a blessing, so they were given a blessing, but he says, I'm going to bless you, but for what purpose, he says, I'm going to bless you, so that you can be a blessing, so we learn something here, and so even though, we don't have the promise, given to us of land, and I wish we could say, that there's some land, in Alpharetta, that God has promised to us, that's not how it works, we're on a journey like Abraham, we just, if that's what he has for us, but there's no promised land, but we have a promised savior, which is so much more, and it's the greatest part, of the promise there, but there's a lesson here, about blessings, why he gives a blessing, and what's supposed to be done, with it,
[23:58] I will bless you, we refer to this top line, of the blessing, it's God's desire, to bless the Israelites, and he says, in thee, will all the families, of the earth be blessed, so I'm going to bless you, so that you will be, a blessing, Warren Wiersbe, gives a wonderful quote, about ministry, it says, ministry is accomplished, when human needs are met, by divine resources, through loving channels, to the glory, of God, isn't there something wonderful, when you're able to give of something, to somebody, that you knew, was greater than yourself, and the impact that you had, you saw in their life, was greater than anything, you could have done, but you knew that God, did something through you, the minister, to somebody, that's what God, was going to do, for those people, he says, I'm going to bless you, for this purpose, and I'll find the wonderful joy, in it, we're in as, we are now, in a parenthesis, in history, that God is not done, with the children of Israel, but God is allowing us, the church, to be used of him, in sharing the message, of the blessing, to the entire world, and so I ask you, how are you stewarding, the blessing, that God's given you, so we're in the church age, he wants to reach the nations, that's always been his plan, and so now he's called upon us, to go into the world, and teach it, and so the way he's going to do this, is he's going to bless you, for a purpose, of being a blessing, so have you ever wondered, when you receive a blessing, where does this go, you know maybe sometimes, you go and you take a blessing, and God gives it to you, and you walk over to the shelf, and you always put it, in the same category, which is called me,
[25:26] God gives me a blessing, and you go over there, and you just stack it up, on the shelf, that's called me, and that shelf gets larger, and larger, and it gets filled with things, but have you ever considered, that often times, he hands you a blessing, and it was never meant, to be put on that shelf, but it was supposed to go, to some other place, and as a church, we get wonderful joy in that, isn't it, I mean how did you feel, in your heart, when that video showed, and he said, there's a church in America, that I took your letter, and I sent it to them, and it's on their back wall, and that as a church, we got to look back, and we got to see the picture, that was on the back wall, so I took it down, and I wasn't able, to get it back up, but we'll get it back up there, but how exciting is that, that we knew that God, allowed us to do that, because we haven't been there, to that city, we never talked to that man, we don't speak Arabic, but we got to be part of that, so because God handed you something, and you handed it, and passed it along, and you got to be a blessing, because God gave you, a desire to pray, and to commune with him, and in that, you didn't just pray, for yourself, but you prayed for Aaron, and what was going on there, and that when you saw Aaron, and he came by, you encouraged him, and that helped strengthen him, as he went back,
[26:30] I referenced this many times before, but it's in a passage like this, that's so clear, where they talk about, the difference between cats, and dogs, and the fact that one person, knows that they're blessed, to be a blessing, and that the dog knows, Miss Sherry P would know this, he'd say, you take care of a dog, and the dog thinks you're God, because you're so good to it, but you take care of the cat, and the cat thinks it's God, because you take such good care of it, and we see that there, and the difference between Abraham, and Isaac, do we have any children, named Isaac in our church, alright, sometimes pastor gives people, a hard time, because Isaac had to have somebody, go find them a wife, so he's never thought, that was the greatest name, for somebody, but you see if you study there, with Abraham and Isaac, that Abraham knew, that God was a blessing, to him for a purpose, and then when he goes, and God does something, great through him, and the kings say, oh you did such a wonderful thing, we want to give you, all these things, he said, I don't want to take anything, from you, I don't even want to take, a shoe latchet, because that wasn't me, that did anything, and I don't want you to think, that you made me rich, but that was the God, of heaven, and so many times, we get so proud, and think man, I have really done something, with my life, and we forget, it's just the grace of God, in our lives, that he has blessed us, for a purpose here, so then we get on, to this, so we see that, there's a promise given, in Abraham, it's on land, and they have their land, and as I talk about that land,
[27:46] I want you to know, that was part of the provision, for what he wanted to do, and then he gave them a purpose, in all of that, and so what is the response here, what is Abraham's response, to this promise, verse number four, so Abraham departed, I love it so much, that there is no, so Abraham sat down, and thought about it, so Abraham, talked it over, a little bit with his family, so Abraham, anything, I understand, that there's probably, different things, that went on, in the scripture there, but it's so comforting, right now, to say that he's heard, the promise from God, it didn't really make sense, to him, go where, that's kind of, what I need to know, if you're our pastor, he really needs to go, because he puts in his GPS, how to get from the church, the home, even though he does it all the time, because he wants to know, how many miles it's going to be, and all that, and that's how we are, don't you want to know, where we're going, you want to know, are we there yet, but he says just go, and he doesn't know exactly, and then we're going to find, where he tells them to go, which is even crazier, this land that I'm going to give you, yeah I haven't told the people there yet, that it's your land, and I want you to go there, and just check it out, that's a little bit awkward, isn't it,
[28:50] I mean could you imagine, if you plan to buy somebody's home, and you just kind of, walked into it one day, and you're just checking it out, you know you didn't tell them, you were coming by, to see it, and just go in, and that's what's going to happen here, so Abraham departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him, and Abram was 75 years old, when he departed of Haran, and Abram took Sarah his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance, that they had gathered, and the souls that had gotten in Haran, and they went forth, to go into the land of Canaan, and to the land of Canaan, they came, and Abram passed, and through the land, and to the place of Shechem, and to the plain of Morim, and to Canaan, I was then in the land, and the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto thy seed, I will give this land, and there built it he an altar, unto the Lord, who appeared unto him, and he removed from thence, unto a mountain, on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, the high on the east, and there he built it an altar, unto the Lord, and called upon the name, of the Lord, and there's so many things, that could be said here, about his separation, having to leave his family, and how necessary that was, also with Lot, and the problem that it came, from not a complete separation, and what he's told him to do, and we don't take the time, to look at that, but just the complete following after God, and abandoning what's behind them, but first of all,
[30:05] I just want you to see, that he went, that he acted upon the promise, that he departed, he went into the land, that he would someday possess, that God was going to give him, he acted in a faith, and he immediately went there, and his obedience, was evidence of his faith, and it was not the payment of work, for his faith, so we see him, first of all he obeys, and because he obeys, he acts upon it, we don't find that, because he obeyed, that now he is given the faith, but because he obeyed, it comes out in his actions, we find that in the book of James, but because of what we believe in God, it ought to create, what ought to be seen by this world, by radical obedience, it doesn't make any sense, for this man, logically to do these things, but it makes complete sense, when he has faith in God, and God told him, to go about doing that, then only did he go, he went, but he worshiped, verses seven through nine, we find there, it says, there he went to build an altar, you know, you can't really quietly, build an altar, you can't really make an altar, and hide it, it's kind of a public thing, and there's no Bible belt, in this area, at this time, or ever, and he didn't pass, several Baptist churches, on his way there, but he's in a place, that is full of idol worship, people that aren't worshiping, the one true God, and what does he do, he sets up an altar, where everybody's watching him, and what is he telling them, that I'm worshiping, the one true God, he's not the God, that you're worshiping, but he's the one true God, there's no way, to build an altar, and not be confrontational, there's no way, that you can build this, and act like, what you're believing, is not the truth, and there's no way, to build an altar, and people not watch, your lifestyle in it, so we see the promise, given Abraham, we see that he made provision, for it, and then we just simply see, that he acted, in obedience to it, so church,
[31:49] I'd like to ask you, how are we doing today, in acting upon, what God has given us, to do, what has he told you, to do, I'd like to give you, a moment to think about that, what has he told you, to do, and then some of you, may think about it specifically, you know, as a church, we try to take the next step, and what he would have us to do, but individually, he would have you to take, the next step, and what he would have you to do, and obedience, I mean, Philip Ferguson, moved down from Ohio recently, and he felt, that's what God, was leading him, to do, so there's those specifics, but even in a broader sense, in a more general sense, something that's true, about God's will, for us, as the church, what has he given us, to do, and I'll give you a moment, as you think about this, and let me, let me know, if this sounds familiar, and God still has a plan, and Jesus came, and he spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto me, in heaven, and in earth, go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them, to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo,
[32:56] I am with you always, even unto the end, of the world, so we get to read, through the Old Testament, we get to see God, make promises, and prophecy, and we get to see him, fulfill it, we get to see that God, has a plan, and we get to see people, act in obedience to it, and God do, a wonderful work, then we get to the New Testament, and we find him, as he ascends up to heaven, and he turns, and looks at us, and he doesn't just look at us, and give us a plan, of what we should do, with our lives, but he makes a promise, and he says, all power is given to me, seeing that I'm the, commander in chief, of all things, I have all power, if I wanted to give, somebody a piece of land, all the way back in Genesis, and promise that it will be theirs, I get to do that, because I own the land, and if I want to give you, anything for the mission, I can do that, and so he makes a promise, to us in this, and then not only does, he makes this promise to us, but then he gives us, a clear plan, what ought to be done, so he still has a plan today, he had a plan back in Genesis, power of Babel, they're everywhere, but now we look, all these thousands, of years later, and in the uttermost parts, of the world, there's still people, that are still following, the same idol worship, that was taken there, back in the day of Genesis, and they're still waiting, for somebody, that's being blessed, to go and be a blessing, to them, could I ask you this, you know, in a church, that has so many, missionaries to it, this would be a very easy place, to think that you would never, be called of God, to be a missionary, it'd be a very comfortable place, because you could begin, to run the numbers, and say well, many churches, don't have one foreign missionary, out of it, so since our church, has so many, that mathematically,
[34:33] I must be safe, that God isn't going to call me, to be a missionary, and that would be a very, sad thing to happen, so there's many applications, here for this, but one of them has to be, just real simply, that Abraham departed, he just took what he had, he took his altar, he went to build an altar, he just went to a far land, and he did that, and he preached about, the one true God, and he was a witness, he was a missionary, among the people, and could I ask you, if that not be what God, would have for you, because it doesn't matter, how many missionaries, we have on this wall, as long as there's nations, and people groups out there, that are yet to have it, there's still the people, that God's calling, from one place, to another, because there's pockets, of places, where that there's not, a Christian among them, which means, that the Christians among them, can't get fired up, and see revival, and the people be reached, that unless somebody, from outside goes in there, they're not going to hear it, and we are people, that are being blessed, for a purpose, so maybe you're here, from the community, you say I didn't come here, for the training center, I didn't come here, to be a missionary, because you ask yourself, and I pray that you do, would that be God's plan, for your life, and it's something, that we would ask, of him, then also in here, if you would say, that's not what God has for you, can I tell you, that our lives, don't look any easier, it doesn't, it shouldn't look any easier, than what Aaron's doing, there in Morocco, it shouldn't look any easier, than Abraham, but it's a life, of complete faith, and if you're not living, a life of complete faith, then maybe possibly, you should take more things, off the shelf, and all the different blessings, that you've been storing up, and get rid of that closet, so much, that you have to live by faith, maybe you have so much, stored up, that you don't need him, and maybe you just need, to depart, maybe there's something, that God's been putting, in your heart, about ministry, and our community, and you're just saying,
[36:12] I know that God, wants us to reach, our community, and I know that, if I have a desire, to do it, that apparently, it doesn't come, from Satan, because I tell you, he doesn't care, about reaching this community, and can I tell you, as good as you are, you don't care, about reaching this community, but the Holy Spirit, that lives inside of you does, because go, so maybe, could you see the plan, that God gave, of us going, and the promise, that he made of provision, all power, not just a piece of land, but all power, and could you just depart, could you just leave here, in the night, and say I'm going to move forward, with what God has me to do, and so maybe, it looks different, Abraham had to pack up, and it was hard, and maybe, you just have to go home, and Google, maybe that's your first step, maybe it's to call somebody, on the phone, and say I've really been thinking, about this for a long time, but I feel like, that God's been blessing, me in this area, and I want to be a blessing, to some other people, because God is still, working a plan, through his people, and he's still providing, what's necessary, to see his plan, take place, and his promises, never waver, and that's exciting, isn't it, that no matter, what people say about it, his provisions, will never change, so we have seen in Romans, if you're a believer, you have the faith, of Abraham, so if you don't have, the faith of Abraham, then you're not a believer, pastor has said it so well, it's not the size of your faith, it's the substance of your faith, you know, you may, you know, it is a measurable amount, it's that you have the faith, in the same Jesus, that Abraham has, which means, that you have the faith, to depart, and to act upon it, so whatever it is,
[37:36] I can't make, the individual application, but I can tell you, that falls underneath, this window, that we're supposed to go, to all the nations, with the gospel, this city is part, of all the nations, but there's other places, in this world, that are definitely, part of all the nations, and that he has called you, to do that, he called it on Abraham, he's called you, the day into it, and what are you doing, how are you being a steward, of the blessing, that is given, heavenly father, I pray that now, that you will work in the hearts, holy spirit, as you live in the hearts, of the believers, lord, lord, I know that I could have done, a much better job, at communicating this, but lord, your truth is so powerful, and I really pray, that right now, in this moment, that people will make, the realization, that you do have a plan, in this world today, and that you give the provisions, when you give the plan, and that you have given, our church, all the power necessary, to see people saved, and baptized, of all the nations, and I pray that people, will consider that, I pray that if there's somebody, in here, and they've considered, the thought of being, a missionary lord, that tonight, they'll just surrender, and they'll say,
[38:39] I'll depart, I don't have everything, figured out, I don't know where, what I'll do with my job, I don't know where I'm going, but I just know that, you're putting a longing, in my heart, to go and take the gospel, to people that do not, have it, if that's somebody, in here that hey lord, I pray that you'll just, continue the work, in the heart, and that they will be, obedient to you, and their obedience, will bring glory, Lord there may be, some people in here, and they would say, you're putting dreams, and desires in their hearts, to do something, in this community, and they felt like, they've lacked, what's needed to do it, I pray that you'll, encourage them tonight, and knowing that, all that's needed, and the provision to do it, and that they do have the faith, to move forward with it, and that they will depart, from here tonight, and strong belief, that you're willing, and able, to do something, with every head bowed, and every eye closed, as Kristen plays on the piano, if that's your case, would you find a place, at the altar, and maybe if you're in here, and you say, no I don't have any dreams, or desires about this place, or any other one, could I tell you that, you have all the benefits, of justification, and life is too short, for you just to be a bystander, get a big dream in your heart, pick a country in this world, pick a cause in our community, but don't sit there idly, get in the game, and do something, with your life, this message, was recorded, at Vision Baptist Church, in Alfredo, Georgia, for more information, log on to, www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find, our service times, location, contact information, and more audio, and video recordings,