Gen 12:4 So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
In Genesis 12:1-9 it forms a pivotal section. It foreshadows the latter patriarchs, & the entire line of David, including the Messiah. It is also the seedbed for the biblical concept of the blessings of God at work in the lives of His people to counter the effects of the curse.
In verse 1 God commands Abram to get out from his family which was a test of faith to him. He was called to give up everything that was dear to him for an unknown land. How Abram came to know Yahweh is not revealed.
God's plan from the beginning of redemptive history has been global. God's work in Abram's life will be so evident that he shall be a blessing to all families of the earth.
Throughout Old Testament history, individuals & nations who blessed Abram's descendants were blessed by God; those who persecuted them, God cursed.
For twenty five years Abraham believed the promise that God would give him a son. For twenty five years, he stood face-to-face with God on the promise, every year expecting to have a son. Sarah was becoming weaker, & Abraham’s own stamina & body were becoming frailer. Natural conditions were changing both Sarah & him so that as far as they could see it would be humanly impossible for them to bring forth fruit. Abraham dared not look either at Sarah or Himself in that respect.
He chose to look at God. You cannot find anywhere that God ever failed. He wants to brings us into that blessed place of faith, which will change us into a real substance of faith, until we are so like-minded that whatever we ask, we will believe we receive, & our joy becomes full because we believe. I want you to see how God covered Abraham because he believed.
Hear what God said to Abraham, & then see how Abraham acted. He was among his own people & his own kindred, & God said to him "Come out, Abraham, come out" & Abraham obeyed Him & came out, not knowing where he was going. You
will never go through with God in any area except by choosing to believe in Him. It is "Thus says the Lord" every time, & you will see the plan of God come right through when you dare to believe. Abraham left his own country, & God was with Him. Because he believed, & God overshadowed him.
When God sets His seal upon you, the devil will not dare break it. You know what a seal is, don't you? So when God puts His seal upon you, the devil has no power there. He will not dare to break that seal, God puts His seal on the people who choose to believe Him.
There are two kinds of righteousness. There is the righteousness that is according to the law, the keeping of the law, but there is a better righteousness then that. You may ask, "what could be better then keeping the law?" The answer is—The righteousness that sees God & obeys Him in everything is better.
The righteousness that believes that every prayer uttered is going to bring the answer from God is better. There is a righteousness that is made only to the heart that knows God. There is a side to the inner man that God can reveal only to the
ones who chooses to believe Him.
There are many scriptural illustrations as well as personal ones to show us how God works with those who believe Him. One of the greatest examples of all is where God worked in Abraham. There were many good points about Sarah, but she had not reached the place of fully trusting God. She laughed then denied having done so. Gen 18:12, 15.
So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” V15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But the LORD said, “No, you did laugh.” We learn in In Genesis 17:17 that Abraham also laughed, as well as Sarah, God's harsher reaction with her (17:19) indicates that Sarah was persistent in her unbelief, not mere astonishment. They had waited a long time & she had seen that their bodies were growing frailer, so she said "It will be good just as good for you to take Hagar for a wife & bring forth a son through her." (Gen 16:1&2). But that was not the seed of Abraham that God had spoken about, consequently that caused a great deal of trouble in Abraham’s house. We see from this that is so unwise to go beyond God's choice. The one who walks with God needs to choose to follow His leadings, & when He leads you, it is direct & clear. The evidence is so real that every day you know that God is with you, unfolding His plan to you.
It is great to be in the will of God, I cannot say it it more clearly—CHOOSE LIFE. We will go back to our Scripture Deut 30:19 AMP I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live There is a higher order than the natural man, & God wants to bring us into that order where we will choose to believe Him. In the first place God promised Abraham a son. Could a child be born into the world, except through the natural law? It was when all natural law was finished & when there was no substance in these two people, Abraham & Sarah, that the law of the Spirit brought forth a son. It was the law of faith in God who had promised. Choose to believe that His promises are yes & amen.
We learn in Matthew 7:13-14 to choose to suspect things that are popular or favoured by the world. Jesus motivates His disciples to live righteously by emphasising that such living comes from the heart with love & trust, more then through some external code of ethics. Consequently, New Testament wisdom reveals the differences between a correct behaviour, based only on the law, & righteous actions that proceed that proceed from a new life reborn in Christ. VV 15 & 16 show us that there are many false prophets who pretend to be Christian guides, but whose real purpose is selfish & destructive. We must test those claiming to prophesy by their fruit, that is by their life-style, character, teaching & influence. Be warned what you practice demonstrates your relationship with Jesus.
Never undervalue obedience. Know that many who who expect divine approval will receive censure or even judgement instead. VV21-23 teach that Jesus warns against self-deception or a mere verbal profession of Lordship without obedience to the will of God. Choose to walk in the authority of the Scriptures
& the name of Jesus with a genuine obedient discipleship. We see in Matthew 11:28-30 In contrast to the heavy burden of Jewish legalism Jesus calls for an open, free & loyal relationships.
He says in V 29 Take my yoke upon you & learn from me for I am gentle & lowly in heart & you will find rest for your souls. WE learn from this that His yoke enables obedience to the Law of righteousness. In God's Word there is always more to follow, always more to know. If only we could be like children taking in the mind of God, what wonderful things would happen. Choose to apply the Bible to your life, It is just great. Don't worry about those who only take part of it. You take it all. When we get such a thirst that nothing can satisfy us but God, we will then have the best time. The child of God must have reality all the time. After the child of God comes into the sweetness of the perfume of His presence, he will have the hidden treasures of God. He will always be feeding on that truth that will make life full of glory.
There are no dry places in God, all good things come out of hard times. The harder the place you are in, the more blessings come out of it as you yield to His plan. If we had known God's plan in it's fullness, we might never have had a tear in our life. God is so abundant, so full of love & mercy; there is no lack to those who trust Him. Choose the life God can give you, a touch of reality so that you will know beyond any shadow of doubt that you can trust Him. What an example of faith is found in Mark 2 in the story of the paralytics' healing. When the sick man's four friends found the house where Jesus was staying was too crowded to enter, the men asked among themselves what should they do. There is always a way.
I have never found faith to fail. May the Holy Spirit give us a new touch of faith in God's unlimited power. May we have living faith that will dare to trust Him & say "Lord I choose to believe. There was no room, not even at the door (mark 2:2), but these men said "Lets go up on the roof". Unbelieving people would say. "Oh that's silly, ridiculous & foolish! But people of faith say "We must get our friend help at all costs. It is nothing
to move the roof. Lets go up & through." Choose to say to day, "Lord, take me & let me go through; let me drop right into your arms." it is the best place to drop into, out of your self-righteousness, out of your self-consciousness, out of your unbelief.
Some people have been in a strange place of deadness for years, but God can shake them out of it. We need to thank God some of the moulds have been broken. We are blessed when the old mould gets broken, for God has a new mould. There are so many reasons why we should choose to follow Jesus: He came to earth, He came to be the Saviour for the world, that's right every one of us He didn't leave anyone out. He came because mankind was saddled with sin. We were at enmity with God. We struggled under a curse. The sentence of death had been passed on to us through Adam's sin. But because of Jesus the dawn of light & life was given to each one of us. To have that light & that life we must choose to accept God's plan of salvation through Jesus, every infraction is lifted off our soul & the Word promises that all sin is washed away, never to be remembered (1John 1:9, Heb 8:12).
The power of real forgiveness changes us at heart level. Choosing Jesus as the Truth the Way & the Life means that you are not left out. The love & grace of God through Jesus is a forgiving & life-giving gift to you. It does not matter who we were, where we are, or what situation we find ourselves in this life, freedom is available. We access our freedom at soul level when we accept the love & forgiveness of Jesus - & when we let go of guilt that should not belong to anyone of us.
Jesus came to make atonement not only for the world's sin but also for it's guilt. You see guilty conscience is the greatest plague we can have because it affects everything you do, even if we try to ignore it. Guilt is a plague & sin injects it deeply into our heart. Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. There is conviction yes! but it does not make us feel guilty, it simply opens our eyes to the truth. I think this the greatest reason to choose Christ, is that we have a second home, that is our home in heaven where we can live for all eternity with Him & to praise & worship him in person.
In Matthew 6:10J eus prayed for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, He wants us to have an abundance in every area, health, joy, peace, contentment, wisdom & all the rest. Jesus prayed that God's will be done here "In earth as it is in heaven". This is an amazing clue as to what is possible with God regardless of your location. Jesus' prayer means that it is possible for God's will to be done as it is in Heaven right here on earth. Remember that nothing is impossible for God & His will always brings abundance—because again abundance is the nature of God. Do not let anyone talk you out of what belongs to you here on earth! Study the Word, accept God's love—the abundant life is always God will for YOU. Continue to renew your mind with God's Word. Get deep inside of your mind & heart so that you have abundance of love, joy, peace, patience, wholeness & blessings. That is what Jesus' birth is all about.
John 10:10 tells us that He came with a purpose – to give us life & to give it more abundantly. Deut 7:6 For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. Holy refers to a separated people, Israel was a holy people because of their relationship with God. Their relationship was a result of a divine choice whose essence remains a mystery. This declaration of love was spoken over the nation of Israel. God had set them apart for Himself & had chosen them to be His own treasured possession.
We know that as Christians, we have been grafted into the vine (Romans 11:16-18) and now share in the spiritual blessings from Abraham that God had originally declared over the nation of Israel. We too are a special people that God has chosen for Himself, His treasured possession. Ephesians 1:3-6 tells us how God lovingly chose us before the creation of the world to be adopted as His beloved children in Christ.
My question today is this... Do you feel the astronomical value that God has placed on your life? If not, ask the Holy Spirit to show you how much you are treasured by your heavenly Father! I believe that if you ask Him today, He will be faithful to show you just how much you are loved and valued by God. In Romans 5:5 the Apostle Paul writes... Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
We know that hope of great future blessings will not turn out to be false, because the Holy Spirit gives lavish evidence in our hearts of God's love for us. In Closing remember: Everything we do begins with a choice. You choose what to eat for breakfast, you chose your job, you chose your friends & even your spouse. But ultimately, you & I have a choice to either live for God or not. That is called free will, that means freedom to choose, which is an amazing gift from God which He gives to all of us.
The leaders of Jesus' day knew that He was real. They believed in Him, but their love of people's approval would not permit them to have a true relationship with Him. I ask myself how did their lives turn out. What did they miss because they said YES to people & NO to God? I wonder how many of them were never mentioned in the Bible again. I wonder did they fade into oblivion & never fulfilled their destinies because they loved the approval of man more then the approval of God. How many of them spent their lives disrespecting themselves just because they were people pleaser’s & not God pleaser’s.
Jesus' death on the cross changed the conditions of all humankind standing before the judge of heaven. Jesus was innocent; He never sinned & therefore deserved to live. But He chose to take our place. Each one of us are fugitives, guilty of sins punishable by death. But the judgement that provoked the wrath of God was poured out on Jesus when He died for the sins of the world. With the cause of justice having been fulfilled by His Son's blood, the Judge of heaven is free to extend mercy to all sinners without being crooked or corrupt.
Choose to say to day, "Lord, take me & let me go through; let me drop right into your arms." it is the best place to drop into, out of your self-righteousness, out of your self-consciousness, out of your unbelief. Some people have been in a strange place of deadness for years, but God can shake them out of it. We need to thank God some of the moulds have been broken.
We are blessed when the old mould gets broken, for God has a new mould. Last but not least remember to choose life so that your descendants may live.
Acknowledgements Smith Wigglesworth.
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