Good evening. As we begin tonight, I want to let you know that we are starting a short 3 week series that will look at what your response should be when God calls your name. This week we are going to look at Genesis 12:1-9 to see how we need to respond when the future looks bright. Next week we will look at Genesis 22:1-12 and see how we need to respond when God’s commands make no sense. And then we will wrap things up by looking at Genesis 22:13-18 and see how we need to react when God shows up.
Now, with that said, realize that it may not have been a thundering voice from Heaven, but at some point you have probably heard God speak to you. Maybe it was through Bible reading, a sermon, a song, or a prayer. No matter what the vehicle for you hearing God was, there is only one important question to answer: What do you do when God calls your name?
Before we go any further though, let’s just begin with a word of prayer
So, what are people’s general reaction to God when He calls them, and why is that?
Well, let’s go ahead and see what our response needs to be when the future looks bright. Turn with me to Genesis 12:1-9 I you haven’t already. Here in This passage we are introduced to the calling that Abram received. Here in Genesis 12:1-9 it says, “1”
After reading that passage, you can see what I mean when I say the future looked bright for Abram. He would be blessed, all nations would look to him as leader, and he would be made into a great nation.
So, as we look at this passage, this is a call to Travel with God. God invites all of us on a journey with Him. This is a journey that will be long and difficult. This will be an uncomfortable journey. One that requires everything that we have. In this case, it will take everything that Abram has for the remainder of his life. But I’d like you to notice a few things.
First, notice that Abram doesn’t speak in the story. Sometimes that is our biggest problem with listening to God’s call, we try to interrupt Him and speak our mind. Notice that Abram has No questions, No excuses, No tests, No complaints.
I was involved in an argument with Nellie one morning back during the school year. Here is about how that conversation went: “I really don’t want to go.” “You have to go, Josh.” “But I really don’t like being there you know…” She tried to console me by saying, “Yes you do…” “But nobody there likes me, Nellie,” I complained. “Sure they do,” she assured me. “I really just don’t want to go,” I insisted. She insisted right back, “You have to go to church this morning, you’re preaching.”
Just kidding, but notice that in this passage, Abram makes no excuses, and he doesn’t attempt to get out of it. Can you think of a time when you felt God was calling you to something, and you tried to get out of it?
The next thing that I want you to notice is that Abram doesn’t search for the hidden story. Now if Abram is doing some soul searching, and asking: “Why would God want me to do this? or What greater purpose does he have…” we’re never told. What is neat is that God certainly does have a huge, amazing plan for Abram. But Abram doesn’t make it his problem to decipher and decode God’s agenda. He just jumps on the path and travels with God.
A lot of times we try to read into things and attempt to see the big picture of things. But what God desires is that we jump in knowing only what He wants us to know. How do you think that trying to know too much of God’s plans can be a bad thing?
Now that we have seen the call of God that had a bright future for Abram, let’s examine what our response should be. Obviously we need to Obey Him!
God speaks and with ears of faith Abram listens. Abram figures out that his job is to join God on the journey. He’s got his wife and his nephew with him, and he sets out to fulfill God’s calling. Have any of you ever had a time when you felt God tugging at you and you obeyed Him?
Obedience is the key when you are called by God. When J. Wilbur Chapman, a well known evangelist at the time, was in London, he had an opportunity to meet General Booth, who at that time was past 80 years of age.
Dr. Chapman listened reverently as the old general spoke of the trials and the conflicts and the victories he had experienced in his lifetime.
The American evangelist then asked the general if he would disclose his secret for success. “He hesitated a second,” Dr. Chapman said, “and I saw the tears come into his eyes and steal down his cheeks,” and then he said, “I will tell you the secret. God has had all there was of me. There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater opportunities; but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart, and a vision of what Jesus Christ could do with the poor of London, I made up my mind that He would have all of William Booth there was. And if there is anything of power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.”
Dr. Chapman said he went away from that meeting with General Booth knowing “that the greatness of a man's power is the measure of his obedience.” If we ever want to accomplish something great for God, then we must first obey His word and obey His calling.
Now, when God calls us, and we obey Him, we then need to Expect God to Show Up. Look with me at Genesis 15:1-6. Here in Genesis 15:1-6 it says, “2”
Here we see that the journey for Abram has just started. He’s 75 years old, he’s gone his entire life without children. 75 years, probably 55 of them married to Sarah, all those years of hoping God would bless them, all those years wondering why things were not working out the way he had hoped. 75 years of feeling helpless and struggling with doubts and despair about his future.
At age 75 – God speaks and gives Abram a call. Sure there are the Jeremiahs out there who hear God’s call early in life. But there are also people like Abram, who don’t hear the call until much later in life. “Middlers” they’re called. People who live one life doing one thing, and a second life answering God’s call to travel with him.
So what does this mean to us? It reminds us that God invites each of us on a journey with him – we too are called to travel with God. But sometimes, we’re a little too busy to hear it, aren’t we. Sometimes we’re a little too preoccupied to hear the invitation, a little too proud to consider the request, too busy doing too many things, or even just talking too much.
Even in our prayer lives we spend all kinds of time talking. Telling God what we want. Well I challenge us all to spend a week, and do the opposite. Instead of making lists, make yourself listen to God. See if you hear His invitation to travel with Him on a journey.
So, back to Abram. God gives him this calling, and then makes a promise to Him. Now this is a call to Trust in God. Notice how much of God’s promise is still undone at the end of the story! The land that Abram is to go to is occupied by a hostile culture and people, Abram, Sarah, and Lot are now homeless, and Abram and Sarah have no child to be an heir.
This must have blown Abram’s mind. How is all this going to happen? Abram can’t make this happen; not taking the land, not finding a new home, not having a child. He’s been doing that for 75 years and God told him to leave it all behind? What’s the point? This is the beginning of a call for Abram to trust in God; not himself, not his talents, not his ideas, not his work, not his friends, but to Trust in God.
Our problem is that we tend to trust more in ourselves than we do in God to fulfill His promises. We trust our skills and talents. We trust our hard work and long hours. We trust our wisdom and intelligence. We trust in our technology and medicine. We trust our religion, and our practices. We trust our feelings and instincts. But Abram immediately discovers that if he is going to answer God’s call, he will have to find some courage to believe in someone greater than himself. The same is true for you and me. We have to trust in God’s power, not our own. Instead of believing in yourself, start putting your trust in God.
Now, in order for this promise to come true, Abram must expect God to show up. Not just think that He will show up, but expect Him to show up. It is like the little blue engine that thought he could.
The little blue engine looked up the hill
His light was weak, his whistle shrill.
He was tired and small, an the hill was tall,
And his face blushed red as he softly said,
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
So he started up with a chug and a strain,
And he puffed and pulled with might and main.
And slowly he climbed, a foot at a time,
And his engine coughed as he whispered soft,
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
With a squeak and a creak and a toot and a sigh,
With an extra hope and an extra try,
He would not stop, now he neared the top
And strong and proud he cried out loud,
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!
He was almost there when CRASH! SMASH! BASH!
He slid down and mashed into engine hash
On the rocks below . . . which goes to show
If the track is tough and the hill is rough,
THINKING you can just ain’t enough!
Thinking doesn’t get it done, you have to expect God to show up. Well, Abram expected God to do as He said and to show up, so let’s see how the story ends. Turn with me to Genesis 21:15. Here in Genesis 21:1-5 it says, “3”
You have to expect God to show up, and He will. When have you obeyed God and expected Him to show up, and how has He shown up?
As we wrap things up, I want to make 2 final points to bring it all together. First, notice that God is NOT acting for Abram’s benefit. Oh, Abram will benefit, but this isn’t for Abram. What God is going to do, God is doing for His benefit, for His people, and for the future of humanity. This is about God’s passions, God’s vision, God’s plans, God’s future.
In Proverbs 16:9 it says, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”
Relinquish your future to God’s plans. Let God direct what your future will hold. I know you’re saving for retirement; I know you have an action plan for your career; I know you have in mind the perfect life for your children. But the truth is you have about as much control over your future as you do over the direction the wind is going to blow. Relinquish the path your feet are going to take to the future God has in mind. There is a bumper sticker that says, “God is my co-pilot.” Then there is one that I like better. It says, “If God is your co-pilot, change seats.”
We have to let God be in control and realize that what He does may benefit us, but it’s not about us.
And finally tonight, the last point that I want to make can be summarized by the following story. Some of you may have heard the story, but here goes anyway.
One dark night outside a small town, a fire started inside the local chemical plant. Before long it exploded into flames and an alarm went out to fire departments from miles around. After fighting the fire for over an hour, the chemical company president approached the fire chief and said, “All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved! I will give $50,000 to the engine company that brings them out safely!”
As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the firemen to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After 2 more hours of attacking the fire, the president of the company offered $100,000 to the engine company that could bring out the company’s secret files. From the distance, a long siren was heard and another fire truck came into sight. It was a local volunteer fire company composed entirely of men over 65. To everyone’s amazement, the little fire engine raced through the chemical plant gates and drove straight into the middle of the inferno. In the distance the other firemen watched as the old timers hopped off of their rig and began to fight the fire with an effort that they had never seen before. After an hour of intense fighting, the volunteer company had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formulas.
Joyous, the chemical company president announced that he would double the reward to $200,000 and walked over to personally thank each of the volunteers. After thanking each of the old men individually, the president asked the group what they intended to do with the reward money. The fire truck driver looked him right in the eye and said, “The first thing we’re going to do is fix the brakes on that truck!”
Humorous as that may be, I say that to say this: there is no such thing as accidentally answering God’s call. It requires a very real, a very intentional, and a very constant courage and effort. If we are going to answer God’s call, it will be by choice, so be open to what God is calling you to, and then chase after it with intention knowing that God will show up.
We began by asking the question, “What do you do when God calls your name?” After our study tonight, hopefully we can all Start walking. Expect God to show up. Because when He does show up, there is hope for the future!
Let’s Pray |
