Sojourners: The Rugged Road Between the Daily Grind and Destiny
[powerpress] Abram : A Man at the Crossroads
Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences. -J.K. Rowling
In each of the segments of Sojourners, we will study characters that will be discussed in further detail in subsequent months in other series. However, this will provide an overview on several fronts. First, it will introduce you to the Old Testament as a vehicle through which you further understand the God that Jesus called Father and the texts from which Jesus taught. Second, it will re-introduce you to individuals who exemplified in their interactions with God some of the important themes repeated throughout Scripture. Finally, it will enable you to learn the value of all of Scripture. As the gospels are the biography of Jesus and the epistles give us doctrine in regard to the identity and commands of Christ, the Old Testament is the foreshadowing of the work of Jesus through the lives of the patriarchs and matriarchs. It will literally teach you how to walk with Jesus in your every day experience as you traverse the plain between the daily grind and destiny.
The Story of My Life
Where do I find my destiny? The context for your story is found in a biblical worldview.
A biblical worldview paints the picture of the meta-narrative of all of human history. It is summarized in God's creation, humanity's fall, and God's redemption story in Jesus Christ through His people, the church. You have an important role to play in this.
The account of Abram- later known as Abraham, the Father of the faith- is a place where you begin to see that God is continually working at the crossroads of decisions in your life.
The backdrop
Recent studies estimate that America's urban centers have only 5% of their population engaged in regular church involvement. It is not a new scenario that in a city, the majority of people you may encounter have no real honor or esteem for God. This trend trickles down from the time of Adam and Eve when God created, but humanity wanted to be their own rulers. By the time Noah appeared on the scene, God saw that the inclination of men's hearts was evil all of the time, and decidedly said He would put an end to it. However, He also had in Noah's family, a plan of redemption.
When you pass through the generations, you get to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 where people were, like today, constructing cities, speaking the same language, and trying to make a name for themselves. God confuses their language and starts to make a new city within a city (Hebrews 11:8-10) out of the man Abram who would become the father of the faith and foreshadow the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's look at what we can learn from his story.
Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. (Genesis 11:31, 32 NIV)
Before his history shaping encounter with God, Abram and his family were already on the way to Canaan (modern day Israel). You and your family may have already been on the way to God's purposes (having a Christian home, church life, community involvement, etc.), but stopped short and settled (those who stopped being involved). When that happens, like Abram's family, you begin to assimilate into pagan culture.
God meets you where you are and says, "Let's begin here and find why in this place, you are on the cusp of destiny."
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and 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. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:1-9 NIV)
How does the gospel meta-narrative play out in my every day life?
1) Abram left. Abram was called to leave his pagan surroundings, leaving the familiar culture, traditions, and environment that he had always known, to follow the one true God in a new life that God would create for him.
What do you need to leave behind to follow Jesus?
2) Abram would come into new community. God would develop a new community of faith through Abram's obedience. It would be the foundation of a people who were reconciled to God and created to be holy worshipers for His purposes.
Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:28-30 NIV)
3) Abram's life and seed, Jesus, would eventually be a blessing to all nations. There are two things that God would give to Abram as an inheritance - people and land. It is the same for you and I today. You must go to the place that God is showing you and fight for it. In whatever city you presently live, you must fight for it. You must also trust and believe that as you are doing your part to love those around you, live a godly life, and share the truth of Jesus with others, God is going to birth natural and/or spiritual sons and daughters who have come to Christ through your witness.
The Crossroads of Decision
Times of lack can test your resolve to fight for the land and people of your calling.
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. (Genesis 12:10-20 NIV)
Abram made a decision based on convenience rather than calling. Decisions based on convenience rather than calling can lead to compromise and corruption.
When people choose to make career or comfort decisions instead of calling decisions, they end up in trouble, because their priorities and gods are misplaced. They are looking to these idols for security and provision rather than Yahweh, who told them to go to the "place he will show you." They have portfolio advancement in mind rather than growth in Jesus, and suffer in the end for it. This is especially the case in times of famine. This is when Abram went astray, going down to Egypt when God told him to go to Canaan. Here he ended up giving Sarah up to another man and lying about their relationship. (Genesis 12:10-13:4; Genesis 26)
What happens when you are surrounded by friends who call themselves Christian and are telling you that it's ok to go down to Egypt (live in sin)?
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 5:1-10 NIV)
How should a biblical worldview affect my decisions, large and small?
1) Build altars at each step and in each season of your life to invite God's direction into your story. Have you built your altars? 2) If you've stepped off of the path, go back to the place where you last met Jesus, and call upon Him there for a fresh start. God's grace is still seen in His pursuit of Abram in the midst of his mistakes. Cling to the cross. 3) Learn to develop an owner's mentality in the land rather than just a renter's.
Renters vs. Owners
There is a difference between being a renter and an owner. How do you treat a rental? How do you treat something that you own?
Don't just use the city. Allow Jesus to use you along with His people to transform the city. This is the covenant of God.
People often do not stop to ask God the question, "God where is my land, and who are my people?" Have you?
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:4-7 NIV)
You must settle down to have a long-term impact on a city. Be an owner, and have a long-term vision for your impact in the city.
A walk with God is not merely reduced to proper behavior, but must affect your decision making on a daily basis. The mark of a disciple is that they are governed by a biblical worldview in the prioritization of their time, resources, priorities and pursuits being submitted to the ways of the Lord. It is about assuming an inheritance initiated by the Lord as you live with the revelation that your what you do with your life, career, and free time is not for you to independently decide, because your life is not your own. Let's give it all to Jesus, and allow Him to author our stories today!
Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014