Leave Everything Behind – Part 3

This is grandma.

Don't settle for anything less than what God wants to give you don't settle for halfway.

Thank you for joining us with this weekly vision of living in the light with n-gram lots and weekly series from the life of Abraham is to encourage you to leave the familiar your comfort zone and follow him to embrace the God filled life and make knowing God your magnificent Obsession hears and to introduce today's message. There's no question send leads to suffering in Abraham's case also led to a substitute for God's blessing in Genesis 12 and 13 were told that Pharaoh treated Abram well for Sarah sake and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men, servants and maidservants, and camels.

Abraham to become very wealthy and livestock and in silver and gold. Does that surprise you.

Are you shocked by the fact. Abraham seem to profit greatly, even though he had disobeyed God and sin shamelessly in the process.

Abraham's wealth acquired in Egypt was not God's blessing in the future it will become the cause of great distress and sorrow, the wealth Abraham at acquired was a substitute for the blessing of God.

In today's message you will discover that Abraham's failure was not intentional as he traveled to the land God promised him, he simply kept going. He knew he had arrived where God wanted them to be but then unexplainable. He Scripture tells us in Genesis 12 nine. He set out and continued toward the negative that I gave was not where God wanted them to be.

Shortly afterward, he ran into trouble.

He came up short when there was a famine in the lands and will discover that failure in our lives almost always begins with a famine a famine of God's word and a famine of prayer. It was true in Abraham's life is true in your life and in mind listening to living in the light with n-gram lots as she continues her series in the life of Abraham. Right at this initial time Abram fail in a most spectacular fashion and I'm so grateful that God is recorded for us for our encouragement because when we set out to know God. We have this wonderful desire and amen vision of following him in her pursuit and embracing the magnificent Obsession receiving his blessing to be a blessing that all of a sudden we fall flat on her face and wonder how many of us at that point quit Abraham right at the very initial stage of pursuing God fail and he was leaving Canaan went down the negative and failure in his life was very unintentional. In verse 10 it says now there was a famine in the land and he just decided that you know there's a famine there's not enough food here. I'm used to taking care of my family on the head of the household and so I need to pursue food and I notice I'm in Egypt I'm just going to take them to Egypt and it was just such a small decision. He was just going to Egypt for a little while there is no record that he prayed no record that he sought the Lord and failure is often in our lives.

In fact I would say 99.9% of the time. Failure is unintentional as ever talk to anybody who said that they decided they would get up in the morning and they would fail. I never talk to anybody that said today I'm just going to go out and blow my witness and today I decided to backslide is just creeps up on you is just such a little thing and it usually starts with a famine of God's word and I know in the past 10 years I'm busy in ministry there is a particular time when there was a famine of God's word in my life. You know you can study it to give it out.

But I'm talking about reading to receive it to listen to God to let him speak to you spending time in prayer that takes time and when you're busy busy busy. Sometimes you neglect your Bible reading and you neglect that personal communion and there was a time when I did and I made a little decision just a little decision and you know it's funny when you you make a little decision as you continue it like this. After while there's a big chasm between you and the will of God, and I found myself straight outside of God's will, just from a little decision that came from a famine in my life. If you neglect in God's word.

Watch out, and I know you can study it to give it out and if your Sunday school teach you teach a Bible class and you're in God's word and you drop all that and that's really wonderful you can be immersed in it. But that's not a substitute for your devotional life. I know what I'm talking about and don't substitute your study of God's word to give out for your personal devotional to take and Abraham, just someone intentionally stepped out of God's will, just for a little while when there was a famine and he went to Egypt to handle the practical problem in his life and I think sometimes we can tell how we step out of God's will. When we make a decision and we haven't prayed about it, what decision have you made prayer decision about where you spend your vacation or were you going to go for Christmas or know what job you would take over your send your children to school or what. Whatever the decision is even something to do in ministry and we make the decision, and while were carrying it out resting on the glasses instead of praying for and asking God to reveal his will to us. There is no record that he prayed he just stepped right out of God's will needs a will and he had that food menu no.

There's a famine in Canaan have to do practical things to take care of his family.

If you prayed maybe God would've set Abram. I want to go to Egypt but he was at the security, the God was leading and there. Or maybe God would've set Abram. I want to stay in Canaan, and Dr. fit in with anyone we step out of God's will, especially when you're in a hard place and the pressure comes on with the back is what we miss the blessing of seeing how God would've provided for us when this part of the adventure of the magnificent Obsession we miss getting to know him and how he can meet our needs but it seems to be impossible and Abram is the blessing of thing on God to provide for him if you'd stay depended on God just goes down to Egypt for a little while failure that was unintentional became very miserable.

Verses 11 and 12. We can tell he starting to worry because he is afraid to stay where he is with his family is afraid to go down to Egypt where he is going because he's afraid the going to kill them for Sarah Sagan and what happened and he's lost his days and is one of the first characteristics of somebody is outside of God's will. You're scared inside and you just lose your peace and keeps you up at night is easy. A horrible feeling is just misery is just spiritual misery on the inside and you just now where you're supposed to be and you're scared to go back to scared to go forward and just take matters into your own hands and his worry led them to wrongdoing. He told Sarah just say that you're my sister so that when they say you don't treat me well for your sake and seller actually was his half-sister. She was the daughter of his father, but none of his mother and so that was a half-truth, but half-truth is a whole lot. And God says in Proverbs, he hates line and Abram lies ahead and got Sarah at the last foreign and his wandering had led the worry that led to wrongdoing. Have you wanted out of God's will. And then you lose your peace. You get worried and is the worry led you to do something wrong.

Have you lot. Have you lied to cover up your life have you manipulated have you done something selfish, like Abram, his sin led to suffering an enormous suffering because Sarah was taken into Pharaoh's harem. Can you imagine a worse situation for her to be in an Sarah. Her name means princess and I wonder if Sarah had been a princess or maybe just from a very well-to-do family very wealthy family and I would expect Sarah.

The Princess had been pampered all of her life that even her friends were met and I know Abram put on a camel. And you know she went 800 miles but not much of the top of that camel had one of those little platforms of the little roof on here. The tassels that dangled in an orbit their curtains drawn. So the sun would get on her skin when she got to retain at night, their Persian carpets on the floor and sat easily silk send.

She was the pampered door, beautiful wife of this well-to-do chieftain and now Sarah, the Princess is taken into a pagan man harem in their strange language in strange culture and she's been put in a compromising position vulnerable to be defiled by pagan man said soft words and humiliation of knowing her husband put her there and think of Abraham suffering when the famine was over these so selfish. Selfishness is one of the hallmarks of somebody outside of God's will. Totally thinking about himself and when he saw her disappearing with these arrows managers you disappeared in the chemotherapy must've been modified, horrified, what have I done to my beautiful Sarah all, how will I get God help me, and I don't know if it was the Abram to help Sarah, but the New Testament says Sarah did the right thing and submitting your husband at this point. In fact, it tells you and me is Christian wives that were to learn from Sarah and be submissive if she was in her submission was amazing but I think when she submissive and doing the right thing that she knows to do. Then God undertakes for her and God just leaned down and just lowered the boom on all those men and they all got a disease. Nobody could touch her and Pharaoh's entire household suffered because of Abram's you think is just a little sin just for a little while, nobody will know how to tell you what sin causes other people to suffer doesn't not only ourselves but so often the people we love innocent people. Everybody was suffering and the suffering led to shame. In verse 18. Somehow Pharaoh figured it out and he called Abram on the carpets and he said Abram what if you done what you say she was your sister so I took her to be my wife how much you take these things.

You've gotten Egypt and Abram out of Egypt.

You're not good enough to stay down here and by the way Abram if your God is God I never want to know that's humiliating God said Abram if you lever of the Chaldees and follow me. Bless you and I'll make you a blessing. All nations of the earth will be blessed through you and the first time these outs. He's not a blessing. He's a curse and only a truly godly person knows the humiliation of being corrected and rebuked by Pharaoh or Canaanite somebody who's just not a believer is at your mother-in-law that rebuked you or daughter-in-law or somebody is your place of work friend somebody who doesn't know Christ and they caught you in doing something that you should have been doing. How did you respond that you defend yourself that you give excuses that you lot to cover up Abram was just silence and I appreciated what could he say appreciate his silence is nothing to say no excuse he could give no defense. He could offer. He had sin in his sin and led the suffering and the suffering and led the deep shame and humiliation worse than the shame he brought on himself and his family. He brought on the name of God.

If you brought shame like that to yourself, to your family and to God's name you're able not only brought shame, but he settled for a substitute for God's blessing chapter 12 verse 16 said that down in Egypt.

He acquired sheet cattle, male and female donkeys manservant maidservants campus chapter 13 verse two. It's a become very wealthy and livestock and silver and gold.

Abraham profited from his sin, that surprise you people do it every day. If material possessions and wealth was a sign of the blessing of God.

The drug cartels would be the most blessed people on earth when they is not necessarily a sign of God's blessing and all of this wealth and Abram's life was not the blessing of God in all of this wealth was Hagar the little Egyptian girl that Abram would commit the greatest sin of his life with. And all this wealth becomes a source of division within his family and all of this wealth provide such a temptation for a lot, but I think this is what triggered lots downfall in the next chapter that he had just gotten a taste of worldly pleasures and worldly things and Amanda would set out to pursue God then decided to embrace the world because he had been down in Egypt and he pasted it firsthand. There was just so much misery and so much shame and so much sin that came out of all that well, that wasn't the blessing of God. It was a substitute God for bid any of us would ever settle for a substitute for God's blessing, but as I was preparing this I was thinking you know and what substitute have you settled and sometimes I wonder if I settle for busyness and I settle for a lot of activity in ministry and opportunities. Instead of my personal one-on-one devotional time with the Lord you substituted a position or possessions, or reputation or popularity or prestige possessions something for the magnificent Obsession. If you substituted something for the genuine blessing of God in the genuine blessing of God is God, or somebody here who is still in Egypt, even as I speak. Are you in the midst of failure. Have you failed in the last year, you know, failure that was so unintentional you had such glorious ambition you going to pursue God and get to know him and to make him known and be blessed to be a blessing and then you just fell flat on your face and is that where you are is that for you've been so unintentional. It has been so miserable. Nothing is as miserable as a person who's out of God's will and those who is like to be in God's will knows what it's like to be in a place of blessing and then you're out of and praise God failure like that is reversible. You have to stay in each if that's where you've been. If that's where you are what you get out of Egypt. Leave your failure behind the wall when it don't stay there, come home to God returned to him. Chapter 313 verse three from the negative. Abram went from place to place, and I have the sense that Abram is searching. God I used to know you used to bail my wife and son last you and your loss to me and God just want you back please God, where are you and you keep searching from place to place until he comes to Bethel.

The place between Bethel and hey where's Ted had been earlier and where he first built an altar and their where you last met God. Abram called on the name of the Lord. He returned to God at the place we had last been. He repented of his sin, and I know he repented repentance change turnaround because Abram didn't go back to our anything go back to Herod needing go back to Egypt. He went back to God and you think Bethel represents at this point in his life.

It's the crops and Abram was going back to the place where he knew God had been in his lie in his or somebody here, you been living in failure and it was unintentional. You didn't mean to is been miserable what you can come back to the cross. You know something God is never turned away anyone ever come to the foot of the cross. You can just come nothing. Abram's prayer was something like this. God, I'm so sorry. I'm so ashamed of myself. God you called believer of the Chaldees not left everything. I mean, I know I stopped halfway us out on the fence for a while but I got off the fence I got of heroin came down they came in the mail was built in the halters everywhere right in front of the Canaanites and you appeared to me that you didn't appear, but I was learning to grow and live and walk by faith.

It was wonderful. I knew you were in my life and why I keep going. The negative said if only 100.

If only I had known the negative state.

If only I had prayed but didn't God and man in his own hands and went to Egypt and I was terrified of what they would do to me and I know the Egyptians are so ruthless and told Sarah to live and she ended up in a Herriman she suffered in Pharaoh's household suffer not brought shame to your name. Oh God, I'm so sorry and I want to come back to you. Please forgive. Please cleanse me. Please restore to me the joy that had in pursuing somebody you need to pray a prayer something like that. My invitation wherever you are, wherever you've been, whatever you've done.

Where are you are you and you know just in your comfort zone and even the cove is comfortable for you because you go to Christian conferences, and you got a lot of knowledge and building up your knowledge and ease calling you to come out of your comfort zone. Step out there, take a risk of failing a month.

I'm talking about not being able to do what you think you can do that's getting out of your comfort zone is not comfort zone is staying within what we think were capable of when you step out of your comfort zone when you go right out there where you know you're not capable of it at all and if it gets done. It's got to be God at work in and through and you get out of your comfort zone.

Somebody you and Karen still sitting on the fence can imagine because you come to the cove may be in your heart, maybe new spiritual still living in the place of compromise to somebody here surrounded by Canaanites with you and your family. They live next door to you. You work with them your place of business been intimidated by scared afraid to share the gospel afraid to say a prayer in front of them when you got for business dinner, would you leave the fears behind and just freely. Be who you are before the Lord somebody you're down in Egypt in his time to come home this time to come back to Bethel. Would you come back to the cross returned to God repented of your sin as you embrace the magnificent Obsession with the magnificent Obsession it's knowing God and making him known. Being blessed that you might be a channel of blessing reaching the full potential that he has for you.

Would you pray with me, please, in the quietness of this moment. I just want to give you time to think of what God is said to you.

If where you are in your Christian walk, and I want to tell you something I am so grateful to God that you're here have been praying for you every day this week asking God to prepare your heart to stir you up to make you restless, the quicker you desire more than anything that you might know him. The knowingness, so wherever you are, from application.

In this lesson wherever you are at this moment. Maybe it's in a place I haven't mentioned but tonight just invite you to come back to the cross and just thank Jesus for time for you taking away your sin, and not only that, I believe you normally forgive you not only been saying, probably his hands on you for service that's a privilege to have them reach out of heaven and call you, not just to know him, but to make him known to other people may be that you need to come to the cross and humility and contrition and repentance and get right with him and asking for his cleansing that you might pursue him with a whole heart. So father would just commit now the thoughts in our minds and emotions in our hearts, the decisions that were making, which is committed to you and asked that even now we might hear you calling us personal commands that you commanding us to leave everything that means everything. Not half of everything but everything in order to pursue knowing the Lord now we make that this sincerely in Jesus name and for his name. This is living in the light with our speaker engram lots with these final words of encouragement. Abraham search had led them to Bethel a place of sacrifice, a place that can be understood as an Old Testament picture of the cross, the place where he had last known God's presence in his life there.

Abraham called on the name of the Lord out loud right there in front of the Canaanites.

What is your heart's cry do you want to start all over again to then would you tell God about your failure mess you've made. Remember God is never turned away. Anyone who comes to him in humble repentance of the foot of the cross. I'll say it again come back to the cross. Pray like you may imagine. Abraham prayed, pour out your heart. It doesn't matter if you can't remember how or when or where you began to wander.

Just come back to the cross right now. If your hesitating is it because you feel ashamed and embarrassed is because you're not sure God will receive you, he will no so don't keep him waiting leave everything behind the familiar defense sitting this fear and failure and run back to him.

You've been listening to living in the light with engram lots if you'd like to share today's message go to engram lots.org where you'll find much to assist you in getting into the word of God and praying and sharing Christ with others join us again here next week for living in the life