Let Everything Go – Part 2

One of the most amazing mind blowing really aspects of hearing the voice of the Lord speak through his word is that when he does he reveals that he not only knows what's going on in your life understands what's going on. Understand your fears. Welcome to living in the life and grandma and her continuing study from the life of Abraham. Like most of us Abraham's life is full of twists and turns, failures and successes. Yet God called him Abraham obeyed the choice that began a journey that lasted a lifetime. Today's message trusting God completely hears them which open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15 and were going to look at this passage as we continue to consider Abram's life.

In the example that he sets of someone who's embracing the magnificent Obsession of just knowing God and making them known Genesis chapter 15. I'm going to read the entire chapter, except for the last few verses in all the termites will just leave them there. Chapter 15 verse one after this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward. But Abram sat almost sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless, and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus and Abram said you've given me no children so a servant in my household will be my heir, then the word of the Lord came to him. This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir, he took it outside and said look at the have and count the stars if indeed you can count them.

Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited to him as righteousness. He also said to him, am the Lord who brought you out of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to take possession of it, but Abram said, almost sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it to the Lord said to him bring the heifer a go around beach three years old, along with the dove, and a young pigeon.

Abram brought all these through and cut them into arrange the halves opposite each other the birds. However, he did not cut in half, then birds of breaking down the carcasses.

But Abraham drove them away as the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep in a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

Then the Lord said to him know for certain that your descendents will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated 400 years, but I will punish the nation they serve as slaves and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation. Your descendents will come back here for the sin of the Amorites is not yet reached its full measure.

When the sun, it sets in darkness had fallen a smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said to your descendents I give this land pray with me, please father where to be crucified with Christ that we can live in that sometimes we just have to wait for the resurrection, or wait for that answered prayer, and now we thank you for the life of Abram once again is teaching us as he whites also and so Lord, we ask that you would put into our hearts, that if we want to embrace the magnificent Obsession. Not only do we leave everything behind and let everything go but we have to trust you completely. With everything we just put our faith in you and you alone so teach us now from this passage we pray, breathe life into it. Make it makes sense to us in the language of our own lives and we ask this in Jesus name and for his glory. Amen is a story told years ago and I just have to apologize to this is such an old illustration for the life of me I couldn't think of anything better to introduce what I think. Genesis 15 is talking about and is the illustration of Acrobat to stretch the tight rope across Niagara Falls and a crowd gathered in the couldn't believe this man was going to attempt something so foolish as to walk across his tight rope over this bowling churning water and we did me stretch the tight rope out over the falls and then he walked on the teeter totter to cross and he came back to your tottered back and in the crowd just while they were so excited and then Acrobat when he got a wheelbarrow and he took the wheel there and he pushed it across the tight rope and theater tottered over the teeter darted back and all the crowd just went nuts that he never said anything like that before in their lives and these are just seen me walk on the tight rope and you see me pleasure will bear across the tight rope. Many of you think I could push a man in the wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls on this tight rope. All we believe, and he said all right who will be a volunteer. Nobody piped up and finally this one little man said all right he's will climbed in the wheelbarrow and Acrobat teeter darted across Niagara Falls and teeter darted back in the crowd just went well and they all said they believe, but only one man was willing to trust him completely and we can say we believe God. We can say we believe his word we can sing it and we can say it when go to church and we tell other people, but you know there's a difference between saying you believe in, and the wheelbarrow is in their and Abraham had to learn to trust God completely.

Everything and you and as we embrace the magnificent Obsession we seek to know God and to make him known and receive his blessing and be a blessing. We have to trust God and God alone with absolutely everything sometime, even when you don't understand. Sometimes even before the promises fulfilled and all you have is the word of God to go on and you can trust him with your fears and your tears and your years and those are the three things I see Abraham specifically trusting God with in chapter 15 the first of all, let's look at the fact that we can trust God with our fears and we could trust God with our fears because God knows you and he knows me in the first little phrases after this and so God is speaking, he knows Abraham he knows what this is, after, and his word comes in the Abraham's life in a very relevant way.

God speaks relevantly to you and me somewhat described you what this is, after single understand the setting of chapter 15 comes after chapter 1414 came after chapter 13 and remember. Chapter 13 is when Abraham and Lottie parted ways and Lot it insists on taking the whole plane of Jordan and move down to Sodom.

Abraham at the end was left sitting under a tree at member and in a tent in the desert alone in a lot of taken everything and so Abraham just sitting there you are, minding his own business and in chapter 14 these kings from the East sweep through the area and the area in which Abraham was living in Canaan was divided up into five provinces will call them and these five provinces were like satellite nations to four kings from the east and the Babylonian rock area and the four kings of the east had these five provinces under their jurisdiction and one of the things the five provinces had to do was to pay them taxes in these five provinces got sick and tired of paying these kings from the East that they never saw that they didn't benefit from. They got tired of paying them taxes as if they were vaulted and they decided not to pay these kings from the East.

The taxes and they thought we know they lived 800 miles away in the kings are going to bother with five little provinces of rebels and so they thought they could get by with it that the kings from the East came marching 800 miles west and they marched through the territory they started up north. They went down the Transjordan area. They came back up to Sodom and they destroyed everything in their path they pillaged, they plundered, they destroyed what they didn't kill. They took his loot in captive and they swept up through Sodom and they took everything in the city. The people the livestock they laid waste and then they went back absolutely victorious and archaeologists in history gives a suggestion that one of these kings was Hammurabi and the workings are totally victorious have not had one defeat the going back absolutely victorious going back in the top. These five provinces a lesson the taking all the loot and the captives in the plundered and included in that was lot and so somebody escaped one of the captives got free and ran to that oak tree in memory and told Abraham Abrams minding his business. He just let get involved in world affairs. At this point is not in the politics we sitting there running his own business, you know, just waiting on God and this person comes and says Abraham you know these kings of these that swept through the yes I've heard that, and have taken everything. Yes I know that in and of taken your nephew. Lots world never gone too far and you see had been involved until it affected him personally and I think that's one way, sometimes not to get off on a rabbit trail, but you know sometimes God can open up ministries in your life and your detached and are not involved until it affects you personally and that's one way I got involved in a prison ministry when it just came into my life personally or maybe you get involved in the abortion clinic because affects you personally in some way and and disaffected apron person, so he's going to get involved now and show you how big his household was Genesis 14 says that he had 318 armed servants in his own household and those are just armed men, and then he called his three neighbors together you and he had an alliance with and he and his three neighbors and his 318 armed servants take off after these four undefeated kings of the East and they chase them up to north of Damascus, and I'm sure the kings of Esau. Here they killed everybody the defeated everybody everything they had in Captiva killed and so they relax maybe enjoying their plunder and Abram catches them by surprise, but you understand she's not a military general. He's not a soldier but he attacks them and continues chasing him until he gets every single captive back all the loot all the plunder and he defeats these games and now he comes back to the Sodom area or back to that plane and he's got all the plunder. All the captives with them and the king of Sodom come slithering up out of the slab bits and he says Abraham you know.

Thank you so much and you can have some of this new have some of that just so condescending all belonged Abraham by right of conquest, but Abrams as you know I would never want you to think you made me read you can have it all. I want to Jennifer's, Stephanie's, I just want my neighbors to have their share because they fought alongside of me. About that time a very shadowy figure comes out Melchizedek. He's the king of Salem, King of Jerusalem, priest of the most high God is always intriguing to me because you would think if he was a believer the most high God, he would be in Abrams family, you know, but apparently there other real believers out there that the Bible just doesn't touch on a Melchizedek, and especially as interesting as a human New Testament uses them as a type of Christ. But anyway, from top 10% of everything to Melchizedek. Melchizedek blesses him for what he's done and then box goes right back to Sodom.

Can you imagine you talk about a warning from heaven and he goes right back and sits in Sodom, immersed himself in the world. Other captives go back. The plunder is divided up between his neighbors and the rest of it goes back to where it belongs and Abram goes back to sit in his tent under the tree all alone in the deserts and he sitting there and I'm just going to imagine now it's after these things now that God's work comes during but I'm going to imagine that he's very afraid now what he's done. I mean can you imagine he's taken on four kings of these if they would march 800 miles west to destroy provinces that refuse to pay their taxes. What would he do do one better when she's done who dared to attack them and so he's afraid I'll think of the consequences of having done the right thing and the fallout of having taken a stand now, what is this coming into your life after what have you just done.

Have you just taken a stand for something that was right.

If you just stood up against somebody who's in authority have you just spoken out boldly and after you've done it is your heart start pounding and you just want to go weak in the knees you think, what have I done. I mean, the consequences may lose my job.

It may cost my husband or my spouse, a promotion. This may hurt my children with their relationships. Or maybe it's my marriage in jeopardy are and you know all these things crowd in your mind and your very afraid of the consequences of what you just done. Or maybe it's where you just been where you just been have you been in a hard place or painful place or difficult place and it's at this time that God's word came into Abram's life. So God speaks relevantly. He knows what time it is in your life, what time is it and he knows what the time is and that's when he speaks, he speaks relevantly, and he speaks personally. The word of the Lord came to Abram specifically to Abram.

This is the first time the phrase the word of the Lord comes in Scripture that appears eight times in this passage alone. So this is the voice of the creator thundering out, you know, let there be light, and whatever this is like the voice of the shepherd and I wonder if it's the living word of the Lord came to Abram wonder if this is another theophany in the pre-incarnate living word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ coming to Abram at this particular time, and I know this weekend that the word of the Lord is coming into your life and the word of the Lord is coming to you as you're here and it's personal and its relevance and he spoke clearly said it came to him in a vision and I don't want to get off on another rabbit trail here, but I'll just say a word about visions because Abram you remember he had no Scripture. He had no church history. He had no indwelling Holy Spirit and God spoke to him in a way that was clear in a vision for you.

And may we have the whole counsel of Scripture. We have 2000 years of church history 4000 years basically recorded God dealing with man and think we need to visions. I think the application is that God speaks to us clearly you can get it any clearer than black-and-white words on the printed page. That's God speaking clearly if God gave me a vision if I had a vision. First thing I would do is go check it out.

With God's word because there other causes of visions and other invisible elements and spirits that give vision so don't ever make a decision based on a vision have a friend of mine. I just watched her go right outside of what I believe is God's will for her life until her life is just falling apart.

Following vision and a feeling of not been the friend I need to be to her about said to her basin God's word checking out with God's word.

She still her tendency is to believe these kinds of visions in the fruit of them is destruction or like some know they don't come from God. So beware of visions and if God gives you a vision I'm talking about you like a dream vision and if you give your vision like that just asking to confirm it through his word apostle Peter, who saw the glory of Jesus and his transfiguration said in his letter and second Peter that God has given us something more sure than that kind of experience in that kind of vision he's given us the word of God. So this is more sure God speaks relevantly at this time.

He speaks personally put your name on it and he speaks clearly speaks right to the pages of Scripture and is spoken to Abram's life when is God spoke and you personally and relevantly and clearly, and I pray, if nothing else that you get the fact that God speaks personally through his word.

While I was in Dallas I caught something like him bronchial infection.

I know it's going around is a part of the people have it but I had to go on a series of antibiotics out totally lost my voice gave me a sound so that I was discernible by and I think that's why I'm still having trouble with my vocal cords because I use them so strongly. While I have no voice. I came home I had two days to turn around two days to change my sheets change the Box.

You know, do all that kind of stuff that your husband doesn't think about doing and repacking. Get myself together to come up here and then I had a week to just plunge myself in the preparation for last weekend and I shared with my family and my prayer team that I felt like I was facing a freight train coming at me and I was tied to the tracks and feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of leading a seminar and being tired and exhausted and then trying to change gears and cramming Abraham into my mind all the workshops six messages and I was just very concerned that what I had to give would not be enough and that people would be disappointed. That's you know how you feel totally inadequate.

Which, you know, I know now.

After doing this as long as I have bets I am inadequate you know so what's new just sometimes you feel more inadequate than other times I was feeling very inadequate and sitting up in my cabin that week before last weekend and every day I have a list of names of people coming in so read over the list of names on stop and pray for each one, but I read over the names, not pray for all of them every day. Display different things and Thursday morning before it would begin Thursday night I was praying and reading my daily life, and this is a little volume that was put out first in the 1700s is just Scripture morning and evening God gave me the thrill of publishing it in the new King James version, but my mother gave me a copy when I was 10 years old I been reading Everett you think I memorized it but have been reading everyday since I was 10. You have to read the forward and it understand what so precious to me because it goes back generations and goes down generations. All my family reads it a ministry team reads it. Everybody on get recent were on the same page but anyway in last Thursday morning I was having my devotions, and this is the first thing I read this prompts me in my prayer and this is the Scripture that was that Thursday morning and he said again the mountains will bring peace to the people the Cove. The mountains and he will come down like rain upon the grass before mowing you in the rain comes on grass before mowing. It makes it grow so you have to mow it sure grows like we like showers that ward of the earth in his days. The righteous will floor it was pouring rain outside, and I felt like he was promising that he would pour out his blessing and pour out his presence and pour out his Spirit and that the people coming last week and would grow and flourish, and they would have peace and how it just gave me such a sense of relaxation and knowing that he was in control and he would take the weekend and he did and God bless just ported out and immerse myself in the messages once again, Monday, Tuesday, when trying to polish them up and sent him to think them through too much and they got over prepared to just wanting so much for it to be even better. Praying for you and and you know the more you do something like that.

The more inadequate you feel it not interesting that as I go on in ministry.

I grow less confident in myself every day until it's almost terrifying to get up if I wasn't growing in my confidence in what Christ can do in and through me so I sort of swap it you know confidence in myself a swap for confidence in Christ.

But I'm less confident in myself today than when I began ministry and saw was feeling very very inadequate at the first part of this week. Exhausted from the weekend. Everything that went before and none in my daily life, but in my devotional reading for that morning was that verse from Psalm 72 verse six and he will come down like rain on the grasp of and I felt it just leapt up off the page and don't worry, I've got it in hand and in spite of your inadequacy on one department blessing and the people coming or going to flourish and are going to grow and I'm going to bless them with the piece of my present when was the last time God spoke, and your life like that at this particular time, and he speaks relevantly, and he speaks personally and he speaks clearly makes you just want to go back and read your Bible doesn't because he speaks through his word because he knows you and he knew me. He knew where I was at that time in my life, just like he knew Abraham. He knows you and therefore when he speaks, he speaks relevantly and personally and clearly. We also understand you and we find he understands Abraham and exactly where Abraham is inside the secret places that Abraham is and share with anybody now know what the secrets in your heart are the secrets in your mind what you think about how you feel you haven't share with anybody but God does. Any understand it comes to Abram and he says Abram do not be afraid. You know we we have no clue Abram was afraid would not him. He went through and swept out those games.

He looked over confident powerful in charge told off the king of Sodom and he comes that you have knowledge, I'm sure when he walked to the tent shoulders were squared. His head was opulent, noble, confident in charge. Only God would now his heart was beating out of his chest and he was terrified of the retaliation and that these kings were going to come back and wipe them out, and I wonder if he was terrified. Even in a deeper way. God have spontaneously responded to this emergency crisis in a way that's going to thwart your will for my life fairly going to come back and kill me before I can have a son, and all these offspring of the sentence and be a blessing and have it sleeping all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Have I done something is going to keep me from fulfilling my potential in your secrets.

If you like you think that you have done something to thwart God's will for your life.

You think you've done something that's cost you your potential and is and you haven't told anybody but down deep you refrain. Maybe there's some other fear of God comes and says Abram. Don't be afraid what's giving you panic attacks, what secret fears are lurking in the deep part of your heart. Abraham's experience teaches us that God knows and God understands the peace God gave to Abraham wasn't a dream wasn't a hope so.

It was real is the peace he gave to the shepherds on another starry night.

2000 years later, he sent angels to announce that the word of God had come relevantly, personally and clearly and could be found in a manger in Bethlehem. Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, how often I found that my lack of peace is directly related to my lack of Bible reading.

If you like peace. If you're afraid. Could it be you're neglecting to read your Bible to the psalmist said great peace have they who love your law God will give you and me promises that bring peace in the midst of our panic, but we must tune our hearts to listen to his voice to trust God completely. Like you, my life is been filled with circumstances I could worry about, but when worry Saloom a lien on one of the first passages of Scripture up at the memory. A promise of peace from Philippians 416 seven do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, so don't be afraid for further encouragement in God's word go to and Graham watchdog you'll find information to further your study in the life of Abraham, and what and is titled the magnificent Obsession joint is here next week for living in the light