Follow Me and Multiply

Jeannie Greer and God does not come to give us suggestions and then recalculate based on your response becomes for total surrender and we always want to know the one where in the house of God's will and God's is all you know is that who you are asking, what, where, and how God's as a mother tell you that I just want you to follow because I'm God. Just close your eyes and that my day. I want to invite.

Today we have a special giving Tuesday message from Pastor JD don't want that first in a brand-new teaching series starting today. Jeannie looks at the life of Abraham man who gives us a picture of how God wants to use all the mass Abraham believed God for the impossible and as a result, God multiplied his life God wants to do the same thing in our lives to that journey begins by taking her hand everything that we own love and trust in venturing into the unknown.

Let's listen to the message, follow me is a guy like that.

Not just happen to him.

Abraham happens alike just go with the flow. He stood against family and society and culture and literally redefined the future for all of us. I like people like that Abraham was a man who multiplied his life and in so doing, he gives us a picture of how God wants to multiply us and use each of us in the world but when Abraham's story begins. He's got nothing but a little tragic irony. In fact, how the writer sets up the life of Abraham. Abram's name literally means father but he 75 years old and he doesn't have any kids later on is a Lincoln's name to Abraham which means the father of many. In other words, Abram means daddy Abraham means big daddy but he got up this is life is like a cruel joke and she seems to have this destiny written into him, but is nearing the end of his life and he's got nothing.

It's almost like life is mocking him. I want to commit as many of you that you're the same spot as Abraham, God is destined your life to have eternal significance maybe is not written into the name that people call you, but it's in your heart you know that God has created you to have an eternal significantly impact, but many of you look around you.

You don't see it happening yet Abraham is going to have to walk a path toward significance of multiplication and it is the same path that Juergen have to walk also.

Whether your younger middle-aged or old.

I know that many of you yearn for this. You want your life to make a difference.

You don't want to just go to life and feel like I just amounted to nothing over the years. One of my favorite stories that really got captures this is the account be account of the crazy flight of a guy named Larry Walters who lived in California and went out to the Army, Navy surplus store and bought 75 used Army weather balloons so that he could in the way his own words in this article so that he could observe the neighborhood from a slightly different perspective and so on the fateful day he gets in the lawn chair. He would help of a few friends unties the rope so we can cut out go up to the altitude where he can see the neighborhood. He takes with him a sixpack of beer a BB gun and a peanut butter sandwich 2 1/2 hours later, the Los Angeles international Airport reported an unidentified flying object at 12,547 feet 300 miles from where he began his journey, Larry Walters, the pilot of the 737, who radioed in what you saw. He says well I'm not quite sure how to report this, but I see what looks like a perfectly still figure lying in his in a lawn chair. I'm not sure. I think he might be dead. You probably need to send somebody up your day.

Take care. This, by the way he has a rifle what his friends tell us he had intended on doing was he thought that when he untied the rope that he would sort of lazily saunter up to a nice altitude at which point he would take the BB gun and he would shoot the balloons to keep them at the proper altitude that he does peanut butter sandwich drink his beer. Have a great afternoon. Then pop the other balloon so that he could slow her back down and went back down the graph to possibly go wrong with that plan, his friends say that he didn't lazily saunter up to a nice altitude for said they said that when he untied the rope it look like you been shot out of a cannon and so he did. Even at that point he was so afraid he didn't want to shoot the balloons of the body, turned himself over so we did the only thing he knew how to do in a stressful situation and that is drink beer and so he passed out as a blood alcohol level that doing so he that's why you got the situation is well in the end with a rescue stunt that would've made Chuck Norris proud of the Los Angeles international Airport police set up a couple helicopters somehow managed to lasso Larry and get them in the one of the helicopters getting back down on the tarmac revive him. The first people to confront Larry were not the reporters write the story but the police issued Larry a ticket for the obstruction of airport traffic to the tune of $4000 that he would later get a plea bargain reduced to 1500 hrs., but that still awesome. The second group of people to get the Larry were the reporters and they asked Larry three questions question one is Larry. Were you scared and Larry said yes. I was very afraid.

Question number two. Larry would you do it again and Larry said no I would not do it again. That's how we know by the way he was in North Carolina@scared. I do that again. That's exactly what when our boys would've said question number three this Larry is Larry why did you do it. Why did you do it and Larry said I just got tired of always sitting around now. Undoubtedly, there are some of the details of that store that probably grown with Internet legend, but the core of the story is true. I know I read an article on the Internet but but I've always thought about what Larry said there captures how many people feel in their lives. They're just sitting around.

I just want to get to the end of the life and for like a wife just accounted for paying bills and and just kind of recycling everything that's the end of all that they did is the end of all they did.

You want your life to eternally house.

I know that that's how I feel and so Abraham to give you a path that shows you what that looks like Genesis 12 people as were people we start Abram stories to 12.

It really begins back in Genesis 11 so scroll back up just a couple verses a look at Genesis 11 is the story of the Tower of Babel, the Tower of Babel was a project symbolized humanity's rejection of God. The building of the tower was their Declaration of Independence from God and represented humanity's wholesale worship of idols. In other words, spiritually.

This was a very dark age.

There is one family line that belongs to God only one. The descendents of Shem. But by the end of chapter 11. They live in a place of idolatry called and they're just consumed by the compromise to it. The final guy in this line.

Tara has one son Abram and Abram is childless. In other words, this looks like the end Tara's name me in Hebrew means literally moon which was a Hebrew metaphor for the end.

It's like saying the caboose.

Furthermore, in where they live people worship the moon. So the fact that Tara is named moon means that his family had succumbed to the idolatrous climate, and they become idolaters themselves so as Genesis 11. In the last candle seems to be flickering out, the only godly family on earth has capitulated to idolatry and they don't have any more kids. The darkness is about to completely swallow up a light and there's no double 12 verse one now the Lord said to Abram go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you and I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and I will make your name great, you will become a blessing and in you Abraham. All the families of the earth shall be blessed in the midst of this great darkness. God calls a man who barely even knows who God is and one who is childless, the boot and tells him that he's going to make from him a great nation of people who will worship and follow God and bless the whole earth with the knowledge of God that is a promise that you and I inherited because you see to make a long story, really short one of Abraham's descendents was Jesus Christ, I invite you to make Old Testament really short in one sentence and that is one of Abraham's descendents would be Jesus Christ and in Christ God was going to offer salvation of the world, and we who are in Christ are now commissioned to bless the world by taking the news about Jesus to all the families of the world. This is really interesting in Matthew's Gospel the first gospel in our New Testament is where we get the clearest expression of the great commission, which is the commission of the church to preach the gospel in all nations. Matthew opens up that gospel by tracing the family line from Abraham to Jesus. In other words, the great commission is an extension of the promise given to Abraham.

So Abraham's promise becomes our promise. His command becomes our command and how he responded to that promise and command serves as a model how you and I respond to God's promise in our lives right and so Abraham's experience is going to ask you three questions that you need to ask about your own life here is questionable. One am I really following God really following God. This is a question about who is really in charge of your life are you in charge that you let God be an influence in your life, and he influence you do, do good, not bad or is God the one who owns your life.

Last week we talk about it is offering a blank check to God a blank check which means no restrictions, no limitations. All I am all I have.

All I ever hope to be. I offer without reservation now and forever to you God to do whatever you want with it with one of the ways we say around here is you put your yes on the table and you let God put it on the map you see God's command to Abraham. Listen to this was intentionally open ended. Go to the land that I will show you later in Abraham's is really going to got to the last that I think I later in God say Rance is a God, we tell Mama have a kid house. I got work as I'm 75 alive 60 because of them I can answer that either. I love how John Calvin summarized Abraham's interaction with God is is is God suspect Abraham.

Just close your eyes and take my hand. I love that city.

Just close your eyes and take my hand. But God, what about this house go to work in these is just close your eyes and take my hand. I cease so many people who are unwilling to do this because when God starts to work in their lives as he does in many of your lives in God because the called and they got all these questions. It was all God if I surrender everything to you, where you go Megan out to become a missionary to change careers. What you might have to break up with my boyfriend.

What if you tell me to change some part of my life that I don't know how to change or don't want to change yet God and Megan become one of those annoying people who put bumper stickers on their car and tells everybody to have a blessed day and self righteously correctly what Christmas time and they say happy holidays and I say no it's Merry Christmas and I can become one of those people got on will be one of his people. I should try to answer this question for people and they would ask me until I realize that it was usually just people wanting to know where God was going to take them before they agreed to follow him. In other words, they wanted to follow God without relinquishing the driver succeed in their life and that's an impossibility.

God doesn't come to you to say hey let me be a good influence and you can decide in a minute if you want to follow this lease as you, and you agree to follow where you don't come at all, didn't come to you to serve as an onboard navigation system or suggestions you can take or leave as you choose becomes, is the new car owner shortly after we got married, my wife and I had an argument in our car, I was one of the first one of her first marriage fights and after a few moments of awkward silence because she disagreed with something that I thought we should do and come up a few modes, awkward silence about a something about what this will be queued visibly detention. Did you know I think our marriageable lot better if you become like my other favorite woman in the world. She said it was out of the little British lady that lives in my dashboard navigation system because when she makes a suggestion to me and I don't take her suggestion. She doesn't get mad, she just kinda sighs and says recalculating house like if you would do that with me you give me a suggestion about that. You don't get mad just recalculate that was not the greatest thing to say in your marriage would not suggest it on. God does not come to give us suggestions and then recalculate based on your response becomes for total surrender and we always want to know the what, where, and how God's will and God's is all you need to know is that who you are asking, what, where, and how God's is a mother tell you that I just want you to follow because I'm God is close your eyes and take my now let me point out one of the thing before I go on a number two never seen it before.

In this passage and found it this week and I wanted to get really for little talking about. This is a decision you gotta make personally. Here's why I say that I'm really in the Chapter 11. What you find. What this is that Tara Abrams father actually begin the journey. He brought the five the family out for an hour and brought them toward Canaan were Abraham was going to go but he stopped at Herat. It was like the halfway point.

And so, in Genesis 12 opens Abraham and God are in conversation and got a saying I want you to go and Abram says, but you know we were to come halfway. None of the family wants to go there like a Ron we want to stay here and you literally what God says in Genesis 12.

If you transliterate from the Hebrew what it literally says is been go yourself out. In other words, get out yourself is basically what God says that Abraham, the point is, listen to this at some point you to make your own decision to follow God. It's not enough to be in a Christian family is not enough to be attached to a Christian movement here. The summit church were trying to do a lot in God's mission.

My question for you is are you personally engaged in it. You see, we did a church survey recently that revealed something really encouraging about our church.

The majority of you, the vast majority are really excited about what we're doing as a church and where were going right here was what was less than encouraging not nearly as many of you are personally engaged in what we are doing. People love to watch our videos or hear me talk about what I love to hear stories about people, the know Jesus yeah orphan care prison ministry mission trips volunteering and I sure hope other people keep doing that suing TB stories, God does not reward you for associating with the right group.

You can't piggyback on our engagement in the mission. You have to do it yourself movements by definition move and if you're not moving personally you're not part of the movement even if you sit here every week.

Are you engaged in the mission, because the choice to multiply your life is a personal choice that you have to make and act on number two second question presented Abraham is what is your security where's my security she got was not calling Abraham to make God a part of his life or to add a few tweaks to his morality. He was calling him to a whole new basis of security in life you can see that it what he asked Abraham to leave in those days, your family connections in your land that was everything to be the equivalent of God asking us to renounce her education walk away from our career in and and walk away from our extended family.

The question that it presents you is are you willing to put everything on the table. Even those most precious things to you are former missions pastor was a got incurred Allen.

He and his wife Hillary drew on the clock about 10 years ago they said here is a: normal triangle family. They had two kids and they work. He had a great job in a large company with a lot of room to continue to grow as an executive is making a lot of money. When God began to do the unthinkable.

With him here at our church can put on his heart all these unreached people groups around the world and never heard the gospel and he said the semi crazy.

You might as well tell me that I needed to raise you to Billy goats in my backyard are not that stretch for some of you, but I do raise wild elephants in my backyard i.e. cities and just had a crazy to me this is my wife are wrestling with this in Hillary.

His wife would later write a book called sent that it all came to a head. She said in one sermon at the summit church. She is our pastor, me was preaching and he did some of the end of the sermon that I thought was really cheesy, which is infinite. She said that just transformed our lives.

She said it she said at the end of the service. He said he had the whole church. I have a whole church take her hands and extend them like this.

And in their mind put in their hands, that thing which was most precious and most important to him, which they held onto for security to put in their mind into their hands and she said for me. I knew it was my husband and my children. That was my life for Kirk for her husband. He's putting his career and there's not a dime of his wife and kids, but for him, his ability to care his family. That was what was most important. And he said I asked them to take her hands in the classroom around that object symbolic about tightly. They hold onto it. How important is she said now didn't ease then I said, imagine Jesus coming to you and asking you to unclasp your hands in your control on that think she said that when I said that.

She said I could not glass my hands. I just started to squeeze tighter because I couldn't imagine ever letting go and she's about to squeeze her tight bit was no more blood left in my hands. She said right into Barry and I just force myself and said okay. Got you can control this and even this is on the table. Everything I am everything I have everything I hope to be to put on your full complete discretion occurred. Did that with his career and she said that's with God begin to just dramatically change our lives to take us and the people who begin to bless the world through what we were doing and following him.

Have you ever opened your hands on everything in your life you given God's surrender of those things that you hold onto for security years are, you know what you hold onto for security if that area that you won't obey God in its that area. Reisinger gotten a lot of talk about that know God will give you suggestions here know God, you can't say anything there because I've got this and I'm not going to let is he the basis of your security and do you show that by your obedience number three. Have I offered my blessing back to God to be multiplied first kingdom you offer your blessings by the GottaBeMobile first kingdom because usually becoming a Christ follower means viewing everything in your life is something given to you by God to be multiplied for his kingdom is a key passage were to go in and out of the next several weeks. The second grimace.

Chapter 9 verse 10 where the apostle Paul says one who supplies seed to the sower God will supply and multiply your seed first so we question listen. According to verse why has God multiplied and increased your seed is one reason. What is it is for sewing. That's right. Why does God increase your capacity is to give you a larger reach to be able to impact and bless the world with the blessing of Abraham.

That's why is it is two things you do this the most needs most seed, you can grind up a food grain. That's how you make bread to see you brought it up to produce red or you take a seat and you can plan around it produces more bread. Why does God increase the seed that he gives you is it so that you can just create more bread know it is so that you can multiply what he's given you so that he can feed the world, with the blessing of salvation. God is a rich giver. God loves for you to benefit from what he gives you listen to this God is not bless you and increased use of that you could increase your standard of living is less increased use of you could increase your standard of giving. That's exactly what Paul says there not know some of the way to manage it on the really blessed but incidentally struggle in my life is built on the difficulty I don't care who you are, God has put things in your life that he intends for you to multiply the woman that Jesus told the story about who was only had two mics to her name to my speech to eight some up any. She brings that to God and she says God, here is your to multiplied and Jesus said she gave more than all the rich people combine because she just taken what she hadn't said got it all blows you out, he went to multiply.

If God is put pain in your life God intends for you to multiply the blessing that comes through that pain by turning in the testimony of God's goodness and his faithfulness in the time of trial. You see what it means to be a Christ followers you say, God, if you give me prosperity all leverage that prosperity for the advance of your kingdom.

And if you give me pain and I'll turn my pain into a testimony of your goodness and playfulness in the worst situations in life in the Christian life. Nothing is wasted. Everything that God gives to you can be multiplied for his kingdom and pulses of what God is doing in your life and when you do that when you begin to multiplied it will increase the harvest. He says your righteousness, you will be enriched in every way to be saved or together, generous in every way which through this is going to produce thanksgiving to God because you give yourself to be multiplied was in the other people will start the bag and worship God is what you need ready to follow the one calling you to follow is the one who left everything for you. You're listening to Summit life with Jay Greer and today is giving Tuesday we had an amazing opportunity here at Summit life to raise funds for the Rudolph family living as church planters in Germany with special about this giving Tuesday is that every gift today will be matched to $10,000.

Yet all funds are to be given to the first of all Bill sports field for some afterschool outreach programs and they have an outreach to refugees, some of summer camps, which are a key part of how they region disciple teenagers there in Germany. If we meet that first goal we got a stretch goal today that's going to find a German church planting apprentice that will allow us to train somebody who's with her. Yes on the table and Isaac got here. I am ready to lean in and bring you my countryman to faith in Christ want to help sponsor that if you would like to invest in what God is doing in a very under reach part of the world, invest in, and what God is doing globally what you go right now to JD Greer.com and I want you to consider making a gift. Don't wait because what you're doing now can have a direct impact on real ministry happening every single day to change lives in Europe. If you do it on Tuesday. It's gonna be matched to be matched to do it. Up to $10,000 said double the impact of what you give on what God is doing.

We don't keep any of this any of this will keep anything that's raised on this day giving Tuesday to support was going on at Summit life hundred percent of all receive on that day, goes to the work of the Rudolph family in Germany when an exciting opportunity to invest in the global mission.

If you would like to partner with building the church in Southwest Germany, only today your.com or call us at 833-586-6520.

Remember, every giftgiving today goes towards this special opportunity now to Summit life and you like to get to know her email devotional blog post as well as the popular for you described right now. JD Greer.com Molly that's inviting you to join a more Senate life