Being Great
My Pastor taught a lesson in church today that really got me to thinking about things that I may need to change in my life in order to walk in the promises that God has for me. He talked about Abraham and how God told Abraham that He would make his name great, but in order to be a great person Abraham had to do certain things.
1. Abraham had to step out of his comfort zone. Abraham's father was a idolator. He not only served idol gods, but he sold figurines in his store so that people could worship. Therefore, Abraham didn't grow up learning about God. So, God had to tell Abraham to get away from his family--the people who supported him, the people he confided in, the people that he could go to when no one else was around--he had to get away from them.
2. Separate from Lot. Once Abraham got away from his family, he took his nephew with him--Lot because Lot's father had dies so Abraham stepped in and served as Lot's father. But in order for God to use Abraham, he needed to separate from Lot because Lot didn't have in him what Abraham had and associating with Lot would has blocked his blessing.
3. Get rid of Ismael. Abraham and Sarah, his wife, could not bear children together, so Sarah gave Abraham her maidservant to bear his a son. The son's name was Ishmael. But, he wasn't the promised son. Ishmael represented Abraham's dependence on himself and not God. Abraham took it upon himself to have a son outside of his marriage, but God wanted to give him a blessed seed and the blessed seed couldn't come from outside his marriage, so God told Abraham to send the maidservant and the son away. God also told Abraham not to worry about Ishmael because he was gonna be blessed also, because he came from Abraham, but he wasn't the promise.
4. Offer up Issac. After the promise came God told Abraham to offer his only son up as an sacrifice and of course as Abraham proceeded to obey God, he found out that God provided a sacrifice for him.
So I was thinking about all of this and one thing in particular stood out to me. On last night B texted me and he wanted to see me, but I wasn't too keen on seeing him because even though we are friends out relationship isn't what I need right now. Simply put he's married and "no" we've never slept together, but we've gotten way too close for comfort a few times. The last time we spent time together, he invited me to spend the weekend with him in St. Louis, and I told him I would go, but I know that it wouldn't be the right thing to do (even though we were going to get separate hotel rooms). I love him as my friend and I appreciate his friendship, but I know God is telling me to let that relationship go because the more I hang out with him, the more I long to want to be closer to him and that won't happen because he's married. So, I don't know how to tell him that we have to end it. And it's not that he's such a bad influence, I just know myself. If I'm going to live a sanctified lifestyle, there are some things that I just can't do. So as I was praying today, I asked God to help me get rid of Ishmael. Cause Ishmael will block the promises of God to come to past in my life. Even though I love Ishmael (I'm sure Abraham loved his son, Ishmael. Ishmael was a teenager when God told him to send them away and it's not easy to let go of people that you love). One thing I have to realize is that I need to love God more than I love things or people.
1. Abraham had to step out of his comfort zone. Abraham's father was a idolator. He not only served idol gods, but he sold figurines in his store so that people could worship. Therefore, Abraham didn't grow up learning about God. So, God had to tell Abraham to get away from his family--the people who supported him, the people he confided in, the people that he could go to when no one else was around--he had to get away from them.
2. Separate from Lot. Once Abraham got away from his family, he took his nephew with him--Lot because Lot's father had dies so Abraham stepped in and served as Lot's father. But in order for God to use Abraham, he needed to separate from Lot because Lot didn't have in him what Abraham had and associating with Lot would has blocked his blessing.
3. Get rid of Ismael. Abraham and Sarah, his wife, could not bear children together, so Sarah gave Abraham her maidservant to bear his a son. The son's name was Ishmael. But, he wasn't the promised son. Ishmael represented Abraham's dependence on himself and not God. Abraham took it upon himself to have a son outside of his marriage, but God wanted to give him a blessed seed and the blessed seed couldn't come from outside his marriage, so God told Abraham to send the maidservant and the son away. God also told Abraham not to worry about Ishmael because he was gonna be blessed also, because he came from Abraham, but he wasn't the promise.
4. Offer up Issac. After the promise came God told Abraham to offer his only son up as an sacrifice and of course as Abraham proceeded to obey God, he found out that God provided a sacrifice for him.
So I was thinking about all of this and one thing in particular stood out to me. On last night B texted me and he wanted to see me, but I wasn't too keen on seeing him because even though we are friends out relationship isn't what I need right now. Simply put he's married and "no" we've never slept together, but we've gotten way too close for comfort a few times. The last time we spent time together, he invited me to spend the weekend with him in St. Louis, and I told him I would go, but I know that it wouldn't be the right thing to do (even though we were going to get separate hotel rooms). I love him as my friend and I appreciate his friendship, but I know God is telling me to let that relationship go because the more I hang out with him, the more I long to want to be closer to him and that won't happen because he's married. So, I don't know how to tell him that we have to end it. And it's not that he's such a bad influence, I just know myself. If I'm going to live a sanctified lifestyle, there are some things that I just can't do. So as I was praying today, I asked God to help me get rid of Ishmael. Cause Ishmael will block the promises of God to come to past in my life. Even though I love Ishmael (I'm sure Abraham loved his son, Ishmael. Ishmael was a teenager when God told him to send them away and it's not easy to let go of people that you love). One thing I have to realize is that I need to love God more than I love things or people.
Labels: Greatness
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on Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 1:44 PM.
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