Staying On The Path Of Blessings Killen 2/18/24 - Killen Global Methodist Church

3 min read

Genesis 12: 7-13 nkjv7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he 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. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”

❓ When have your good intentions ever led you wrong❓ ❓When have you ever made things worse when you were genuinely trying to help❓

⭐ Abraham was definitely a man on the right path of blessings!

1 (v 1) God spoke to his heart. v1) “Get out of your country, from your family

2 (v 1-12) God promised to be with Abraham. v1-12)

3 (V 2) God Promised to make Abraham GREAT. v2a) I will make you a great nation;

4 (v 2) God Promised to Bless Abraham v2b) ,,,,,,I will bless you

5 (v 3) God promised to protect Abraham. v3) I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you;

6 (v2) God promised to give Abraham land and children.v2) I will make you a great nation;

💥 But despite being abundantly blessed, Abraham was still capable of making wrong decisions and choices!

Sometimes being blessed can make us even MORE vulnerable and open to temptations. (I Corinthians 10:12). Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

💥 Warning facts about when things are going good in your life!

A. Being close with God didn’t mean that Abraham couldn’t be tempted or could not fall.

B. Being BLESSED didn’t take away his free will and choice.

C. Going in the right direction ( following God’s will) didn’t mean he still couldn’t turn aside from where God wanted him to be.

D. Being in God’s will didn’t take away the circumstances of real life.

⭐ The two great lessons we learn from these verses are:1. Keeping his eyes on God and obeying God certainly put him on the right road to be blessed and faithful to God!

2. If we ever take our eyes off God, then we too can be separated from the fellowship and blessings God wants us to have.

⭐ (What about Grace here?) Grace is always at work. God didn’t leave Abraham nor abandon him, but the fellowship was definitely broken.

⭐ After Abraham started his journey with God, he hit a famine in the land which caused him to turn, go astray for the path God told him to take. He went down to go to Egypt.

God never told Abraham to go to Egypt.
While in Egypt, we don’t see God speaking to Abraham like He did.

💥 HOW DID ABRAHAM GET SEPERATED?

A. The unexpected happened. God didn’t tell him of the grievous famine coming!

What do we do when the unexpected happens?
It takes faith.

B. Abraham started making his own decisions without seeking God.

This is what he was used to doing.
He reverted back to just doing what he thought he was supposed to do, what he thought was best.

C. Abraham started protecting himself by his one understanding and making his own decisions instead of turning to God for His protection.

WHAT HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF ABRAHAM DOING HIS OWN PLAN?

1. God used circumstance working against Abraham to get him back to the place God wanted him to be.v17) (Gen 12:17) 17 But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

2. God let his own choices and plans fail. (Gen 12:18-19) 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?

3. God caused Abraham to be kicked out of Egypt ( His own idea of protection) (Gen 12:20) 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had. What does this teach us? Where did Abraham have to come back to?

GENESIS 13

I. THE PLACE OF FELLOWSHIP WITH JEHOVAH. 💥 ( Genesis 13:4) , 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. Back to the altar. Back to calling on the name of God. Where God was his all.

II. THE PLACE OF SEEKING GOD’S DIRECTION FOR HIS LIFE. ( Gen 13:3) 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

Where is that place for you? Where you need to get back to in your spiritual life?
- Where you felt you made the wrong decisions?

III. BACK TO THE PLACE OF DEPENDING ON GOD . ( Gen 13:14) The famine was still on!14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;

IV. LISTENING AND OBEYING WHAT GOD TOLD HIM TO DO. ( Gen 13:14) 14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;