Intro:
1. Vance Havner, "The hardest part of the journey is neither the start nor the finish but the middle mile. There is the enthusiasm of a new undertaking that buoys you at the beginning and there is the thrill of reaching the goal that carries you down the home stretch; but the middle mile, when you are a long way from the start and home is still distant—that tests the mettle of the traveler."
2. Most all of us are at the middle of our journey in life. But whether we are at the beginning, middle, or nearing the end, there are principles that help us continue on our way.
3. Abram's Journey.
Trans:We have seen his Flakey Family, his Treaty, and now his Journey begins. Gen. 12:4-9
I. FIRST, THE JOURNEY IS TO BE PROGRESSIVE.
So Abram departed... - so Abram begins his journey. If your saved you have begun a journey toward Christlikeness - it is a journy that will have many ups and downs, but hopefully will progress forward and upward. Like riding a bicycle - you either go forward or you fall...
"Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. Hebrews 2:1 (NKJV)
Swindoll, "Neglect of spiritual matters leads to spiritual drifting - being at the mercy of the trade winds of prevailing opinion, the currents of passion and the high seas of stormy circumstances. The result? A person could float away from the Lord and the things that please Him...Or get shipwrecked altogether."
We must determine to grow progressively Christlike...
"but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18 (NKJV)
One of the strange things you find in Japan are dwarf trees. I suppose because of limited space, the Japanese grow giant forest trees in flower-pots.
Some of these strange miniature trees are a century old, and are only two or three feet high. From the time or their planting they are repressed, starved, crippled, and stunted. When buds appear they are nipped off.
So the tree, which was meant to be a giant forest tree, remains only a dwarf tree.
Some Christian people seem to do the same thing with their lives. They do not allow themselves to grow. They rob themselves of spiritual nourishment, and refuse to allow grace and the Holy Spirits power to cause spiritual progression.
II. FURTHERMORE, WE HAVE GOD'S PRECEPTS FOR THE JOURNEY. 12:4
as the Lord had spoken to him - you say "Oh, I would give anything if God would speak to me!" He has! He has said far more to us then He said to Abram. 2 Tim. 3:16
"For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe." 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV)
Like one need physical food to be strong bodily; we need spiritual food to be strong spiritually.
"I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food." Job 23:12 (NKJV)
"Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts." Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV) Mt. 4:4
Without an intake of God's word we become weak and weary.
David Livingstone, started his journey across Africa, he started out with 73 books, weighing 180 pounds. After they had journeyed some 300 miles, they had to throw away some of the books. It was just difficult to carry them.
As they progressed his library became smaller and smaller until he was finally left with only one book - his Bible!
Truth is, that is all we really need - God's Word!
III. THIRDLY, THE JOURNEY WILL INVOLVE PEOPLE.
and Lot went with him - this was Abram's first convert. This would be Abram's joy and headache.
Our journey involves people - some we lead to the Lord; some that are a real source of joy and encouragement; and many who are a perpetual pain!
We don't travel alone - we have friends and family and foes.
In a "Peanuts" cartoon, Lucy says to Snoopy: "There are times when you really bug me, but I must admit there are also times when I feel like giving you a big hug."
Snoopy replies, "That’s the way I am... huggable and buggable."
IV. FOURTHLY, THE JOURNEY DEPENDS ON GODS PRESERVATION. 12:4
And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran - we live by God's permission! He must preserve us day by day or we die. EVERY YEAR YOU CELEBRATE ANOHTER BIRTHDAY, YOU HAVE BEEN GIVE A BIRTHDAY GIFT FROM GOD - LIFE!
"Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things." Acts 17:25
And life is brief! We better make the most of it, because before we know it, it will be gone.
"whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:14 (NKJV)
"4 "LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. 5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah" Psalm 39:4-5 (NKJV)
"10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:10-12 (NKJV)
Chuck Smith, "Our time on earth is so short, and it seems shorter the older you get. What do you do with this precious, limited time? Watch television for hours a day? Devote yourself to adding zeros to you bank account? [If God preserves your life another day, should you not] invest your time with the Lord, meditating on His Word, it will pay off in eternal dividends."
The only reason our journey hasnt ended is God's preserving hand. I said to someone the other day, "It's hard to believe but soon I will be 59 years old!"
He laughted and said, "Yea, that's if you make that long." God is responsible for how long we make it.
That's why we do not know where we are at in our journey - If I live to be 60 years old, then I am right at the end of my journey; if I live to be 80, I have a ways to go...We simple do not know!
The moment we are born, we are old enough to die!
What we do know is that God is the one who determines the span of our earthly existence and we should acknowledge every day is a gift from God!
I've seen these Cancer Treatment of America commercials. One lady was told by the doctor "Peggy, I looked and I didnt see any expiration date one you." Well, Peggy, there is one!
Another lady says, "I've got too much to do to die." Her confidence is in her will to live; the ability of her doctors. But it is God not doctors, not will-power that determines when we die.
V. FIFTHLY, THE JOURNEY LIKELY WILL INCLUDE A MARRIAGE PARTNER.
Abram took Sarai - if not thats ok, look at Paul.
But for most of us, "it's not good for man to be alone."
This is not a dreamy hollywood marriage - as we will see they both disappointed each other many times. Abe saying twice, "Take her - she is just my sister!"
Sarah saying "Hey I got a solution, go into my maidservant Hagar" and he does and then she says, "May my wrong be on you!"
Reminds me of Ralph and Janice who were celebrating their 50th weddng anniversary. The church was honoring the couple. The pastor asked Ralph to come forward and give a testimony.
Ralph said, "Well, the secret to our marriage is that I always treated her with respect; and I spent a lot of money on her; and took her on an expensive Trip, just to give her a break and let her get away from it all."
Pastor said, "That's great where did you take her?" He said, "For our 25th anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China."
The congregation nodded and oohhed in approval and the pastor said asked, "Where are you going on you 50th anniversary?" Ralph replied, "To Beijing, to get her back!"
VI. SIXTHLY, WE WILL ENCOUNTER THE PROFANE ON OUR JOURNEY.
Land of Canaan - they were entering the territory of vile people.
In our journey we must face many profane enemies - wicked people; Satan; the self-monster...
The world is profane - opposed to that which is good and right; opposed to Jesus Christ - and it has a big mega-phone by way of TV and the Internet.
On September 9, 2007, the television award "Emmys" event occurred in Los Angles. Comedian Kathy Griffin won a creative arts award for her reality show "My Life on the D-List."
During her acceptance speech Kathy said: "a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."
She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, "This award is my god now!"
You may have to work with someone like that; They may be in your family; in your neighborhood. You'd have to leave this world to avoid profane people!
"I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." John 17:15 (NKJV)
"9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world." 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 (NKJV)
VII. WE HAVE GOD'S PRESENCE FOR THE JOURNEY.
The Lord appeared to Abram - nothing gets us through life, like God's manifested presence!
"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God," Romans 8:16 (NKJV)
There is a wonderful manifestation of God's presence that we need to keep us going in our earthly journey.
Psa.23:4/Jn.14:21/Ja.4:8/Rev.3:20
We also need to keep in mind that even when God doesnt manifest His presence, when we don't feel a thing - HE IS STILL THERE!
Tony Compolo grew up in a big city, and his mother paid a teenage girl a nickle a day to walk young Tony to school.
But in the second grade he rebelled, he told his mother, "I'll walk myself to school, and, if you give me a nickle a week, I will be careful. You can keep the other 20 cents and we will all be better off."
He made such a fuss that his mother finally agree and he walked to and from school by himself.
Years later at a family get-to-gether he bragged about his independence and ability to take care of himself.
His mother burst his bubble - "Tony, did you really think you were alone? Every morning I followed you to school, and when you got out of school, I was there! Always hidden from your sight, but ready to act in case you needed me."
VIII. EIGHTH, WE HAVE GODS PROMISES FOR THE JOURNEY.
To your descendants I will give this land - God had given Abraham many wonderful promises. Abram ultimately put his total confidence in the promises of God. Rom. 4:20-21
There is literally a promise in God's Word for every single problem we have! There are several promises given for every day of the year.
Everek Storms, "The Holy Scriptures contain a grand total of 8,810 promises. How do I know? I counted them."
The old Puritan Thomas Watson, "Trade much in the promises. The promises are great supports to faith. Faith lives in a promise, as the fish lives in the water. The promises are both comforting and quickening, the very breast of the gospel.
As the child, by sucking the breasts, gets strength; so faith, by sucking the breast of a promise gets strength and revives.
The promises of God are [floating devices] to keep us from sinking when we come to the waters of affliction. Oh! trade much in the promises; there is no condiiton that you can be in, but that you have a promise."
IX. NINTH, WE FOCUS ON PROPITIATION DURING OUR JOURNEY. 7b
built an altar - Leupold, "The word for altar means "a place of slaughter." Altars became altars when the victim is slain. A mere altar of stones whold have been a formalistic gesture on Abram's part - a gesture like falling on one's knees to pray, but omitting the prayer. The soul of the patriarchs was sacrifice."
Abram's sacrifice point to the substitutionary death of Christ, which is the basis for God being Propitiated or His holy wrath satisfied...HE LOOKED FORWARD TO CHRIST COMING, WE LOOK BACK TO CHRIST DEATH ON THE CROSS.
We must know on our journey that God isnt made at us anymore! He is satisfied with Christ substitutionary death on our behalf.
"1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2 (NKJV)
Jeff Harkin, "According to God, what Jesus did at Calvary is enough. It is total and complete. You can't add a thing to it. And not a demon in hell can take anything away from it. God is satisfied.
So Jesus declared from the cross. It is finished! The major problem in the body of Christ today is that Christians have not learned to be totally and completely satisfied with Jesus, in the same way, that our Father is completely satisfied with Jesus.
You can be satisfied with Jesus plus nothing - His righteousness, His sin offering, all that He is for you. God the Father is satisfied. You can be satisfied also. Jesus plus nothing! His righteousness is the basis for your relationship with Him."
X. TENTH, HE WAS VIEWED AS A PILGRIM DURING HIS EARTHLY JOURNEY. 8
A tent - like living in a motel, it declares that you are only passing through. Abraham was a pilgrim and so are we...
"Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul," 1 Peter 2:11 (NKJV)
Our life is compared to a tent life. 2 Cor. 5:1-5
Wiesbe, "For all mortals, life is a pilgrimage from birth to death, and for believers, it is a journey from earth to heaven, Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Moses were all pilgrims passing through...And so are we, in the midst of a changing world, living as we do, in a 'frail tent."
F.B. Meyers, "It is of the utmost importance that the children of God, should live a detached life, as a testimony to the world. How will people believe us, when we talk about our hope, if it doesnt wean us, from excessvie devotion to the things around us? May they not begin to question whether our profession be true, or whether, after all, there is a real city yonder."
I held a revival one time in Commno Ar. They put me up in a hotel. I didnt like! The bed was uncomfortable. There was a picture on the wall that I did not care for. The closet was tiny. The shower did work like mine at home.
But I didnt complain - it was no big deal. Why? I was just passing through! I knew next week I'd be back home. We should not be surprised if we don't feel at home in this world - were not! Were just passing through.
XI. FINALLY, OUR JOURNEY SHOULD INCLUDED PRAYER. 12:8
call upon the name of the Lord - 13:4
Augustine of Hippo, "What can be more excellent than prayer; what is more profitable to our life; what sweeter to our souls; what more sublime, in the course of our whole journey through life, then the practise of prayer!"
Phil. 4:6-7/ 1 Pet. 5:7/Ja. 5:16
When the editors of NEWSWEEK asked President Bush, "What's the role of prayer and faith in this [his response to the events of 9-11]?" He responded, "I have never felt more confident about something in my life. And I believe a lot of it has to do with the prayers of the people."
George bush told Jim Angle of FOXNews.com, while he was still president, "I start with being on bended knee every morning. Seriously."
Commerce Secretary Don Evans said, "That's where he gets his comfort. That's where he gets his balance. That's where he gets his perspective."
Prayer didnt eliminate the tragedy of Sept 11th, but it did enable the president to get through it. Prayer doesnt eliminate our problem but it gets us through the difficulties of life.
Con:
1. It's possible to know where we are at in our spiritual journey - you might live to be in your 90's, in that case your just in the middle of it; or you may finished it tommorrow, death or the rapture can knock anytime.
2. We must realize we are on a Progressive journey; with God's Precepts on hand; involving many People; depending upon God for daily preservation; drawing strength from our marriage Partner; dealing with the Profane; enjoying God's Presence and Promises; believing that He has been Propitiated; realizing we are just Pilgrims passing through; and maintaining a healthy Prayer life.
One thing that is the key - we must keep keeping on until our journies end...always living life with an eternal Perspective.
3. REGGIE Jackson was a baseball player known as "Mr. October." He got his nickname because he was known to shine when his team played in the postseason playoffs.
Reggie would come up to bat, and the ball was going over somebody's fence. Reggie Jackson said once in an interview that he lived for the postseason because that is when he would shine.
But Reggie Jackson, in order to get to the postseason, had to get through the regular season. His secret to enduring the regular season was to keep his eye on October.
God is looking for some Mr. and Mrs. Octobers—people with their eyes on eternity who faithfully endure the regular season of life, because they're looking forward to postseason glory.
"12 I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.
13 Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus.
14 I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. 15 So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us..."
Johnny Palmer Jr
StrugglingThruScriptures.ning.com
StrugglingThruScriptures.ning.com
