Three Of The Toughest Challenges Of Our Walk Of Faith:
- What we’re going to see here is that Abram’s physical journey is a picture of our spiritual journey.
- Most of us will not have to move physically to be obedient to Christ (though some will), but we all have to move spiritually to be obedient.
- Let’s talk about the word “walk” for a moment. It’s a walk of faith. It’s a journey. We are called to follow Him.
1. You have to leave where you are (spiritually speaking).
- Genesis 12:1 – “leave.”
- The Christian life is one of change and transformation.
- It’s not just about salvation, but transformation.
- I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating here: God’s goal is to transform you into someone in this life who lives and loves the way Jesus did.
- This means that we have to leave where we are: our attitude, our priorities, our values, our dreams.
- Obviously, there are distinctives about us that are not tainted by our sinfulness (He’s not making us into robots!), but much of us is defined in ways that are intrinsically compromised. Those things have to be left behind.
- The sad truth is that many of us want to be saved but not be changed. We want the hope of being in heaven someday with the pain of becoming changed people. We do not really believe that following Christ is the best of all possible paths.
- To get where you’re going, you have to leave where you are.
2. You have to leave behind things you value (spiritually speaking).
- Genesis 12:1 – “your country, your people, and your father’s household.”
- That’s a tough statement that God makes: “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household.”
- Now the issues we’re talking about are spiritual, not physical (though some do have to physically move to do missions’ work). As we walk with God, there are going to things we value that we have to leave behind. There are going to be things that are hard to let go of that we have to leave behind.
- Let’s get specific with what I mean by citing two examples of each:
a. “Your country.”
- We all love America, right? We’re all thankful to have been born here, right? Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean that America isn’t tainted with sin like the rest of the world. Two examples:
aa. Capitalism.
- The accumulation of wealth is a sign of a good and valuable life, according to capitalism. The more money someone has the more productive a presence they are in society, according to capitalism.
- As a Christian, I acknowledge the helpfulness of economic development, but I more deeply believe that the value of a soul is not based on its net worth.
bb. Democracy.
- I think that democracy is the best system of governance that we have available to us right now. We can allow the idea, though, that I have an equal voice in how things should go to roll over to my spiritual life. We may act like we’re equal partners with God and we both get to decide together what to do.
- Our spiritual life is not a democracy. It’s a dictatorship. God is in charge. Certainly, it’s a benevolent dictatorship because He loves us, but it’s a dictatorship nonetheless.
b. “your people.”
aa. Image.
- We live in a country that tells us our appearance and reputation are what we need to cultivate. Who you appear to be is who you are. We cultivate our image on Facebook. We wear the right brands.
- As a Christian, I believe that what really matters is what’s inside you, not what image you’ve cultivated.
bb. Celebrity.
- We live in a country that tells us that those who are famous are important because of their celebrity. Kids and teens throw up videos on YouTube hoping to become a viral sensation.
- As a Christian, I believe that public will not be my judge. It’s God who I need to please.
c. “your father’s household.”
aa. Traditions.
- Maybe you come from a long line of drinkers or a long line of shopaholics.
- Just because that’s the way your family has always been doesn’t mean that you can continue it. And sometimes that could bring some hard feelings.
bb. Priorities.
- In a similar fashion, we may have a family that puts its highest priority on money or even family. We have to acknowledge that God is first for us.
3. You have to start without knowing where exactly you’ll end up (spiritually speaking).
- Genesis 12:1 – “go to the land I will show you.”
- We don’t know where our journey is going to lead us: what He’ll ask of us, what people we’ll have to talk to, where we’ll have to serve, what impact we’ll have.
- Not knowing is a good thing because all that knowledge would probably overwhelm us.
- God does not tell ahead of time what specifically we may be asked to do.
- I’ve said before that one of the appealing things about legalism is that you can see the list up front and know, “Alright, here are the issues that are in play. Everything else is mine to do what I want to with.” That’s enormously comforting – to know large areas of our lives are free from God’s scrutiny. I’ve known legalists who were strict as they came about certain limited areas and blatantly sinful in other “irrelevant” areas.
- In truth, following Christ puts every issue on the table. Anything can be brought out and worked on by Him. That means that the further we go, the more deep stuff He’s going to bring out. It also means that each of our journeys will be different because God is going to work on the specific sins that we struggle with.
- We do know that our destination is Christlikeness and fruitfulness, but we do not the specifics of what shape that will take in our lives.
- Christlikeness and fruitfulness are a great place to be headed – it means a life of meaning and purpose that brings glory to Christ. But it’s also a hard road that requires sacrifice and change. Few are willing to pay the price.
A Little Encouragement: This is a tough assignment, but one good part of it is that God is in charge of the big picture and you are in charge of your next step.
- Everything that I’ve said up to this point can certainly be construed as a difficult. But there is a good side that balances that truth out.
- The good side is this: God is charge of all that planning. God is in charge of determining what we need to change in our hearts. God is in charge of where we’re going. God is in charge of figuring out how we can best have a dramatic impact. There is a joy to that: putting Someone supremely wise and resourceful in charge of those aspects of our lives.
- It simplifies our lives: we need to take care of being obedient and taking the next step.
- This does, of course, require trust.
- Some of us are better at this than others. Some of us would prefer to run our lives the way we see fit. Truth is, some of us would prefer to run the world the way we see fit.
- For those of us who like to be in control, this will be a challenge.
- I am reminded of what Rick Warren said (to paraphrase): The older I get as a Christian, the more I find joy in letting God be God and simply trusting what He is up to.
- There is no substitute for trusting God. We have to believe that He knows what He’s doing and can be relied on to deliver.
- We have to take the step that’s in front of us, not obsess about all the steps.
- Often God gives us just enough light for the step we’re on.
Where Do I Start? What’s your next small, uncomfortable step?
- Genesis 12:4 – “Abram left.”
- You cannot know all the steps that your journey will entail. You can make a good faith promise that you’ll follow the Lord all your life, but there’s only one step that you can actually accomplish: the one that’s right in front of you.
- Verse 4 tells us that Abram left. He actually did what God was calling him to do. He acted on what he heard.
- Today as I’ve been talking, perhaps the Holy Spirit has been bringing up before you one particular thing that He’s been asking you to do and you’ve been hemming on. You know it’s Biblical and you know you need to do it, but you’ve been continuing to be a disobedient Christian.
- Maybe you need to:
a. Apologize to your spouse for what you said.
b. Start reading the Word daily.
c. Forgive that co-worker.
d. Serve in a ministry.
e. Start giving financially to church.
- If you can’t think of anywhere in your life where God is pushing you, challenging you, moving you, then you probably need to be concerned.
- There’s a 1% chance you’re just that mature and a 99% chance that you’ve quit listening to Him.
- How do we hear God speak to us?
a. Bible.
b. Prayer.
c. Circumstances.
d. Wise Christian friends.
- Faith requires walking.
- Risk and getting uncomfortable is the norm for the Christian life.
- It’s not a super-Christian thing. It’s an everyday thing.
- Sometimes being comfortable as a Christian is a bad thing. It means we’ve become complacent.
- Think of a Christian that you admire. They weren’t born mature. It happened one faithful step at a time.
