The sermon titled Abrahamic Covenant from Sunday 6/18/17 at Eastview Christian Church hit so close to home, I really thought someone asked pastor Mike to share a sermon for the Harris family.
Today’s reading link: Galatians 3
This is a story of faith going back to Abraham in Genesis 12, and still applicable to us today.
So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:9)
For over a year, our family has talked about the potential for us to move to Michigan. We have discussed the likelihood that my job would be changing and there would be new opportunities elsewhere for our family.
As we started to sense the probability of a move start to increase, our conversations became a little more serious. With this seriousness, reality started to settle in and that caused me to become uneasy.
Our life in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois is good; it is comfortable. My commute to work is an easy 12 minutes (15 minutes with bad traffic!), I’ve had a successful business there for over 12 years, our house is cozy and in a great location, we have friends we love and who would do anything for us (I just got tears in my eyes because this is so true), and now more tears… words cannot describe our love for Eastview Christian Church and our eternal gratitude for what God has done through the preaching, teaching, and love that abounds there.
Our boys are happy, they have super nice friends, a wonderful school, they’re enrolled in an affordable, phenomenal music program where they’ve learned to play the cello, and they have a multitude of opportunity when it comes to sports.
Why would we leave this comfort and goodness? The answer lies in God’s plan for us; not just the Harris family, but all of us. God has plans. We do not always know the plan, but he is calling each of us to himself, to his son.
The following verses were at the heart of the 6/18/17 sermon:
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 of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
Abram was seventy-five years old at the time, and in the sermon pastor Mike shared that Abram was probably comfortable where he was. This reminds me of a lot of us being comfortable but then God calls to mission trips, serving opportunities, career changes, small moves and big moves.
What did Abram do after God called him? He went. “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him” (Genesis 12:4a). Abram went out of obedience and faith. God is a promise maker and promise keeper and he will never leave us.
Pastor Mike also shared that if we knew the timing and the exact plans God has, we’d likely shove God aside and say “I’ve got this” (I can say amen to that because of the many failures I’ve experienced when trying to take over). When I try to control the outcome, it typically results in frustration, anxiety and disappointment. When I give it all to God; both fear and hope, no matter the outcome from an Earthly perspective, the Heavenly rewards outweigh everything.
Lord God, we praise you for loving us first. For the grace and mercy given though your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for the work of your Holy Spirit; may we continue to see your hands in all of our experiences. May we have faith, inward and outward, that reflects your mighty power. I give you control God. Take my sinful pride, I’ve achieved nothing without you. Let me see you in the good times and bad times. Do not let me forget how you’ve saved me. Amen.