THE LORD HAD SAID TO ABRAM, LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR PEOPLE AND YOUR FATHER’S HOUSEHOLD AND GO TO THE LAND I WILL SHOW YOU. GENESIS 12:1
I thank our Lord for allowing me to open my heart again and share what He wants to accomplish through the Body of Christ. I pray that what I share stays with you, challenges you and helps you in this glorious walk in the quest of knowing Him.
I begin this letter with a quote by G. Campbell Morgan; an evangelist, preacher and leading Bible scholar in England in the early 1900’s: “For a correct estimate of the present times, and a true conception of future events, we must have a clear understanding of the things that are past. We are in danger of living too much in the present, and of looking upon the Divine activities as if they were haphazard or accidental, as our own always are, save as we are under the control of the Spirit of God. We seem to have contracted the idea that in the history of the race God has been making experiments with men; and that when one plan has failed, He has adopted another. Such false conceptions arise from the fact that, mentally and spiritually, we live too much in the circle of our own times and are forgetful of all that has gone before. The corrective is found in studying history from the Divine standpoint. Nothing yields a more chaotic, uncertain, and unsatisfactory result than a view merely from the human side; while, on the contrary, order, beauty, and progress, are seen only as we take the Divine outlook.”
To understand God’s ways with His children and mankind, let’s refer to the history of Abraham in Genesis. Abraham is called the Father of Faith. There was nothing exceptional about Abraham, but God chose him because there was a deep hunger in his soul and heart. If you are not searching for God you will not find Him. If you are not hungry for more of Him you will not seek Him. If you are not thirsty for Him you will not look to be satisfied by Him. God called Abraham “His friend.”
I will center this teaching on three commands God gave Abraham regarding separation from three major circles of influence. It is written in Genesis 12:1, “The Lord had said to Abram.” Note, the word ‘had’ refers to the past. The word God gave was “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”
The first command was to leave your country. Everything was bound up in obedience to the command; his future, his destiny, and his purpose. During the Old Covenant man’s spirit was dead to God; however the book of Acts clearly states, God revealed Himself by the word spoken to Abraham in a vision. It’s interesting to note that the soul was having communion with God. This word given to Abraham has been confirmed by our Lord Jesus Christ, when He said in Luke 14:26-27, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” God does not change; we’re the ones that change. God is objectively dealing with us when He calls us to come out of the world. We are not of this world even as He is not of this world. It is written in John 17:14, "I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." The profound revelation in this is that the influence of our surroundings is where we develop our likes, desires, passions and begin to form who we are. Here is an example: All the things in our home are an expression of our likes. There are certain furnishings, certain pictures on the wall, and certain wall paints which have created an atmosphere of influence. I have been privileged to travel to Central America, South America and the Caribbean Islands and stayed in beautiful hotels and some not so beautiful; but regardless of how beautiful the surroundings and how comfortable the hotel was, nothing compares to going home. Why? I get to re-enter the atmosphere that my soul, my emotions and my thoughts are comfortable in. They are all related to the atmosphere that has been created by my surroundings; the objects around me. The Body of Christ misunderstands why God is separating us from the world and so we resist His leading. To reach our position in Christ we must submit to the Holy Spirit, in faith, as Abraham did. We have a greater privilege than Abraham had, the greatest gift ever given to man after the fall; our spirits have been born again and we now have direct communion with God through Jesus Christ.
Let’s get an understanding of what really happened when God told Abraham “Get out of your country.” Genesis 11:31 reads, “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.” When God spoke to Abram in Genesis 12:1, He spoke to him personally. He told Abram to leave your father’s household, leave your family. But he, like many of us, disobeyed and brought alongside the natural man who is represented by Terah, his father. Terah takes hold of the command of God and takes control. When God speaks to us we must allow God to direct us in His timing, and not take control. The natural man is one of the biggest hindrances to the progress of the Body of Christ coming into the fullness of Christ. Paul talks about this critical separation of the natural and spiritual man in Romans 6. When Terah died, Abram moved on.
The second command was to leave your people. God is not saying to neglect or reject your people, but discern that your people and the culture of your people have a great influence over you. We must leave culture behind, whether we are Hispanic, Asian, White, Native American or African American, because we are a new creation; born into a heavenly culture. This is confirmed in Galatians 3:26-29 which reads, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Colossians 3:9-11 also confirms this, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." I heard a leader of a country say; multiculturalism does not work, because every culture demands attention. If it doesn’t work in the natural realm it can’t work in the spiritual realm.
SELF-FULFILLMENT IS A DECEPTION SATAN WANTS TO BRING TO EVERY MEMBER OF THE BODY OF CHRIST TO KEEP US FROM SEEING GOD'S ULTIMATE INTENTION.
The third command was to leave your father’s house; your family members. He is not saying to hate your family; but don’t allow them to hinder your walk. Scripture confirms the Christian life is a pilgrimage; a journey headed towards a position, a state of being that was prepared for you in Christ before the foundations of the world. The closer you walk with the Lord, the easier it is to realize the minute you step out of His environment. It’s the same environment change as when you step out of your home into the hustle and bustle of the stores. The enemy is always ready to pounce on our minds and emotions, but in Christ you will experience the peace, the joy and satisfaction only found in Him. This is our quest; our calling. We gain Christ. The gift of Christ is our salvation, but that’s just the beginning. It is written in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” The revelation of Jesus Christ kept Paul continually going forward. Everything Paul wrote was his experience “IN CHRIST”. Read Paul’s letters and count how many times, of Christ, for Christ, in Christ and by Christ is mentioned. Paul was not preaching a sermon he learned from a book; his life was an expression of Christ. Salvation is just the beginning. As we continue to follow the Holy Spirit; we gain Christ, we enter into more of Christ. This helps us to be delivered from the influence of the spirit of the world; its ways, lies, cheating, backbiting, greed, hatred, and rebellion. God separates us as we follow the Holy Spirit. “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Revelation MUST come from God if we are to gain Christ. I thank God for the ministers he has allowed me to sit under and the books that have come into my hands which have helped me understand the process of separation, but if I didn’t have the revelation of Jesus Christ, everything would be mere information. Nothing compares to walking with the Lord. NOTHING!
To my Brothers and Sisters living where the scriptures are not allowed and where Christianity is persecuted; KNOW that you are gaining Christ. With every moment of neglect and rejection, you are GAINING CHRIST. Philippians 1:21 reads, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Do not look at this as physical death only but death to your spiritual aspirations, hopes, goals and dreams. He is there with you, in you and around you. He feels what you’re going through and He alone has the plans for you. 2 Corinthians 4:9-11 “persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
In a future letter we’ll study the story of Job, one of the greatest examples of how God dealt with man. God’s promise is stated in Genesis 12:3, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” Abraham was a bond servant of God who surrendered his will to the will of God. This is for you and me, “I will make . . . . . . YOU ….” The favor of God is upon us; we are blessed with the greatest blessing, CHRIST himself, the greatest gift man has ever known. Meditate on these words; because we have come into Christ, we have become a blessing to the nations. Everything is happening according to the Will of God. He is sovereign, He is omniscient and there is nothing out of time with God. He is bringing forth his people who are willing to submit their wills to the will of God. God will have the greatest witness on the face of the earth; Jesus Christ the Son of the living God expressed through his people; glorified through His people who were chosen before the worlds ever existed. According to the scriptures YOU are one of those expressions. God bless you in a greater way into the fullness of Christ. Amen and Amen!
