THEME TEXT: Genesis 12:1- 4 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.”
LET US PRAY.
It’s a new year. Time for a fresh start.
Isa. 43:18 “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”
· Let the past be the past. Leave past failures in the past. Leave past disappointments in the past.
· Don’t even consider the things of old. Don’t even consider what happened before. It’s a trap to slow you down. Regret slows you down. Learn from your past, yes. But dwell on your past, no. Don’t get bogged down in it. Look forward. Phil. 3:13-14
Isa. 43:19 “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”
· This is the reason why the Lord is saying not to consider things of old. He is doing a new thing. Mark 2:22 “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.”
· Romans 6:3-4 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” God ordained us to walk in the newness of life, meaning His presence, His power, His anointing, His favor, His blessings, His promises, His divine nature. In order to do this, we must count ourselves dead to sin, dead to our old, carnal way of life. Romans 6:11 “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Living unto God. Newness of life. Newness of character.
· 2 Peter 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” We escape through the knowledge of Him who has called us unto glory and virtue. The more we know Him, the more we seek His face, the more we follow hard after Him, the more like Him we become. 2 Cor. 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” From glory to glory!
· 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” This is not just a truth that applies to new saints, or to those who have just received the new birth. But this is a daily reality for the Christian. Every day, we must acknowledge that we have been set free from the old man, from the sinful nature, no longer a slave to obey it in its lusts, but that we have a new man, the spirit man in us has become alive because we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and He takes us into new things.
· Eph. 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” God is changing our nature, conforming us into the image of Christ, so that we can do good works that we could not have done before. He is changing our position in life, professionally, socially, financially, academically, etc. so that we can do good works that we could not do before. We are HIS workmanship. Which requires a new way of thinking. A new start!!
But we don’t just want a new start, we want a GREAT START!!
What is a great start? When you’re in a race, a great start is considered an explosive, quick, powerful start from the moment the starting gun is fired. The runners who have a great start are poised to win. The ones who have a sluggish start usually have a really hard time winning. When training for a race, it is important to learn how to get a good, powerful start.
That is why we are in the Word right now. We want an explosive, powerful start of the year that will propel us into victories, taking new territory for the Lord and in our own lives this year. We want to see souls won unto the Lord. We want to see addictions broken. We want to see families restored. We want to see bodies healed. We want to see financial breakthroughs. We want to see great victories! We want to have a great finish! So!! We’ve got to press to have a great start.
Abraham is an example of someone who had a great start. He had a quick start. Prompt obedience. Which is KEY to having a great start, and subsequently, a great finish.
Abraham was a great starter. And he had a great finish. So, let’s take a look at his story.
Gen. 12:1- 4 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.”
Abraham heard God, believed God and moved according to God’s instructions. And he did it QUICKLY.
These are the keys to a great start:
1. Hear God. If you are far away from a person and that person is speaking to you, then it becomes hard to hear him. If you’re too far away, you won’t hear that person at all. So, if you want to hear someone, you have to make sure that you are in close enough proximity to hear him. In the same way, if we are to hear God, we have to be in a place where we can hear him. I don’t necessarily mean a physical place. But you should be in a place in your heart where you are looking to hear from God. Abraham had no Bible. And he lived in a pagan nation. With what some scholars believe was an idol worshipping family. Yet, there was something in him, something in his heart such that God knew he would hear Him when He spoke to him. Knowing God and His love for mankind, Abraham probably was NOT the first person He reached out to in the time when Abraham was alive. But Abraham was the one who responded.
Is there an area in your life where God is trying to get your attention, and you are not hearing Him? Have you been pushing God off in an area of your life? Have you felt Him knocking and you’ve just been ignoring Him? Let me tell you, if that’s the case, you’re getting off to a sluggish start. That is NOT the way to get into a great start. If that’s you, the best thing you can do is to make a decision to stop whatever you’re doing and get into a place where you can hear God. God said in Jer. 33:3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you. Draw near unto God, and He will draw near unto you.
One of the best ways to get into a place where you can hear God’s voice is to fast and pray. By fasting, I do not mean changing your diet to cut out some things and replace them with other food items. I mean turning down the plate. Putting food away for a time and focusing in on God in prayer. Asking the Holy Spirit to direct you. Putting food away and praying the scriptures. Which means you have to open the Word of God to find out what He has to say about the different areas of your life.
Many people are taking the month of January to do a 21 day fast, seeking God’s face. I would encourage you do join in and do this. It will help you to hear God’s voice more clearly than ever before. And, fasting and praying gives you to step into a higher level of spiritual authority. When Jesus cast the devil out of the boy with the seizures after His disciples had tried and failed, and they asked Him, “why could we not cast him out? Jesus said, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
2. Believe God. I have heard the following phrase quite a few times over the last several days: “God is not a joker. He says what He means, and He means what He says.” Isaiah 46:9b - 11 “I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” God is up to anything He says at any time. He is all powerful. He does not fail. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
Heb. 6:18 “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”
He is completely faithful, and there is no power that can stop Him. Isa. 14:27 “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
On top of that, He is bound by His Word. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
3. Move according to God’s instructions. This is where Abraham really shined! In addition to the example in Gen. 12:1-3, let’s look at Gen 17:9-10, 26-27. God told Abraham to do something that was extremely physically uncomfortable. And, check the story! Abraham did not complain. He did not negotiate with God. He just did it.
4. Do it quickly. Neither did he hesitate. He obeyed. The Bible says the selfsame day. Abraham saw to it that he and his son, and all the men of his household were circumcised.
Prompt obedience. When we were in the study on God’s wisdom, one of the identifiers was “easily intreated”, which means to easily obey God. Obeying God easily and quickly is a sign of great wisdom that will get you off to a great start. John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.’ Obeying God sets you up for gaining favor with God, which puts you in a great position. Job 36:11 “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”
Another example of Abraham moving quickly is found in Gen. 18:1-8. (READ) At ninety-nine, he RAN to serve these men. Hastened to have Sarah make bread for them. Gen. 18:9-14. Look at how he was blessed after running to serve his guests! Being quick and eager to honor God always results in a great blessing.
The fact is, there are too many sluggish believers. Always looking at the other side of the coin. It takes a great start to secure a great outcome.
Great Scripture for a New Year, New Start:
Psalm 65:11 “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.”