Synopsis of 01/05/25 Sermon

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 

Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV 
1 “Get out of your country, 
From your family 
And from your father’s house, 
To a land that I will show you. 
2 I will make you a great nation; 
I will bless you 
And make your name great; 
And you shall be a blessing. 
3 I will bless those who bless you, 
And I will curse him who curses you; 
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

I.            INTRODUCTION

1. Everyone needs to understand that God will never allow us to settle beneath the plans for our lives. The tensions we feel is because we go through the push that God is giving us..
2. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.- God sees in us and speaks to us based on potential that is resident in us.
3. Quote from Theologian
   1. “God knows us completely. No tale bearer can inform on us, no enemy can make an accusation stick, no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our character can come to light to turn God away from us, since He already knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us.” A.W. Tozer – Theologian– It is important to know it is not about your past, but rather your promise.
4. Many of you have felt God pushing you to more. You realize that where you are is not where you’re supposed to be.
5. This word today is about the moment that you realize that God is pushing you into something greater. It is not time to whine, it is time to win!
6. In Genesis 12, we are introduced to God calls him from a privilege lifestyle, and God asks him to go to something that He wouldn’t give him the details to, upfront. God would give him the details over time.
7. When you’re walking into this story, you will discover that God made this covenant promise to Abraham. Abraham lived in a time of Nomadic Lifestyle.
   1. A Nomad is someone who lives by traveling from place to place. They usually bring their tents with them. Genesis 13:2-4 NKJV 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
   2. Abraham also lived in a polytheistic world meaning that they believed in many gods. Polytheism pulled people from worshipping the one and true living God.
8. Abraham is called out of polytheism and called into a place of stability; he would worship the one true living God.
9. Abraham is considered the “father” of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which are collectively referred to as the Abrahamic religions, because they all trace their lineage back to him as a central figure in their respective scriptures. 
10. Explanation:
    1. Judaism:
       1. In the Hebrew Bible, Abraham is seen as the patriarch of the Jewish people, with the covenant between God and Abraham forming the foundation of Jewish faith. 
    2. Christianity:
       1. Christians also recognize Abraham as a key figure, as Jesus’ lineage is traced back to Abraham through his son Isaac. 
    3. Islam:
       1. In the Quran, Abraham is highly revered as a prophet who submitted to the one God, and Muslims consider him an important ancestor through his son Ishmael.
    4. God established a covenant with Abraham. God promised that He would bless his Land, his descendants, and that he would be a blessing to all nations.
    5. God promised to bless his descendants. God would make Abraham the blessing.
    6. What does it mean when God calls you into something greater? Abraham means “father of many nations”. This was the reason for his name changing from Abram to Abraham.
    7. God deals with Abraham in Genesis 12.

II.            RECEIVE A PERSONAL CALL

• The Lord spoke to Abraham. Every call from God is a personal call. You have to make sure it is God calling you and not others.
• When God calls us, He knows where we are emotionally and spiritually, and he is just looking for our “yes”.
• You will never be settled in your spirit until you say yes.

A.   When God Calls You, He Knows Where To Find You 

1. God knows where you are. You can’t hide from God.
2. If you look in the scriptures, you will notice that everyone God called, he knew where each and every one of them.
3. Moses was living in Midian. God called him from a burning bush. God calls Moses at 80 yrs old to do something greater.
   1. Old or young, God can use you.
4. Gideon was in the wine press when God called him to help you defeat the Midianites.
5. Samuel was in the temple. He didn’t recognize who was calling him at first, but God kept calling.
6. Saul was on Damascus Road. After God’s call, the same man that had been tearing down the kingdom, spent the rest of his life building it up.
7. God calls us at the right moment and right time, even though we might not think so. When you do what God calls you to do, you will never work another day in your life.

B.   God Calls Us Into Something That Started Before Us 

1. This happened before the foundation of the world. This is preordination. Preordination means to Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV says ⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified^[a] you; I ^[b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.” . – God always has a plan.
   1. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) says 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. – What God does, he creates us with the temper and personality to fit the call that he will summon us to.
2. When you are young, people might give up on you, because the world is not wired to handle who you really are.
   1. Bishop always tells the story about him being hyper as a young child and the teachers thought something was wrong with him. Turns out that God was preparing him then for what he would be doing now. He needs that type of energy to carry out the assignment today.
3. When God calls you, its based on the capacity inside of you, and then He anoints you to do what he called you to do.

III.            RELEASED FROM THE PLACE OF COMFORT

• Abraham is called from a place of comfort.
• When you leave your security, some people will question your call.
• Genesis 12:1 (NKJV) 1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house,To a land that I will show you.- It is a call to leave behind your comfort to do what God wants us to do.
• God doesn’t call us into lateral moves. He takes us from glory to glory!

A.   It Takes Courage To Break Contentment 

1. I got to be willing to let go of that which is familiar.
2. When Abraham got the call, he was 75yrs old, but he trusted God.
3. When you step out, you will realize:

B.   Obedience Opens The Door To Divine Opportunities 

1. Ever been in a rush and park near the exit door of Home Depot? Because you are in a hurry, you want the door to open for you, but the door wasn’t designed to open on the side that you’re on. The door is not going to change the rules, just because you are in a hurry.
2. Rules don’t change, just because you’re in a hurry. God will not change the rules, just because you’re in a hurry.
3. It takes a level of When you walk in faith, you have to get beyond:
   1. Public Optics – You can’t worry about what people think.
   2. The People’s Opinions – It’s not about how they feel about it. It’s about what God wants you to do.
   3. Rely on his Providential Care – You have to know that God has a plan and that He has it all in control.
4. The call will not be a setback for you!

IV.            RELY ON HIS PROVIDENTIAL CARE

A.   God’s Provision Always Aligns With His Assignment 

1. It doesn’t matter if people don’t like you. If the blessing of God is on your life, you will be
2. In Chapter12, Abraham stepped out to his call. In Chapter 13, God blessed him. In Chapter 14, Abraham became a
3. Some people hate on saved people that are blessed, yet they celebrate unsaved people that have things. We should celebrate blessed people when they accomplish things and accumulate blessings. If anyone should be blessed, it ought to be the people of God.
4. 3 reasons why God blesses us like this.
5. He knows that He can trust you. Genesis 14:20 (NKJV) 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
6. God knows that you will be transformational. – God knows that you will make something out of your blessing!
7. He knows you will share your testimony.- God knows that you will tell others about your blessing.

B.   Your Name Was Intended To Be Greater Than Your Title 

1. Your name represents who you are at the core.
2. Every name in the Bible meant something whether it was good or bad. They were descriptive of the person’s personality.
3. A Title represents a temporary role that can fade over time. If you have to have a title, then it means you believe your name doesn’t have enough weight by itself.
4. God said he would make Abram’s name great, not his title. God is changing his name from a noun to a verb.
5. Proverbs 22:1 (NKJV) 1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
6. Xerox Story: Back in the early 60s a company called Xerox came up with a process by which you could get a photocopy of your documents. They became very popular. They had so much success that they really became big in the industry.
   1. A year or two later, a guy opened up FedEx whose purpose was to ship products. He thought it would be good if he could come up with a little shop inside his establishment, where you could make photocopies while you were there shipping product. Pretty soon, people were coming into the FedEx shopping asking if they could Xerox a copy of their documents.
   2. People will cause your name to be so great, it will be brought up in your competitors establishment.
7. When God makes your name great, it speaks for itself.

V.            REJOICE IN HIS PROMISED COVENANT

A.   There Are Consequences Tied To How People Deal With You 

1. The blessing of Abraham is on our lives.
2. There is a generational blessing on your life. Genesis 12:3 (NKJV) 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

B.   There Is A Generational Blessing On Your Life 

1. How do you know it’s a real thing? When you go to the doctor, they try to find out your family history. It is because you are predisposed to whatever medical issues they may have had. This is a form of a generational curse.
2. We have generational curses, and we have generational blessings.
3. If one person in your family, decides to stop the curse, then they start a generational blessing.
   1. For example, if all the males in your family were drunks, and you make the choice not to drink, you stand a good chance of breaking the generational curse in your family.
4. When you are blessed, you don’t have to get back at people. God can deal with people much better than we can!
5. Generational Blessings
   1. Legacy of Finance – you have to teach this to your family. How to budget, how to save, how to spend
   2. The Legacy of Faithfulness – If you live a life that demonstrates faith, then more and likely, your kids will demonstrate faith.
   3. Legacy of Favor – There are some things that God will do that doesn’t make sense. Somethings God does, you can’t explain.