THE YEAR OF FULFILLMENT – Part 3

“CHOOSING AND PROGRESSION”

Psalm 138:8 ESV – “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;    your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.    Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

Genesis 14:13-24 NLT

¹³ But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies.

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. ¹⁵ There, he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.

¹⁷ After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

¹⁸ And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. ¹⁹ Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing:

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,    Creator of heaven and earth.²⁰ And blessed be God Most High,    who has defeated your enemies for you.”

Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered.”

²² Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise, you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.”

Genesis 15:1-11 NLT

15 Sometime later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to           him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

² But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. ³ You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” ⁵ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

⁷ Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”

⁸ But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”

⁹ The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.

THREE LESSONS FROM ABRAM:

1.  Abram knew God was with him, so he acted.

When you are confident that God is with you, faith moves you from waiting to obedient action even when the outcome is uncertain.

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Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

James 2:17 – “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

If you believe God is with you, you cannot stay where you are even when the odds are stacked against you.

2. God invites Abram to a new level of covenant.

God takes our first step and turns it into the next step, thus the progression of the Christian life.

2 Corinthians 3:18 AMP – “And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.”

Romans 1:17 AMP – “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

Every breakthrough is God’s invitation to trust Him more deeply allowing Him to take us to the next level of faith and fruitfulness in Him that leads to legacy.

Genesis 15:1 – “I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Genesis 15:6 – “Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous.”

Hebrews 11:8 – “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called…”

Jeremiah 32:40 – “I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”

God’s promises are not just about blessing your present, but securing your future.

3.   Abram protects progression.

What God promises must be guarded. We must refuse to allow our adversary to steal our progression. We must refuse to get stuck where we are.

Supporting Scriptures:

Joshua 24:15 – “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart above all else for out of it flow the issues of life.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 – “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Romans 12: 2 AMP – “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”

Galatians 6:9 – “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

If all this sounds like work, it’s because it is! Because faith without works is dead. The Lord wants to take us from Glory to Glory and we must refuse getting stuck, and protect God promises in our lives

 with the help of the Holy Spirit.