Genesis 24:1-9 – Preparing for A Successful Year – Bible study

Genesis 24:1-9 Preparing for A Successful Year We are beginning our New Year as a church this morning. Entering a New Year is both exciting and a bit foreboding. It is exciting because we have the opportunity to use another year for whatever purposes God will direct. It is foreboding because we do not know what God will allow us to face. However, We know and are confident that God has a course for us and that no matter the path that course may take, He will be at our side. The question for this service is not what will God do in 2010, but what will we do in 2010. Having a successful year is not as much dependent upon what happens to us as it is upon how we will deal with it. I believe there are some Scriptural principals that may help us to have a great year for the Lord. I. We will not go backward. A. \#Gen 24:5-6\ Abraham is charging his servant with a most solemn vow. 1. I know of no other method of demonstrating the sacredness of this vow to Abraham than the means by which Abraham had his servant to swear. 2. Abraham did not want a Canaanite wife for his son. Perhaps there were several reasons. a. Perhaps Abraham had seen how the people in Canaan were and he determined that was not the kind of mate he wanted for his son. b. Perhaps he knew of the curse God had placed on the Canaanites \#Ge 9:20-27\. c. Most probably Abraham knew that the descendents of Isaac would one day take the land from the Canaanites and he knew that would be best done without any blood ties to that land. 3. The servant, wanting to fulfill his masters wishes to the letter, discussed the different possibilities of what might happen. a. "And what if the woman I find will not leave her land?" he asks. "Should I take Isaac back to Ur?" b. \#6\ "Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again." 4. Abraham was telling his servant, "We will not go backward!" B. God had lead Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, and he knew there was no going back. 1. There is only one acceptable direction for a Christian and that is forward. Abraham had no intention of losing the blessings that he had already gained. 2. As we approach a New Year, we need to do so with the same determination to go forward and not retrace our steps. 3. As a pastor, I often see Christians who are traveling in the wrong direction. I would like to say it is only true of the younger converts, but that is not the case, for I have also observed seasoned veterans of Christian warfare who are retreating on Jesus. a. Some have stopped the more subtle forward acts – reading the Bible, praying, tithing, sharing Christ. b. Some have stopped the more noticeable forward acts – attending church. c. Some have started moving backward – going to the old hangouts, picking up on the old language, reverting to the old habits. 4. There are different reasons for going backwards. a. Some stopped advancing to enjoy more of the worlds pleasures. b. Some stopped because they got too busy at work. c. Some stopped because of problems. d. Some stopped because they sought pleasures. e. The cause of their directional change is not really important. f. The fact that they are going backward is. C. No good will ever come out of going backwards. 1. Abraham knew how hard he had fought to gain the victories he had won. 2. He also knew that going backward could only cost him those victories. 3. Knowing these truths, he simply refused to go backward. 4. So it should be in the life of the believer. a. Nothing is easy for a Christian to gain. b. Some things sound easy but remember how hard they were to gain? (1) It is not easy to train yourself to go to church. The flesh fights against it. (2) It is not easy to learn to trust God, to depend upon Him, to seek Him. (3) It is not easy to change the bad habits of the flesh. c. Do you want to give it up now? 5. Sadly, it is the routine of humans to lose our excitement and determination with time. a. We must not let that happen in 2010! b. We must focus on digging deeper into Gods Word, practicing prayer and worship more successfully and learning how to be more like Christ. c. Christianity should not be our sideline. It is our duty and should be our joy. D. Forward is the only acceptable direction! 1. This was Pauls conclusion. Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do , forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 2. Likewise says the writer of Hebrews: Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. E. Not only if forward the direction for individual Christians, it is the direction for the church. 1. 2010 is not just a year for us to hold our ground. It is a year for the church to gain ground. Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. a. Jesus told Peter that the hells gates would not stand against the church. b. That means the church is the aggressor. 2. As a church, we must advance. a. 2009 was a good year in many aspects, but we must redouble our efforts. b. We need to do more for missions, tell more people about our Savior, and reach out more to those in need. F. As we enter 2010, let us carry the battle cry, We are not going backward! II. We will not go without our faith. A. I see several admonitions that the Bible gives to the followers of God. While they are a bit different, they are also similar. 1. Do not go forward with fear and discouragement. Joshua 8:1 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed. 2. Do not go forward with fear and timidity. Isaiah 7:4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted. B. From these verses, I gather there are three things that God does not want us to take with us into the New Year. 1. Fear a. Most of can understand what fear is even if we dont know what might be causing it. (1) Fear is that foreboding feeling that I spoke of earlier. (2) The notion that something evil is lurking just around the next bend. (3) God does not want us to carry that feeling with us, b. The times that we are living in can certainly cause us a lot of fear. (1) Turn on the News – talk of government-controlled health care, terrorism, war, socialism. (2) Look at your checkbook and see the realities of unemployment, rising costs, inflation. (3) Look around and see the advancement of age, sickness, diseases. (4) All of these can create an uncertain future. c. Fear is a natural response to the unknown, but God wants us to rest in the assurance that He is in control and nothing can get to us that does not first come through Him. 2. Discouragement and dismay a. The word has several definitions. (1) It means TO BE BROKEN or TO BE SHATTERED. (2) It also means SHOCK or AMAZEMENT. The word is some times translated DISMAYED in the King James Bible. (3) When understood together, the idea would be do not let something you did not expect break you. b. The unexpected is just as much a part of life as breathing is. (1) Some of the surprises are going to be good and some bad. (2) If we COULD pick, I imagine we would all pick the good, but we can not. (3) To make it even more difficult, it seems that when these bad surprises start coming, they often come in groups. (I remember my mother saying, "Things like that usually come in sets of three.") c. God, knowing that life is going to contain these kind of surprises, still admonishes us not to carry a heavy or overwhelmed heart with us. 3. Faintheartedness or Timidity a. The word means SOFT, WEAK, TIMID. b. God wants His people to go forward but to go forward with boldness, courage, strength. C. All three of these conditions are opposite to faith. 1. The Bible has a lot to say about living in faith. (4 times the Bible says) The just shall live by faith. 2Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 2. The Bible tells us that the very reason the Israelites could not enter into the Promised Land was because they did not have faith. Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 3. Now I am not going to say that if you dont enter into 2010 with faith, God wont let you in. After all, you are here! a. But I am going to say that if you dont enter 2010 with faith, you wont have much fun! b. Faith is not just what you need to please God, although it is. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him. c. Faith is what is required for you to maintain your sanity and joy! 4. Let me break it down in simple terms for you. a. You cannot have faith and any of its opposites. (1) You can either have FAITH or FEAR. (2) You can either have FAITH or DISCOURAGEMENT. (3) You can either have FAITH or TIMIDITY. (4) You cannot have both and its opposites. b. A little bit of the one drives away the other/ (1) A little bit of fear, discouragement, and timidity will drive away faith. (2) And by the same token, a little bit of faith will drive fear, discouragement, and timidity away. (3) You select you want every second of the day. c. Faiths opposites will not solve your problems or comfort you while you carry them. d. Faiths opposites will rob you of your joy and sanity. (1) I have never known of anyone who actually enjoyed life while carrying faiths opposites. (2) Fearful, discouraged, fainthearted people are always sad and unhappy people (3) And on the other hand, those who are walking in faith, while still under the same circumstances as those walking with faiths opposites, are happy and filled with joy. 5. We determine which we carry into the New Year, faith or faiths opposites. a. How difficult of a choice is it? (1) One helps while the other does not. (2) One gives us joy while the other does not. b. Which will you take into the New Year? III. We will not go carrying last years sins. A. God gives us new opportunities to start over. 1. God gives a new minute every 60 seconds, a new hour every 60 minutes, a new day every 24 hours, a new year every 365 days, a new decade every 10 years, a new century every 100 years and that is as many opportunities as you and I are going to get. 2. In this New Year, we have not only a new year but a new decade. B. Lets take full advantage of the opportunity to deal with last years sins. 1. You are going to have to start by acknowledging that God has been dealing with you. a. I can not say about your heart, but I can say some things about Gods house. (1) Attendance and participation was down in 2009. (2) As a church, we did accomplish a good bit last year, but we did it with fewer people. (3) Some of you younger converts need to understand that the older generation can not do as much as the used to do. (a) In 2008, our church lost a lot of faithful people to death. (b) In 2009. our church lost a lot of faithful people to moving away. (c) You are going to have to grow and fill the gaps our GPBC will cease to exist. (4) And some of the older members need to understand that the work of God needs its veterans. (a) The only retirement plan God has is death. (b) If you have good enough health to go to Wal Mart, a good enough mind to remember when your T.V. shows come one, and enough energy to keep up with the grandkids, you are still in good enough shape to serve God. (5) And everyone needs to understand that a church cannot maintain, let alone add to, its ministries, its outreaches, and its God-given duties without people doing the work. (a) Few things break my heart more than to hear that someone is leaving our church because we do not have a ministry or program to meet a need in their life. (b) I understand that a church is more than its programs. (c) But I also understand that a program is nothing more than another name for a particular ministry, a way to help someone. (d) And I also understand that every Christian ought to be involved in helping others. b. If I can see a backing down within the church, I imagine there is a backsliding within the heart. (1) Christians who are excited about Jesus and growing do not just sit on the sidelines. If their heart is right with God, they get involved. (2) Christians who are excited about Jesus dont just quit serving and go sit down. If there heart is right with God, they use what they have learned to help others. c. Having said all of this, if God is not talking to some people, Im pastoring the wrong church. (1) I dont want to pastor a church in 2010 that is fizzling out but one that is burning with fire. (2) I understand that whether we grow or not is completely in Gods hands but I also know that how much effort we give is up to us. (3) My theory is we have some church members who are growing lukewarm to cold on God. 2. Lets dont carry that kind of sin into 2010! a. You are the only one who knows you heart and the condition of your spirit. b. I live in flesh and I understand how difficult it is to keep going when we do not see all the results we would like. c. But I also know that we are needed. (1) Christ-like moms and dads are needed in your family. (2) Godly, sold-out Christians are needed in Green Pond. (3) Dedicated, determined Christians are needed where you work. (4) Bold, fearless servants of God are needed in this state and country. 2010 is not the year to quit on God. It is the year to dig in, redouble our efforts, and do the work of God. Will you do it?