Genesis 12:1-4 – How to Live A Successful Life – Bible study

Genesis 12:1-4 How to Live A Successful Life Abraham was a man who was successful in all areas of life. He was a successful business man and family man; he moved among kings; he had his own army (a very successful one); yet he was a good man, kind generous, and godly. Amazingly, this man Abraham lived around 4,000 years ago in a whole different part of the world, but here we are talking about him today. Abraham was the epitome of success. As we start a new year, we need to ask ourselves, "What does it take to be successful in life?" In speaking with one man this past week, I told him that it is not hard. God gives us the keys to a successful life in the Bible. They have been proven by many before us. All we have to do is find them and apply them. Lets see what some of those keys are. I. Walk according to Gods commands. A. We walk according to the commands of God for our own protection. B. While every person has the option to obey or disobey God, the commands of God are not optional when it comes to being successful. 1. Gods commands are like lines that we need to learn to live within. 2. Like a child learns to color in between the lines, so we must learn to live in between the commands of God if we are to be successful. C. The first command to keep is the command to be saved. 1. Some think that is salvation is a suggestion, but it is not. 2. You have the option to disobey if you wish (disobedience is an option God has given us to all of His commands), but God has commanded that we be saved. Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 3. No person will ever be successful in life without God and no person will have God who does not accept Jesus Christ as His Savior. D. But there are other commandments. 1. Someone has said that they are 613 commands in the Bible. 2. Most of Gods commandments are for our physical protection and betterment. a. That is, most of Gods commandments actually help us. b. Some of the commandments are primarily spiritual in nature for example – being saved, reading your Bible, going to church. c. But ultimately, even those commands help us. 3. By the way we rebel against Gods commandments, you would think they were hard on us or somehow hurt us. a. That is not the case. b. This is the point John was making in his epistle. 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. E. Lets consider some of these commands. I just pulled these together pretty much at random. 1. Thou shalt not bear false witness. a. Who does that help? b. Does God ever get short changed when we tell a lie? c. Lying hurts those we lie to and eventually, when we get caught in enough lies, it hurts us. d. So this command is for our protection and betterment. 2. Thou shalt not commit adultery. a. To be honest, this command probably takes a beating about as bad as any command in the Bible. b. Who gets hurt when we break it? (1) It isnt God. Our sin grieves God, but God is not lessened when we break our vows to our mate. (2) Our mate gets hurt. (3) Our children get hurt. (4) That in turn hurts us. c. I am speaking mostly of emotional hurt, but there are other kinds of hurt that come out of unfaithfulness. (1) There is the physical pain that sexually transmitted diseases can cause. (2) There is the financial hurt that the divorce will cause. (3) There is your childrens social and psychological pain that they will have growing up in a divorced home. d. So who was God trying to protect when He gave this command? 3. Thou shalt not steal. a. Again, you cant really take anything that is going to hurt God so God is not giving this command for His protection. b. God commands us not to steal because stealing hurts us. c. Stealing might seem like an easy way to get something you want or need, but you will have time to see that is not the case when you end up in jail. d. Ask Bernie Madoff, Richard Scrushy, or Wesley Snipes. 4. Thou shalt not kill. a. You cant kill God. b. This is another command to protect both society and self. 5. Honor thy father and thy mother. a. All of Gods commandments arent negatives. There are dos, as well as, donts. b. Honoring your parents is for your benefit. (1) If you have good parents, honoring them will put you on the right roads of life. (2) If you have bad parents, honoring them will make you wise to discern good from evil. 6. Love your neighbor, even as yourself. a. Then there are New Testament commands as well. b. Loving your neighbor wont build up God, but it will make for a better neighborhood for you to live in. 7. speak evil of no man be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. a. All good qualities that every person, male and female, needs to learn to be the kind of person that others want to be around. b. You can be a arrogant jerk if you want, but you will only end up hurting yourselves. F. Here is what we need to understand about Gods commands. 1. They help us. 2. They give us a better reputation; they help us to be liked and trusted by others; they teach us how to get along with others, and they protect our home and family. 3. The truth is if everybody would play by Gods rules, the world would be much better place. 4. If you want to be successful, find the commands of God and obey them. II. Walk according to Gods promises. A. We walk according to the promises of God for power. B. The relationship between God and any man is one built on Gods promises. 1. That doesnt sound very flattering on mankinds part, but it is true. 2. Not only is it true, but it is obviously what God wants. If it wasnt, God would change the relationship. C. Notice the promises on which mans relationship with God is built. 1. Abraham started walking with God because God promised him some things that he wanted. a. God promised Abraham a land. b. God promised Abraham a seed. c. God promised Abraham a nation. d. God promised Abraham protection. e. God promised Abraham His blessings. 2. You and I started walking with God because God promised us some things that we wanted. a. We wanted forgiveness of sin. b. We wanted a restored relationship with God. c. We wanted heaven in eternity and peace and power today. d. We wanted the protection of God. e. We wanted the blessings of God. D. When we understand that the our relationship with God is built on His promises to us, and that that is the way God wants it, then we should understand that it is Gods desire that we seek out His promises and trust him for them. 1. The more promises you and I find and stand on, the better God likes it. 2. The more promises you and I find and stand on, the more successful we are going to beboth in worldly and spiritual matters. E. Obey His commandments and go find some promises to claim. 1. Salvation is based on a promise. 2. Having spiritual power is based on a promise. 3. Having your needs supplied is based on a promise. 4. Being granted wisdom is based on a promise. 5. Having all things work for your good and Gods glory is based on a promise. 6. Having a way out of every temptation is based on a promise. 7. Getting your prayers answered is based on a promise. 8. Having an eternal home is based on a promise. 9. Being taken in the rapture is based on a promise. 10. Having victory over sin, self, and the world is based on a promise. F. Everything that we have from God is based on a promise. Go find one! III. Wait for Gods blessings. A. We persevere by waiting on God for our blessings. B. Here is where even Abraham had a difficult time. 1. It is one thing to start a walk of obedience and faith. It is another to stick with it. a. We are people who desire instant gratification. b. It is not an exaggeration to say that we want it hot, we want it fresh, and we want it now. 2. The problem is that while God always blesses, He does not always bless instantly. a. Abraham was 75 years old before God ever spoke to him at all. \#Ge 12:4\. b. One of the promises God gave to Abraham was that he would have a son. (1) In fact, all of the other promises pretty much hang on that one. (2) It is pretty hard to be a father of nations and of kings and princes when you dont have any children at all. c. When Abraham was 86, he still had no child \#Ge 16:17\ so he decided to help God out by having a child with another woman. (1) Of course, that was not Gods design and that act has caused nothing but trouble for the true line of Abraham ever since. (2) But Abraham got tired of waiting on God. C. Now, every personeven the saved oneshave to make a decision about who they are going to look to for their blessings. 1. Most of the world, even the saved, look to themselves. a. These are those want to live somewhere between the expression "the good Lord helps those who help themselves" and "the end justifies the means." b. When push comes to shove, these people are going to make the decisions that they believe are best for themselves. c. Interestingly, Abraham had someone just like this in his life. d. Lot Ge 13:5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abrams cattle and the herdmen of Lots cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. (1) Lot wasnt a bad person. He was just looking out for number one. (2) He saw the land was well watered, fertile, and that there were cites close by, so he chose it. (3) He knew when he made that choice that he was giving Abraham what appeared to be the bad end of the deal. (4) What was really bad here was that Abraham took Lot in when he was all alone and was largely responsible for him having any wealth at all! e. I tell you that and you think, "I would never want to be like that!" f. But many of these people rise rapidly through the ranks of promotion; most of them will make good money, drive nice automobiles, live in nice homes, and will probably end up becoming your boss if you dont do as they do. 2. Then there are those who look to God to bless them. a. They will work ever bit as hard as those who promote themselves. (This is about having a different work ethic. Its about who you look to for promotion and blessing.) b. These people will only work jobs they feel God wants them to work, and they will work that job with honesty and integrity, even if that is frowned upon by those he or she works for. c. They work that way because they realize that even though a company signs their pay check, they are actually working for God and they want to make a good impression on their Employer. D. The rub comes when those who choose to look to God for their blessings seem to get left behind those who are serving themselves. 1. I dont mean that God wont bless you or even that He will take awhile to start blessing you. 2. God will bless you. (Sometimes God blesses in ways that you cant deposit.) 3. However, sometimes God makes us wait. 4. Abraham will have to wait for that son until he is 99 years old to have the son that God promised him. (That is 24 years after he first received the promise!) 5. Understand, we are not waiting on God because He has the biggest and best blessings (although He does.) 6. We are waiting on God because He is God and is worthy of our trust and service! 7. So if God makes you wait on the blessings, WAIT. a. Is that what we would want? No. b. Is that easy? No. c. But make up your mind that if God never blesses you with the earthly things you want, you are going to look to Him for your blessings and not to yourself. 8. I promise you that by doing this, you will have a successful life. So here it is, three keys to the successful life. If you want to be successful this year, you will get started on them. 1. Keep Gods Commandments 2. Stand on Gods Promises 3. Wait for Gods Blessings