When God Says, “Get Out”

Text: Genesis 12:1-4

Introduction

  1. I don’t know about you, but I certainly find it comfortable living in the affluent society that we live in today with all the conveniences of a modern home, the local shopping centers, the council-maintained parks, and other such things. We are a spoiled
  2. This morning, I want to look at Abram and the city which he had grown up in and how God called him out of the land of his birth to a new land which, although it wasn’t the modern city that Abram was used to, it was a place in which God would bless
  3. So, let’s pick up our study with a look at the city of Ur, in the land of the Chaldees.

Main

The Call to Abram (Gen 11:31 – Gen 12:1)

  1. The City of Ur
    1. The discovery of Ur
      1. Archeological excavations of the ancient city of Ur have revealed that it was a large city with the latest in terms of architecture, public services, and private dwellings.
      2. Until the 12-year excavation beginning in 1922, Bible sceptics had claimed that Ur didn’t even exist, let alone that it would have been around in Abram’s The 1922-1934 excavations proved that Ur existed and that it had been around for hundreds of years before Abram lived there and had a population of up to 250,000 people.
      3. The homes in Ur were usually multileveled structures. The lower level had walls of burnt bricks, while the upper-level walls were mud brick, both of these would be plastered and white washed. The lower floor held the servant’s room, kitchen, lavatory and wash place for visitors while the upper floor housed the family. The average middle-class home in Ur had from 10 to 20 rooms. There were even private wells and a city drainage system that carried away water and waste.
    2. The lifestyle of Ur.
      1. The city of Ur was a major trading center in the area. The markets had a lot to offer both in terms of food and One local workshop provided at least 12 different kinds of apparel.
      2. Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of ancient tablets where records were kept of the things like the amount of wool it took to make a single garment, the local banking and accounting records, and even local business deals and land titles.
  2. The Departure from Ur (Vs 31 & 1)
    1. The Departure with Terah (Vs 31)
      1. In verse 31 of chapter 11 we see that Abrams father Terah led the family out of Ur to travel to
      2. The distance from Ur to Haran is approximately 1030km, and from Haran to Caanan is another, roughly,
      3. The journey from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran obviously was a long one and by the time they arrived there, Terah decided to go no further and, instead, settled down once more in
    2. The Command to Abram (Vs 1)
      1. Here in verse 1 of chapter 12 we see that God had actually spoken to Abram and called him to leave his kindred and his father’s
      2. There was partial obedience on the part of Abram here because he had allowed his father Terah to go with him and Terah had become a hinderance to Abram because Terah he become worn out at the three-quarter mark of the journey.
        • God isn’t pleased with partial God want’s us to go all the way with Him in the journey of faith.
      3. Now that Terah has died, Abram is freed up to go forward in his journey and he is reminded that God has told him to “get thee out”. There are times in our Christian life when we are called to get out and do something for God but what are some of the calls God might give which will be difficult for us to face?
        • Get out from your home.
          Like Abram, we may find it hard to leave our family behind and step out, by faith, in the will of God and go where he would have us to go. God may not call you, like Abraham, to leave the country but His call will lead you in a path of separation which may include separation from worldly family members. You may find it difficult to leave all the comforts of home.
        • Get out a reach the lost.
          The call to soul winning is for all of us. We are all supposed to be reaching the lost with the gospel. My father used to tell me that people are always watching and you are always being a testimony to others. The question is, are you being a good testimony or a bad one.Once we move over here, I hope to get a regular out reach ministry running on Saturday mornings. Well, it isn’t easy to get up on Saturday and go letter-boxing or door-knocking and our flesh hates such spiritual activity, but when God says, “get out” we need to step out in faith and go.

The Promise to Abram (Vs 2-4)

  1. The Promise of Blessing (Vs 2)
    1. Abram received a promise of national blessing.
      1. In verse 4 we are told that “Abram departed, as the Lord has spoken unto ” Abram stepped out in faith to do the will of God.
        • Now if you saw Abram leaving Ur or, in this case, leaving Haran and you asked him where he was going, what would he have said?
        • Look in verse 1 where it says, “unto a land that I will shew unto ” Abram didn’t know where he was headed when he packed up his whole life and took his family away from their home to follow God, but do you know what he did know, he knew that God would bless him if he kept himself in the will of God.
          Hebrews 11:8 reinforces this saying, “by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”
      2. Because of his obedience to God, God would bless Abram and make of him a great nation, which we all know today as the nation of
    2. The Practical lessons
      1. There are some lessons we can take from the example of
        1. When God calls us to do something for the work of the gospel, we need to take it seriously and be obedient to the God may not call you to move your family and launch off into the unknown, but God may simply call you to serve in the local church ministry, He may want to you greet people at the door as they come into church, or to assist with leading the congregational singing.
          Whatever it is, don’t let people or circumstances hinder you from following God.
        2. God often takes us out of our comfort zone so that we can learn dependence upon When we are in our comfort zone, we tendto be self-confident, but when God tells us to “get out” and do something new, that is when we learn to rely on His grace and help.
        3. We need to be careful that we don’t become so attached to our creature comforts that, when God wants us to “get out” and do something, we are unable to.

Summary

  1. What is God calling you to do? What area of service in the local church would he have you to help in? If you are a born-again Christian here today then God has something for you to As the saying goes, “We aren’t saved by works but if you’re saved, you’ll work.” God didn’t save us so we could all relax in our eternal security and do nothing to further the work of God on earth.
  2. Are you willing to leave your comfort zone to reach the lost with the Gospel. When Abram left Ur, I imagine many people thought he was crazy leaving all that and, when we give up our personal comforts and our personal pursuits to serve God, it doesn’t always make sense to others but we need to follow God anyway.