From Worship to Worry!

Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. 14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. 17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

1. A promise for the world Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

2. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3. We are blessed in the same way by the Lord

4. We have salvation

5. The Word of God

6. The church of God

7. Financial resources way above others

8. Spiritual resources they have no idea about

9. We too are blessed so that we can be a blessing

10. Does the responsibility of your blessing ever occur to you?

11. Do you wonder how you should manage, handle, the blessings the Lord has given you?

12. God used the family of Abraham to give us the Bible

13. God used the family of Abraham to give us the church

14. God used the family of Abraham to give us the Lord Jesus Christ

15. This is yet another promise that Jesus is coming

16. How will you allow the knowledge of this great truth to affect your everyday life?

17. This promise leads to Abram’s worship

18. A place of worship 7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

19. The Lord appeared to Abram 7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

20. The way you get saved, is the Lord shows up

21. God made Himself clear to Abram

22. That is was happened with me, He showed me my need of salvation

23. The Lord gave promises to Abram 7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. I Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

24. There is a clear promise for us all

25. God wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth

26. God blesses us by saving us from ourselves just like He saved Abram

27. Abram responded to the promises 4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

28. He obeyed God as much as He knew

29. He went out just like he was told to do

30. Abram worshipped the Lord 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

31. Notice that the altar and the worship were to the Lord

32. Worship is never about us

33. Worship is about Him

34. Worship is for Him

35. Worship is our response to Him as He speaks to us, blesses us, promises us, etc!

36. He built the altar in two different places

37. Worship was a regular part of his life

38. Worship costs, he built the altar

39. Worship takes time

40. Worship shows how important you think God is

41. It is not about your emotions, feelings, singing, or music

42. How important is worship in your life? What evidences are there in you that show the world how important you see worshipping God isR? What is your attitude towards worship?

43. Worship is so important but doesn’t mean you will not have problems and temptations

44. Problems lead to worldliness 10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

45. There was a famine in the land

46. The famine caused Abram to travel down to Egypt

47. Egypt is a picture of sin, temptation, slavery, even being lost, without Christ

48. Abram goes to Egypt to save his life but comes close to losing his wife

49. Fear causes Abram to do something very foolish

50. He thinks of himself and is willing to risk his wife

51. He is doing something that goes very much against his nature

52. He even takes advantage of his flitting with sin as Pharaoh gives him gifts

53. How often have you let fear cause you to do what you shouldn’t have done? I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. I Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

54. It cripples us

55. It doesn’t come from God

56. It hinders us from stepping out by faith to do what God wants us to do

57. It causes us not to be givers

58. In the middle of his fear Abram didn't realize that God was going to protect him all along, just like you haven't realized and trusted

59. Protected from wrong 17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

60. The Lord plagued Pharaoh and his whole house

61. Pharaoh realized that God was dealing with him

62. Abram had lied and convinced himself that he had to protect himself when God was going to do so all along

63. What would have happened if Abram had just trusted God when he went to Egypt

64. Have you gotten into trouble before because you were trying to protect yourself instead of trusting God to protect you?