This morning we continue our series entitled, “Refined Focus”, by continuing with our new mini-series entitled, “Focusing on Dying To Self”. In yesterday’s message I referenced six believers in scripture who had to die to their old identity in order to become the person God called them to be. One of them was Abraham. I said the following:
“Abram had to die to his identity as a barren man in Ur of the Chaldeans in order to become Abraham, the Father of many nations. God looked a 75yr old man, with a 65yr old wife, who never had children, and revealed that he was called to be a Father many nations. The entire world would be impacted by Abraham, but first he had to be willing to die to his old identity.”
Once again, Jesus said: “Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me and for the Good News will save it.” (Mark 8:34,35 ERV).
So what does this mean to you today? Before we get into it let me set the stage. Abraham was 75 years old when the Lord called him. He had invested his entire life into becoming the man he was. He then had an offer from God. God’s offer was basically, “Leave everything you know for the life I have planned for you. Go to a place I am going to show you and become the person I will reveal to you.” Notice God gave him a promise, but He did not give him any of the details. So now, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- God has never required any less than ALL of you. In order to become the person He planned for you to be, you must die. Dying in Christ is the only way to fully live in God.
- You did nothing to earn or deserve God’s plans for your life. Abram did nothing to earn the call. The assignment and the call come completely by God’s unearned grace.
- God offers you the life He planned for you to have by grace, but you must accept and access the plan by faith.
- Faith requires you to launch out on nothing but a Word from God, without having all the answers, and without any sense-realm evidence to make you “feel” better about your decision.
- There is a certain level of mystery to walking with God. As much confidence as you have in the things He has revealed, God expects you to have the same level of trust in the things He has yet to reveal.
- Divine vision is incremental and progressive. The Lord won’t give you all the answers up-front. But as you walk with Him, He will reveal His plan little-by-little. Abram had to leave Ur of the Chaldeans without any clue of where he was going. As we walked, God revealed. As he followed, God led. This is a walk of faith. This is how we are supposed to live.
- Nothing happened in Abram’s life until he had the faith to leave the known for the unknown. God can do more with you after you get started!
- God will never be in debt to you. Abram gave God his life as a seed. God gave Abram a new life as a harvest. Don’t ever think that what you are giving up for God is LESS THAN what you will receive in return. God is the Lord of the Harvest and He will see to it that you receive a harvest on every seed sown!
I will stop here for today. I could go on, but I will continue tomorrow.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016 by dying to self. The plans I made for my life would have been great, if it were not for the fact that You already made plans for me. So I yield my plans to Yours. I die to live. I decrease that You may increase in, with and through me. I lose myself in You, and as a result, I actually find myself. I discover the person You called me to be, I develop into that person, and I then deploy into my divine purpose. I walk and live by faith. I have unyielding confidence in the things You have revealed and I trust You for the things You have yet to reveal. I am becoming comfortable with a certain level of uncertainty. I am growing accustomed to living with a certain level of mystery. As You lead, I follow. As You release, I receive. As I receive, I respond. Every day I am becoming the person You called me to be and along the way You are impacting this world through me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
