057 Abraham: The Call
Abraham’s journey of trust began in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. It was a city of great wealth and culture.
It was also a city of deep religion. The Chaldeans worshipped a pantheon of gods and the Bible reveals that Abraham’s father Terah was a worshiper of these idols.
It was here, in Ur, where God first called Abram (as he was then called). He called him to leave his family and his home and go to a land God would show him. He called him to take a step of trust, to leave the known, and step into the unknown.
Ur represents the place of emptiness you were born into.
It symbolizes the culture of frustration and futility… brokenness and barrenness…that surrounds us. Sure, Ur may sparkle and glitter at times. But at the end of the day, we find ourselves feeling empty and unfulfilled.
Could God be calling out to you today? “Leave your old life. Leave your old acquaintances. Leave your old ways. Make a clean break. Dare to seek a new life, a new community, a new way, and a new God.”
Here’s the thing. Only you can decide whether or not to respond. See…
You cannot stay in Ur and move to the land of promise at the same time.
To choose one, you must forsake the other. Which will it be for you – your old life or a new life? Only you can decide…and decide you must. For to not decide is to decide to stay in Ur.
The next part of Abram’s journey took him to the city of Haran. Here he stalled out for 15 years.
When Abram left Ur, he didn’t leave behind his family. He took them with him. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine Abram’s father, the patriarch of the family, saying, “This is far enough.” And Abram’s journey of trust was put on hold.
Haran represents the place of compromise where you pull up short of full commitment.
Even though Abram shouldn’t have taken Terah with him in the first place, when his father decided to only go as far as Haran, Abram should have bade him farewell and pressed on to Canaan. He should not have allowed someone from his past to compromise his future.
Neither should you.
You must not allow someone from your past to prevent you from entering your future.
Some of you are being held back from all that God has for you by someone who doesn’t want to completely walk away from the old way of living. They don’t want to abandon the practices they enjoy or the behaviors they’re comfortable with.
Let me give you a warning that someone gave me back when I was a young believer grappling with old relationships. “Never let anyone steal your crown.”
At long last Abram gets to the Promised Land. To be sure, his journey hadn’t been perfect. Yet God exhibits amazing patience and grace. He appears to Abram again and reiterates the promise of blessing.
Canaan represents the place of promise where all things are made new.
Canaan isn’t heaven. There were still challenges for Abram to face and battles for Abram to fight. But as he’d responded to God’s call, he was now positioned to be blessed and to be a blessing to others.
You need to remember that full commitment is the doorway through which God’s best can flow.
God is eagerly looking for just such people.
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (II Chronicles 16:9)
Ur. Haran. Canaan. Which land do you live in?
What’s the next right step you need to take in the journey of trust?
Text: Genesis 11:31-12:3; Acts 7:2-4
Originally recorded August 17, 2014, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.