Sermon

5/27/26 Wednesday Evening Bible Study - Pastor Charlie Branch - Meadows Baptist Church

Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

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  1. Heat.

  2. Heat. Heat.

  3. Heat.

  4. Heat. Heat.

  5. Yeah.

  6. Heat.

  7. Heat. Heat.

  8. Heat.

  9. Heat. Heat.

  10. Amen. Well, good evening everybody. Good

  11. to see you in the house of the Lord

  12. tonight. Forgive us for starting just a

  13. little bit late. We're going to go ahead

  14. and get started off with a song tonight.

  15. So, if we could have some youngans come

  16. forward and everybody stand. We'll sing

  17. together tonight. He keeps me singing.

  18. We'll sing all five verses tonight. If

  19. he keeps me singing,

  20. let's all stand together.

  21. All right, young and y'all come on. Get

  22. around your flag in your Bible. Let's

  23. sing it out tonight. There's within my

  24. heart a melody.

  25. Jesus whispers sweet and long.

  26. Fear not, I am with thee. Peace be still

  27. in all of life and flow.

  28. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

  29. Sweetest name I know.

  30. Fills my every longing.

  31. Keeps me singing as I go.

  32. All my life was wrecked by sin and

  33. strife. Discord filled my heart with

  34. pain.

  35. Jesus swept across the broken strings,

  36. stirred the slumbering courts again.

  37. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

  38. sweetest name I know.

  39. Fills my every longing.

  40. Keeps me singing as I go.

  41. Feasting on the riches of his grace,

  42. resting neath his sheltering wing.

  43. Always looking on his smiling face. That

  44. is why I shout and sing.

  45. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

  46. sweetest name I know,

  47. fills my every longing.

  48. Keeps me singing as I go.

  49. Though sometimes he leads through waters

  50. deep. Trials fall across the way.

  51. Though sometimes the path seems rough

  52. and steep. See his footprints all the

  53. way.

  54. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

  55. The sweetest name I know.

  56. fills my every longing,

  57. keeps me sing. I like this verse. Let's

  58. sing it out together tonight. Soon he's

  59. coming back to welcome me far beyond the

  60. starry sky.

  61. I shall wing my flight to worlds

  62. unknown. I shall reign with him on high.

  63. Lift your voice. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

  64. The sweetest name I know

  65. fills my every longing.

  66. Keeps me singing as I go.

  67. Amen. I enjoyed that. Didn't you? Amen.

  68. I'm glad there's a song on the inside.

  69. Amen. I appreciate you being here

  70. tonight. Let's get started off with our

  71. pledges tonight. All right. We'll do the

  72. American flag. Attention. Salute.

  73. Pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag

  74. of the United States of America and to

  75. the republic for which it stands, one

  76. nation under God, indivisible, with

  77. liberty and justice for all. Now our

  78. Christian flag. I pledge allegiance to

  79. the Christian flag and to the Savior for

  80. whose kingdom it stands. One savior

  81. crucified, risen, and coming again with

  82. life and liberty to all who believe. All

  83. right. Now, our Bible. I pledge

  84. allegiance to the Bible, God's holy

  85. word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet

  86. and a light to my path, and I will hide

  87. its words in my heart that I might not

  88. sin against God. Amen. Thank you,

  89. youngans. Amen. And well, it's good to

  90. be in the house of the Lord tonight and

  91. I appreciate each one of you being here

  92. this evening. And I trust you've had a

  93. good week this week and I thank the Lord

  94. for his blessings and appreciate the

  95. rain. Somebody say amen and I thank the

  96. Lord for that. Appreciate God blessing

  97. us uh with those showers from heaven.

  98. Amen. We certainly need them and I pray

  99. that God will continue to help us. Amen.

  100. Bless us these days. All right, let's

  101. get into our announcements tonight. a

  102. few things make mention of here and then

  103. we'll go on uh with the service this

  104. evening. I do want to say thank you uh

  105. once again to everybody that came and

  106. all the labor that went in um to the

  107. service on Sunday. What didn't we have a

  108. good day on Sunday and I appreciate

  109. everything that was said and done. It

  110. was such a blessing and I appreciate God

  111. helping us and by grace was a blessing

  112. as they always are. And it was so nice

  113. to meet brother Anderson and I enjoyed

  114. his message. I believe it was a help on

  115. Sunday evening and I appreciate him uh

  116. coming and being with us and I

  117. appreciate him taking out time out of

  118. his busy schedule. I know he had a

  119. cancellation and uh come up and that was

  120. how he was able to be here with us. If

  121. you y'all know him, he's normally booked

  122. out um over a year in advance. And so um

  123. I was thankful that he actually sent me

  124. a message and said, "Preacher, I can

  125. come uh on this Sunday night if you've

  126. got to open him." And I appreciate him.

  127. He could have just went somewhere and

  128. rested for a night cuz I know that he

  129. probably needs that. But I do appreciate

  130. him coming by and being with us in that

  131. evening service. And I do thank you once

  132. again for all the hard work and labor

  133. that went in on Sunday. Do remember

  134. those souls that were here Sunday

  135. morning left lost. Amen. Dean spirit of

  136. conviction here on Sunday morning. Let's

  137. pray for those. Um but just a few

  138. announcements here. Um we are going to

  139. postpone youth Sunday. So remember that.

  140. I'm just going to hold that off for the

  141. time being. um just due to a few

  142. different things. So, we're going to

  143. hold that off for right now. I'll let

  144. you know when we get it rescheduled. Um

  145. but we will be having ladies and men's

  146. fellowships on next week um on Monday uh

  147. ladies there and on Thursday uh Monday

  148. the 1st and then Thursday the 4th. So

  149. remember that um ladies and men and then

  150. they're coming up in June. Got a busy

  151. schedule in the month of June. So

  152. remember the dates coming up. junior

  153. camp there the week of the 8th um

  154. through the 11th and uh then uh VBS will

  155. kick off on the 14th and we'll run

  156. through the 17th and so remember that be

  157. praying about that and we're going to

  158. try to hit some uh knock some doors real

  159. heavy in the coming weeks and the next

  160. two weeks leading up to that. So

  161. remember that if you would please. And

  162. then our Father's Day outing on the

  163. 20th, don't forget about that, okay?

  164. I've got everything almost worked out.

  165. Not going to let you know what we're

  166. doing just yet. I'm going to try to make

  167. it uh have us make us have a good time

  168. that day and I'm looking forward to it.

  169. We had a great time on our men's outing

  170. earlier this year and so I want you to

  171. please mark your calendar for that and

  172. we're going to have a good time of

  173. fellowship that day. There will be food

  174. involved. Somebody say amen. And uh I

  175. know y'all can get on board with that. I

  176. thought anyway, somebody say amen to

  177. that. Amen. Food is involved. All right.

  178. But uh on the 20th, so remember that.

  179. And then homecoming and Father's Day

  180. will be on the 21st. No evening service

  181. that day, but there will be a meal um

  182. immediately following the morning

  183. service there, covered dish. So, um

  184. remember that uh coming up. And then I

  185. want to let you know if you have not

  186. already registered uh your children for

  187. Bible school, you need to go ahead and

  188. do that. Okay? And last we checked, I

  189. don't think anybody has at this point in

  190. time. And so, need to go ahead and get

  191. registered um for Bible school and be

  192. telling those that's going to be coming.

  193. If you got family and friends, things of

  194. that nature, that you've invited, be

  195. telling them to register as well. And

  196. then if you're going to teen camp, you

  197. need to see Sister Brooke for

  198. registration for that. Um they're at

  199. Power of Two. That's going to be here

  200. before you know it there July the 6th

  201. through the 9th. And so remember that if

  202. you would please. And then um I do want

  203. to make mention of this. Um I'll be

  204. helping there with you camp at Light on

  205. the Mountain the 22nd through uh the

  206. 25th. And just due to um kind of the

  207. lateness of us getting involved with

  208. that, it's kind of last minute type

  209. deal. Um I wasn't able some asked me if

  210. we could if they could go to that and

  211. their camps already full. Um but what I

  212. want to do is is we will plan on um

  213. taking a group up there next year. They

  214. do two weeks of camp and they're pretty

  215. much always those same two weeks in

  216. June. And so um we'll try to get ahead

  217. on that a little bit, but just keep that

  218. in your mind. I know next year is next

  219. year, but just keep that in your mind.

  220. Um we'll try to do that uh on next year

  221. and be praying for those weeks. I'm

  222. excited uh that they've asked me to come

  223. help with that. It's a I was down there

  224. in that meeting in Connesty a few weeks

  225. ago, couple weeks ago, and the preachers

  226. that were there, a lot of the young

  227. preachers my age were preachers who had

  228. either gotten saved or saved and called

  229. to preach. And it happened at Light on

  230. the Mountain. And that God had used that

  231. camp in a great way down through the

  232. years. Um, some great men of God. Um,

  233. Brother Paul Moss, um, Brother Steven

  234. Aldridge, lots of great preachers. They

  235. grew up going there and God used them.

  236. They got married there, called to

  237. preach, all kinds of different things.

  238. And God has used that in a mighty way

  239. over the years. And so, we want to

  240. support that. Amen. That's things been

  241. going on for probably 30 years. And so,

  242. um, if you would just pray for them as

  243. that gets closer. And that's all I'll

  244. say at this time. Uh, do remember the

  245. cleaning schedule is out there in the

  246. foyer for those of you that want to help

  247. with that. I appreciate everybody that

  248. works so hard cleaning the church. Thank

  249. you for doing that. And all everybody

  250. that labors, we appreciate it this

  251. evening. All right, let's get to our

  252. prayer request here. Forgetting

  253. anything, dear.

  254. Prayer request tonight. If you would

  255. please this evening, remember little

  256. Miss Charlie, that is Marty uh uh Robin

  257. and Marty's granddaughter. She is still

  258. at the hospital Brinards as of right

  259. now. and the last I heard and he he gave

  260. us an update, but I don't want to just

  261. disclose everything, but we do want you

  262. to pray, okay? Um, pray for the little

  263. baby and looking like a little it's

  264. going to be a pretty lengthy stay there

  265. for a while till they can get some more

  266. answers. I've not heard anything else.

  267. Have you heard anything? So, let's pray

  268. for them uh during this time. Please

  269. pray that God uh would help and touch

  270. them. Scary thing. I will say this, they

  271. did do think that she had a seizure.

  272. That's what they think she had um there

  273. when she was with I guess they was with

  274. Marty and Robin when it happened. I

  275. think that's what he told me. So

  276. >> it wasn't a seizure.

  277. >> Okay.

  278. >> Okay. All right.

  279. >> Okay. Well, that's great. Did was that

  280. sent out earlier?

  281. Okay, that's okay. Yeah. All right.

  282. Everybody's got these text chains and I

  283. don't know anything about what's going

  284. on. So, anyway, if you gossip on that,

  285. God help you. All right. But anyway,

  286. oh me, where do I where am I at now?

  287. Continue to remember baby Charlie.

  288. That's good news though. Praise the Lord

  289. for that. Um it's not seizures.

  290. Hallelujah for that. Um let's remember

  291. Miss Tracy Fortune.

  292. The text there come out. She fell

  293. yesterday and broke her ankle. Okay, so

  294. let's remember her in prayer. Bless her

  295. heart. Let's remember that this evening.

  296. And uh something else I was going to

  297. make mention of. It just left me. I've

  298. got about 50 thoughts that just hit my

  299. mind all at the same time. Has anybody

  300. else got a prayer request tonight before

  301. we pray?

  302. Yes, ma'am.

  303. there.

  304. I'm still in shock.

  305. I'm just so grateful for

  306. everything.

  307. >> Amen.

  308. for him. I know it's hard to say.

  309. >> Amen. God bless you, sister. Let's do

  310. indeed pray um for Chase. And uh tell

  311. you this, God gave him another chance.

  312. >> And uh we ought I y'all to never take

  313. that for granted. And uh I I thought

  314. about that. There's been some days in my

  315. life and accidents I could have been in,

  316. I was just seconds away from and uh God

  317. spared me. And uh he's got a reason for

  318. us to be here. And uh let's indeed pray

  319. pray pray that God will touch him and

  320. help him. Amen. All right. Someone else

  321. tonight. Yes, sir.

  322. Amen. Let's continue to pray for John.

  323. Let's remember Don and Eric as well.

  324. Pray for them,

  325. their family. God knows

  326. someone else.

  327. Amen. Let's remember Miss Haley in

  328. prayer.

  329. What's her last name now?

  330. >> Blackwood.

  331. All right. I won't have no trouble

  332. remembering that.

  333. That's a lie. Amen. Anyway,

  334. go ahead, sister.

  335. All right, let's remember that, brother

  336. Todd.

  337. >> Yes.

  338. Pray for Miss Marylu and Todd tomorrow

  339. to go to the doctor. Maybe they get some

  340. help.

  341. Amen. Someone else. Yes, ma'am.

  342. He was here. Where'd he go?

  343. >> Okay.

  344. >> All right.

  345. Let's remember brother Paul in prayer.

  346. All right. Some

  347. >> Okay,

  348. let's remember that this evening.

  349. Someone else tonight.

  350. All right,

  351. let's remember brother David in prayer.

  352. Someone else.

  353. Yes, ma'am. Amen.

  354. Someone else tonight.

  355. Yes, ma'am. Amen. Let's remember brother

  356. Mike in prayer. That was the one I was

  357. trying to think about. If y'all wouldn't

  358. remember him, they had a long day today

  359. and uh doctor's appointments, different

  360. things, and he was in a lot of pain um

  361. this evening. So, um, pray specifically

  362. God will give him rest from the pain,

  363. but also pray specifically there's

  364. nothing wrong because he didn't go to

  365. the doctor after he had his fall last

  366. week. And, uh, pray that God will just

  367. fix that. Amen. Pray God will bless him.

  368. He can do that, you know. He He very

  369. well can do that. Amen. So, let's

  370. remember him in prayer. Miss Carolyn as

  371. well.

  372. Anything else tonight before we pray?

  373. >> Amen.

  374. >> Amen. Praise the Lord for that.

  375. Anything else tonight before we pray?

  376. Amen.

  377. Amen. Well, let's remember our

  378. missionaries in prayer and pray that God

  379. will bless that. Be praying for upcoming

  380. services here. Got pray for special days

  381. coming up, different things going on.

  382. Let's pray especially for young people

  383. these days and devil's fighting them.

  384. And uh and I don't want I don't want to

  385. give him the victory. And so what I

  386. choose to do is I'm going to keep

  387. preaching.

  388. >> And uh whether it's a house full,

  389. whether there's five of us here,

  390. >> Amen. I'm going to preach anyway. And uh

  391. long as God will keep the Hey, I God can

  392. keep the lights on. Amen. I'm not

  393. worried about that. And Brother Grley

  394. said this one point in time. He was

  395. talking about preachers pastoring in in

  396. rural places where there's just a

  397. handful, five or 10 people coming. He

  398. said, "I think the greatest work of God

  399. is done in those little towns where God

  400. has just kept the light of the gospel

  401. shining every Sunday and Wednesday night

  402. for 10, 20, and 30 years with just a

  403. handful of people. Because if that

  404. church shut down, they wouldn't be a

  405. gospel witness there. And uh I really

  406. believe we need it in these days. And

  407. you say, "Preacher, well, churches are a

  408. dime a dozen around here." Well, this is

  409. the church in Meadows.

  410. >> Amen. And God put it here for a reason.

  411. >> And we going to serve and we going to

  412. stick with it until Jesus comes back.

  413. Can I get an amen right there?

  414. >> Amen. We're going to hang with this

  415. thing. Amen. Praise the Lord for it. I

  416. love each one of you and thank the Lord

  417. for you. And uh Miss Stacy, did we reach

  418. the $5,000

  419. on Sunday?

  420. Not sure. Okay. Didn't know if we looked

  421. over that or not. Know Sunday was a

  422. hectic day. So, um but anyway, thank you

  423. to all that gave. I think all that we

  424. needed was like $1,000 for that and the

  425. offering plate was full last when I we

  426. put it in there. So, um thank the Lord

  427. for that. I appreciate God's blessing uh

  428. there. We'll get that to them here just

  429. directly. Do pray for our missionaries

  430. and pray for the places that they serve.

  431. Pray for these ones that'll be coming uh

  432. to missions conference uh that God will

  433. provide the funds to take them on. Pray

  434. for the classes tonight and that God

  435. will bless the teachers and help us

  436. tonight. So, let's all can and will come

  437. to the altar and pray uh this evening.

  438. Didn't mean to take all that long. A lot

  439. of stuff to pray about. And let's pray

  440. tonight. Pray for each other and uh

  441. pray God to keep us strong.

  442. He'd love to tear your home all to

  443. pieces. He'd love to tear mine up. And

  444. uh

  445. there's men and women falling out left

  446. and right. Stay with it, church. Stay

  447. with it. Love the Lord and love your

  448. family. And uh be everything God wants

  449. you to be. Let's pray tonight.

  450. Father, thank you for this day. Thank

  451. you for your grace and kindness to us,

  452. Lord. We realize, Father, that we're

  453. we're nothing tonight and undeserving of

  454. the least of your mercies. But God,

  455. you've been so good. We thank you,

  456. Father, for your kindness towards us.

  457. Thank you, God, for the blood of Jesus,

  458. Lord, that was shed on Calvary, Lord, to

  459. pay the sin debt, Father, Lord, that I

  460. owed and that the world owed, Father.

  461. God, I know, Lord, if it were not for

  462. the grace, Lord, that was manifested

  463. that day, Lord, as that crimson blood

  464. poured out your side, Father, Lord, the

  465. grace that was manifested there, Lord, I

  466. know I'd be lost, God, even today if it

  467. were not for your hand. And I thank you

  468. for that. God, I pray tonight, Lord,

  469. number one, you would cleanse me of sin

  470. and self forgive me. I pray, God, that

  471. you would help me. Lord, I realize,

  472. Father, that we need you in these days.

  473. And God, if we're going to have any help

  474. from you, Lord, we're going to have to

  475. get ourselves right and clean. And so,

  476. Lord, I pray you cleanse us of all sin,

  477. draw us near unto you. Rid us of the

  478. flesh. God, we pray that all the will of

  479. God would be done, Lord, in this service

  480. tonight in every heart and every life. I

  481. pray, God, that you would bless each one

  482. that's here. God, thank you so much,

  483. Father, for how you've helped us in

  484. these days. God, I thank you, Father,

  485. for these faithful ones, Lord, that

  486. you've blessed, God, in these days to be

  487. here. here. And Lord, thank you for our

  488. health and strength that allows us to be

  489. here. I know there's many, God, that

  490. would love to be here tonight, but Lord,

  491. because of their health, they're not

  492. able, God. We pray you'd be with them

  493. tonight. And we ask you for the many

  494. requests of prayer that were mentioned

  495. this evening. God, you know each and

  496. every situation, every heart and life.

  497. And God, we know, Father, Lord, that

  498. you're able to help us. And God, I pray,

  499. Father, that you would help us according

  500. to your will tonight. Lord, I ask you,

  501. God, humbly, Lord, that you would exalt

  502. your word tonight. Get glory unto

  503. yourself. And God, I pray, Father,

  504. you'll give strength, Lord, to each one

  505. that's downtrodden. I pray you'll

  506. encourage those, Father, uh, Lord, who

  507. are discouraged tonight. And, God, I

  508. pray tonight, Father, we'd all leave

  509. closer to you than we were when we came

  510. in. God, I pray that you'll help each

  511. home and each heart here that's tonight.

  512. God, I pray, Father, Lord, more than

  513. anything, if there's somebody here in

  514. our midst that's lost, God, I pray you'd

  515. save them by your grace. God, please

  516. help us tonight. God, we need you, Lord.

  517. We're asking you, Father, would you

  518. please help us, God? We need your touch

  519. in these days. And know we pray, God,

  520. that you would continue to build a hedge

  521. about this church and about each family

  522. that's here. And God, that you would get

  523. glory and honor, Lord, in the way that

  524. only you can. Well, we sure love you.

  525. And thank you so much for loving us. We

  526. ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.

  527. Genesis chapter 12 tonight.

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  528. Genesis chapter 12. We'll begin reading

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  529. in verse number four

  530. tonight.

  531. Two messages here in the life of

  532. Abraham. This will be our third this

  533. evening. And uh just praying what the

  534. Lord would have us to do. Series is

  535. good, but series without God is just a

  536. waste of breath. And so um I just want

  537. to follow him. Um but I do believe he's

  538. led us back here again this evening. So

  539. let's look in verse 4 of Genesis 12

  540. tonight. The Bible says, "So Ab Abram

  541. departed as the Lord had spoken unto

  542. him, and Lot went with him. And Abram

  543. was 70 and5 years old when he departed

  544. out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his

  545. wife and Lot his brother's son and all

  546. their substance that they had gathered

  547. and the souls that they had gotten in

  548. Haran and they went forth to go into the

  549. land of Canaan and into the land of

  550. Canaan they came. And Abram passed

  551. through the land under the place of

  552. Sycam unto the plain of Mora. And the

  553. Canaanite was then in the land. The Lord

  554. appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy

  555. seed will I give this land. And there

  556. builded he an altar unto the Lord, who

  557. appeared unto him. And he removed from

  558. thence unto a mountain on the east of

  559. Bethl, and pitched his tent, having

  560. Bethl on the west, and Ai on the east.

  561. And there he builded an altar unto the

  562. Lord, and called upon the name of the

  563. Lord. And Abram journeyed, going on

  564. still toward the south. Father, I ask

  565. you humbly tonight that you would help

  566. us. God, I realize, Father, Lord, that

  567. once more, I have nothing to say if you

  568. do not speak through me. And Lord, I

  569. pray that you would hide the ignorance

  570. of my youth. And Lord, allow me to speak

  571. with the tongue of the learn tonight.

  572. Lord, give me liberty and give me

  573. uncction. God, I pray that you would

  574. fill me with the spirit of God. And

  575. Lord, I pray, Father, Lord, for each

  576. person that's here tonight, God, that

  577. you would bless and touch every life as

  578. a result of this time. May we take your

  579. word and apply it to our hearts and

  580. lives. And Lord, may we live what we

  581. read out in shoe leather these days.

  582. God, I thank you for this church. Please

  583. bless each one that's here. And we'll

  584. thank you for it because we ask it in

  585. Jesus name. Amen. Genesis 12. Of course,

  586. we have studied the life of Abram up to

  587. this point in the text. We have

  588. considered uh the beginning of Abraham.

  589. We've considered the blessedness of

  590. Abraham. And if you want to alliterate

  591. it, you can call tonight's sermon the

  592. building of Abraham. But I just want to

  593. look at the text tonight and simply give

  594. you uh what the Lord has put on my heart

  595. this evening. And uh we noted here

  596. concerning the blessedness of Abraham on

  597. last week that it was only found when

  598. Abram stepped out in faith. And I'm

  599. reminded of this fact in my life and

  600. yours that we will never experience

  601. God's blessing in our life until we just

  602. simply obey. And it just seems like

  603. that's been the thought that the Lord

  604. has driven home in every one of these

  605. sermons. It's been the the beginning and

  606. the ending of all of these messages

  607. really. And I want you to notice in the

  608. text tonight, the Bible tells us that

  609. Abram left Haran there in verse number

  610. four when he was 75 years old. Lot is

  611. with him. And the Bible says in verse 5

  612. that he took Sarah, his wife, Lot, his

  613. brother's son, and all their substance

  614. that they had gathered, and the souls

  615. that they had gotten in Haran, and they

  616. went forth to go into the land of

  617. Canaan, and into the land of Canaan,

  618. they came. And so Abram here in the

  619. text, he is finally obeying God. He is

  620. finally doing what God had asked him to

  621. do. But what I find is interesting in

  622. this text, and you could look at it one

  623. of two different ways. I'm going to

  624. choose to look at it in one manner, is

  625. Abram is still hindered in this text.

  626. And you say, "What do you mean by that?"

  627. Well, I notice in verse number five,

  628. four five four things that I want to put

  629. on your heart by way of introduction.

  630. And I don't want you to miss these

  631. thoughts this evening. The Bible says

  632. there in the text that he gathers his

  633. family. Now, it mentions Sarah, his

  634. wife, and Lot, his brother's son. And

  635. so, his family is found there in verse

  636. number five. And then there's also a

  637. fortune that's mentioned there in verse

  638. number five. And all their substance,

  639. their possessions, notice this, that

  640. they had gathered. And then not only

  641. there's his family, his fortune, and

  642. then there is his followers or his

  643. servants. The Bible says, "And the souls

  644. that they had gotten in Haran, and they

  645. went forth to go into the land of

  646. Canaan, into the land of Canaan they

  647. came." And and this thought has been

  648. really just rolling around in my mind.

  649. Abram leaves Haran in this text with a

  650. lot of baggage. You say, "What do you

  651. mean by that?" Well, notice what's said

  652. there in the text. Now God highlights

  653. everything that Abram has. And we know

  654. that later on in Abram's life, it would

  655. be considered a prosper prosperous

  656. blessing. What Abram his blessing was

  657. given to him. It was a land. It was

  658. inheritance. It was a I I guess you

  659. would say a possessional or a monetary

  660. inheritance. But what I find in this

  661. text is Abram's disobedience is

  662. following him. You say, "What do you

  663. mean by that?" Well, the Bible says that

  664. these the souls that are mentioned, the

  665. substance that's mentioned, and also

  666. this son of of uh his brother here in

  667. the text, Lot is mentioned. All of these

  668. were gotten to Abraham in Haran. Now,

  669. what do we know about Haran? Haran was a

  670. place Abram was never supposed to be.

  671. >> Right?

  672. >> Amen. Abram picked up a whole lot of

  673. baggage in Haran because he went to a

  674. place that he was never supposed to go

  675. in the first place.

  676. >> I want to say this to you tonight. You

  677. need to be careful where you spend your

  678. life, what you invest your life in,

  679. where you allow yourself or a husband or

  680. a wife where husband where you allow

  681. your wife to go, wife, where you allow

  682. your children to go. You ought to be

  683. careful where you find yourself because

  684. Abram in this text picked up a lot of

  685. baggage that he would not have had

  686. otherwise.

  687. And the Bible says here in the text that

  688. his future is seen. In verse five, they

  689. went forth to go into the land of

  690. Canaan. And into the land of Canaan they

  691. came. And so we're thankful that Abram

  692. has made it out of where he was. He's

  693. made it out of Haran. He's come into

  694. Canaan land. But we know there's going

  695. to be problems that go from this day

  696. forward. And I don't want you to miss

  697. tonight the truth that's found in this

  698. text concerning the building of Abram.

  699. But Abram's building is going to be

  700. hindered in this text because of his

  701. disobedience. But when Abram finally

  702. leaves the place where he was never

  703. supposed to be, the Bible says that into

  704. the land of Canaan they came and Abram's

  705. 75 years old and he's finally getting

  706. where God has desired for him to be. I

  707. would I would hate to know that I waste

  708. over half of my life

  709. >> just trying to get to the place where I

  710. know I was supposed to be anyway.

  711. And that's what I'm convinced and I I

  712. don't really the the rest of the message

  713. is not this real tone, but just

  714. something that's ringing in my heart

  715. this evening is I'm convinced that 50 to

  716. 75% of Christian saved Bible believing

  717. church people who are faithful, who love

  718. God, will spend the majority of their

  719. Christian life wasting it, wandering

  720. around in a place they never should have

  721. been. Right?

  722. >> And so I want to exhort you tonight. If

  723. God's telling you to go, get out and go.

  724. I'm not talking about the church. I'm

  725. saying and whatever he's telling you to

  726. do, get out of that place and go where

  727. he's telling you to be. Right?

  728. >> You say, "What is that?" Well, it it

  729. could be anything. You know, in your

  730. heart what that is tonight. And so, I

  731. notice in this text, you say, "Well,

  732. preacher, if you're telling me that I've

  733. got to go, what what what is the reason

  734. why I should go?" Well, number one, God

  735. told you you should go.

  736. >> You're right. But number two, there's a

  737. lot of things awaiting you over there

  738. that you're not going to realize. You're

  739. not going to be you're not going it's

  740. not going to be revealed to you until

  741. you get there.

  742. And so in the text, I noticed the Bible

  743. says in verse number six, look what your

  744. Bible says. And Abram passed through the

  745. land. He's finally come to the place

  746. where God has desired for him to be. And

  747. we know that the land of Canaan is still

  748. Israel's ownership to this day. Can I

  749. get an amen?

  750. >> Right. That whole land belongs to Israel

  751. and they're going to get it one of these

  752. days regardless what Donald Trump or

  753. Benjamin Netanyahu or anybody else has

  754. to say about it. They will get their

  755. entirety of their land. Amen. God shows

  756. it to Abraham in Genesis chapter 13.

    Genesis 13 chapter mention

  757. We'll look at that in the coming weeks.

  758. But they will inherit that land. And I I

  759. notice what's mentioned in this text.

  760. The Bible says Abram passed through the

  761. land into the place of Sych the plain of

  762. Moa. and the Canaanite was then in the

  763. land. And I want to lay just a few

  764. things I I guess if you uh numbered them

  765. tonight, five things on your heart

  766. concerning what you'll find when you

  767. enter the land of Canaan, the place

  768. where God desired for you to be.

  769. I notice in this text and this is just a

  770. simple simple uh thought directly out of

  771. the verses tonight. I notice first of

  772. all the first place Abram comes to when

  773. he enters into the land of Canaan is a

  774. place called syum. Now when you look up

  775. that word syum in your Bible, it

  776. translates to a city that many of us

  777. would know well is called Sheckchum. And

  778. Sheckchum all through the Old Testament

  779. is mentioned as a place where the word

  780. of God was heard. And I'm not going to

  781. run references tonight because I don't

  782. want to get ahead of myself, but I

  783. simply want to give you the definition

  784. tonight. And so what Abram found when he

  785. entered into the land of Canaan, when he

  786. got out of Haram and when he got to the

  787. place he was finally supposed to be,

  788. number one, I would say Abram found

  789. instruction.

  790. He found instruction. Now, what do I

  791. mean by instruction? Well, the Bible

  792. says he came, he passed through the land

  793. unto the place of Sheckchum. Notice

  794. this. Unto the plane of Mori of Mori.

  795. And so this plane of Mori here in the

  796. text, that word plane literally means a

  797. tree. It's not talking about a piece of

  798. land or a or a a parcel of ground or

  799. even a large parcel of ground. What's

  800. mentioned later on in the text when Lot

  801. chose him all the plain of Jordan. It's

  802. a different word. That word plain means

  803. a tree. And that word mory in the text

  804. means this. It means uh let me get this

  805. get the definition up here. It's teach

  806. it means a teacher or instruction. And

  807. so when Abram come to the place of

  808. Sheckchum here in the text, he come to

  809. this tree in that place called Mory. And

  810. this this tree represents instruction.

  811. Now what's interesting to me in this

  812. text is all the typology that's seen

  813. here in the text. Now Abram has believed

  814. God. He has left his father. He's left

  815. his brethren in the Caldes. He left his

  816. father in Haran. He's finally journeyed

  817. to where God is wanting him to be. And

  818. he gets to this place. And what's the

  819. first thing he finds? A tree.

  820. Now, there's no coincidence in that

  821. tonight. What did Jesus tell his

  822. disciples? Matthew 16:4. I'm just going

    Matthew 16:4

  823. to be real simple tonight because I

  824. believe this is what we need. Amen. He

  825. said this. Matthew 16:24, "If any man

    Matthew 16:24

  826. will come after me, let him deny

  827. himself, take up his cross

  828. >> and follow me." And the truth is, in all

  829. of our lives, when you get to the place

  830. where God wanted you to be, the first

  831. thing you're going to find is a cross.

  832. >> You're right.

  833. >> You're going to find a tree. And what is

  834. this tree represents? It represents

  835. instruction. Now, I mentioned sheckchum

  836. already, but here's what that word

  837. psychum. Sheckchum means in the text it

  838. means shoulder or strength. And so what

  839. I'm finding here what the emphasis of

  840. this text by application sense is Abram

  841. came to this tree and it was a place of

  842. teaching. It was a place of instruction

  843. for him that did what? It gave him

  844. strength. You're not going to find

  845. strength in a church service in an

  846. emotional heightened moment. You're not

  847. going to find strength somewhere uh

  848. having a a spell or on a creek bank or

  849. even on an altar in such a sense as

  850. having an experience. And experience is

  851. not going to give you strength. You're

  852. >> right.

  853. >> Strength comes from instruction. And you

  854. know where instruction comes from?

  855. >> It comes from the word of God. You're

  856. >> right.

  857. >> Prayer functions. What does prayer

  858. function off of? It functions based off

  859. of the scripture. And so if you're

  860. needing strength tonight, if you're

  861. needing encouragement, that word

  862. sheckchum literally means shoulder.

  863. Abram found out when he left Haran, the

  864. place where he was never supposed to be,

  865. he would come to a place called

  866. Sheckchum. The first place he came, and

  867. the name of it means shoulder, he would

  868. find a shoulder to lean on. He would

  869. find strength that he did not have

  870. before.

  871. >> And now, let's be real honest tonight.

  872. How many of you need a shoulder?

  873. >> Amen.

  874. >> How many of you need some strength?

  875. That's right.

  876. >> Get out of her.

  877. >> Get out of the place where God never

  878. told you to be.

  879. >> Right.

  880. >> You say, "Preacher, how is that?" And I

  881. keep going back to this because it's

  882. just it's just on my heart right now.

  883. You realize that Haran I did some more

  884. studying on this today. You realize that

  885. Haran between the Caes where Abraham

  886. began, the Bible tells us that God spoke

  887. to him there in Haran and then in the

  888. Caldes and and so when God spoke to him

  889. there, they left there and went to Iran.

  890. Well, Haran is some 600 miles from the

  891. Caldes. But you know how far Haran is

  892. from Canaan's land from where God wanted

  893. him to be? It's about 600 miles. And so,

  894. you know what Abram did? He got halfway

  895. >> and stopped.

  896. You know what? I'm seeing that happen a

  897. lot,

  898. >> right?

  899. >> I'm seeing people put one foot in

  900. and the other one's out.

  901. And here's the thing about the Christian

  902. life. It don't work that way.

  903. >> You're right.

  904. >> You're either fully invested.

  905. You say, "Preacher, well, I'll dab my

  906. toes and what you'll find is you going

  907. to fall off the back and drown." Amen.

  908. on the other side

  909. >> because a double-minded man's unstable

  910. in all his ways. But when ca when when

  911. Abram got to the place where he was

  912. supposed to be, there was instruction.

  913. Now, I know this tonight. We're all

  914. looking for answers. We've got different

  915. problems. We've got different

  916. situations. We are in different places

  917. and we're all looking for instruction,

  918. but it's not going to be found until you

  919. get out of the place where God never

  920. wanted you to be. But when you get to

  921. Canaan land, there will be instruction.

  922. There will be strength. And it comes

  923. through this teaching, this instruction,

  924. this tree. It is your cross. Now, people

  925. talk about a lot of times, you know, my

  926. suffering. You know, well, it's my

  927. cross. No, that's not the way that

  928. works. A cross is something you had long

  929. before your suffering. You're

  930. >> right.

  931. >> If you got saved, what you were called

  932. to do the after you got saved, you were

  933. saved to do what? Serve. Isn't that

  934. right? And so, you know what? Since the

  935. day you've got saved, you've had a cross

  936. to bear, and that is obedience to

  937. Christ.

  938. >> You're right.

  939. >> Amen. Now, there's a lot of things that

  940. get hung on the cross.

  941. There's a lot of things that you need to

  942. hang on the cross.

  943. >> You're right.

  944. >> I'm not preaching this tonight, but I

  945. just I don't know. I'm just trying to

  946. mind the Lord. Okay? Just bear with me.

  947. There's some things in your life that

  948. unless you bring them to that place of

  949. instruction and let them die there, you

  950. know what it'll do? End up taking you

  951. out.

  952. >> You're right.

  953. >> The strength comes through the

  954. instruction that's given at the tree.

  955. Notice this. You see, there's a lot of

  956. things that happen at this tree. And you

  957. say, "Preacher, is instruction the only

  958. thing that happens here?" No. Look what

  959. else takes place here in the text. The

  960. Bible says there in verse number seven

  961. or verse number six, "And Abram passed

  962. through the land and the place of Saikum

  963. under the plain of Mory and the

  964. Canaanite was then in the land." All

  965. right. Now, you probably going to be

  966. able to identify a little more with

  967. this. Okay? When you get to the place

  968. where God wants you to be, there'll be

  969. instruction. Let me just remind you of

  970. something. There's going to be some

  971. irritation.

  972. >> You're right.

  973. >> Look what your Bible says. And the

  974. Canaanite was what? Then, that's present

  975. tense. right now then in the land. What

  976. was the Canaanite people to Israel? They

  977. were a thorn in their side,

  978. >> right?

  979. >> For all of history. And here's what you

  980. got to realize that just because you're

  981. out of har just because you are headed

  982. to the place where God wants you to be.

  983. You're finally getting there. You are

  984. not free or exempt from struggles.

  985. You're

  986. >> right.

  987. >> You're not exempt from the enemy. Matter

  988. of fact, you're going to meet an enemy

  989. that you never met before when you get

  990. in that lane. You're right.

  991. >> Because look what the Bible says there

  992. in the text. The Canaanite was then

  993. what's them last three words? In the

  994. land. The Canaanites wasn't fought with

  995. on the outside.

  996. >> You're right.

  997. >> You were dealing with yourself. Abram

  998. was fighting with his family. When he

  999. was in Haran, you know what he found

  1000. out? When he got over into where God

  1001. wanted him to be, then the enemies from

  1002. the outside started working in. When he

  1003. finally done what God told him to do,

  1004. then he realized there's another enemy

  1005. that he's going to have to deal with.

  1006. And let me say this to you, child of

  1007. God. Do not think, listen to me, do not

  1008. think that you're ever going to get to a

  1009. point in your life as a Christian that

  1010. you will not have an enemy.

  1011. >> You're right.

  1012. >> If you are saved, you have an enemy from

  1013. the moment that you were saved before

  1014. you were saved. From the moment you were

  1015. saved until the day of your death,

  1016. >> you're right.

  1017. >> You will have an enemy. You say,

  1018. "Preacher, but it's but but right now

  1019. I'm okay." Well, just beware. You may

  1020. not see him.

  1021. >> You're right.

  1022. You see, this text reveals to us that

  1023. when you get to where God wants you to

  1024. be, there will be some irritation. And

  1025. and the thing about is I think our

  1026. problem this day and time is we paint

  1027. the Christian life as some pretty rosy

  1028. picture that always works out perfectly.

  1029. But you know what happen? You know what

  1030. the problem with that is? There's people

  1031. we pray for that die loss without God,

  1032. >> right?

  1033. >> There's people that we witness to that

  1034. don't come to church. There's people

  1035. that we try to help and try our best to

  1036. give them aid, but for some reason they

  1037. don't get right. You say, "Preacher,

  1038. THAT'S DOOM AND GLOOM." NO, IT'S THE

  1039. TRUTH.

  1040. >> RIGHT.

  1041. >> AMEN.

  1042. >> But that's not to affect you.

  1043. >> You see, Abram's present in the land was

  1044. not stringent on the Canaanites present

  1045. in the land.

  1046. >> They would always be present. You're

  1047. always going to have problems present in

  1048. your life, but you should not allow that

  1049. to kick you out of the land.

  1050. >> You're right.

  1051. >> Getting ahead of myself here, but what

  1052. happens just a few verses after this,

  1053. Abram goes through all this great

  1054. spiritual awakening in this text and

  1055. just literally less than six verses

  1056. away, Abram leaves the land because he

  1057. decides it's too bad there.

  1058. You got to stay in spite of the

  1059. irritation

  1060. there. And there will be, believe me,

  1061. irritations. Irritants. Amen. People.

  1062. Amen.

  1063. >> Some people I think their last names

  1064. irritation.

  1065. >> Amen.

  1066. I'm just being real tonight. They have

  1067. no concept of who God is or how God

  1068. works. And when you talk to them, you

  1069. might as well be talking to that pull

  1070. pit trying to talk spiritual sense into

  1071. them. And you know the reason why that

  1072. is? Number one, they probably not saved.

  1073. Number two, if they are, they ain't

  1074. never read enough Bible to know right

  1075. from wrong or up from down. Amen.

  1076. >> Right.

  1077. >> And the truth is, you know what that is?

  1078. That's a that's an enemy. Not the

  1079. person, but that mindset,

  1080. irritations.

  1081. There's instruction here. There's But

  1082. there is irritation here. And I'll say

  1083. this, all right? And I don't think I've

  1084. got any more negatives after this. The

  1085. Lord may change that, but we're going to

  1086. try to stay positive. Okay, notice verse

  1087. 7. And the Lord appeared unto Abram,

  1088. said, "Unto thy seed will I give this

  1089. land." Now number three, we see not only

  1090. there's instruction, not only there's

  1091. irritation, but there is inspiration.

  1092. I don't know about you, but in these

  1093. days, I need something more than just a

  1094. a quote

  1095. on a Facebook post to encourage me.

  1096. >> Go ahead. I need something that's going

  1097. to give me some life. It's going to get

  1098. me from one day to the next. Here's what

  1099. I think's happened to us. We've become

  1100. so shallow, we've forgotten what it's

  1101. really like for God to move.

  1102. >> Amen.

  1103. >> Notice this. The Bible says, "And the

  1104. Lord appeared unto Abram." Now, you know

  1105. what had not happened since the day that

  1106. Abram was in the Caldes? God's not

  1107. spoken to him again.

  1108. Do you realize that God does not speak

  1109. to him while he's in her?

  1110. >> Right?

  1111. >> According to what Steven said in Acts

    Acts 7 chapter mention

  1112. chapter 7, Acts chapter 7:2, Steven said

  1113. God spoke to him when he was in

  1114. Mesopotamia. That was of the Caldes. God

  1115. didn't speak to him when he was in Iran.

  1116. But he gets to Canaan's land. Who shows

  1117. up?

  1118. God does. You know why? Because God was

  1119. there

  1120. >> waiting on him to get there.

  1121. >> Amen.

  1122. >> You say, "Preacher, well, God's always

  1123. with you." You know what I'm saying?

  1124. God, you know where you're supposed to

  1125. be. And until you get to that place,

  1126. God's not going to speak to you

  1127. >> the way he did. You say, "Well,

  1128. preacher, he spoke to me when I was out

  1129. in sin." He ain't obligated to do that

  1130. at all. If he does it one time, it's his

  1131. grace,

  1132. >> right?

  1133. >> Abram was called out of vericalities by

  1134. God's grace, and that alone, that was

  1135. it. God saved you by his grace. But if

  1136. you do not follow his will or obey his

  1137. word, God is not obligated to speak to

  1138. you again. You're

  1139. >> right.

  1140. >> The Holy Ghost will convict you because

  1141. he lives on the inside. But the longer

  1142. that you shut that out, the less he will

  1143. speak to you. That knocking that Jesus

  1144. talked about the church of Leosy in

  1145. Revelation chapter 3, that knocking just

    Revelation 3 chapter mention

  1146. gets quieter and quieter.

  1147. And the truth is, if we need some

  1148. inspiration, we're going to have to

  1149. realize when we get to this place, we're

  1150. going to have to have God appear. Now, I

  1151. put this in in my in my margin here. You

  1152. see, where there's an appearance of the

  1153. Lord, there should be an altar

  1154. built to the Lord.

  1155. You say, "What do you mean?" Well,

  1156. notice the text. And the Lord appeared

  1157. unto Abram, said unto thy seed, will I

  1158. give this land. Notice this. And there

  1159. buildeth he what? An altar. He built an

  1160. altar. You see, where God shows up, that

  1161. ought to be a place you want to come

  1162. back to,

  1163. >> right?

  1164. >> This what I can't figure out for the

  1165. life of me. Why would anybody want to

  1166. leave a church where God has been has

  1167. has moved and we've seen him move and

  1168. it's going in the right direction?

  1169. >> Why would we walk away from that?

  1170. >> Amen.

  1171. >> Why would we do that?

  1172. >> Here's what it is. It's because our

  1173. flesh has decided it's better back in

  1174. Haran.

  1175. >> You're right.

  1176. >> Because you know what? all them

  1177. irritations, irritants

  1178. that wasn't in her hand or present.

  1179. >> You're right.

  1180. >> I don't know who needs this tonight, but

  1181. I pray that you'll take this. I'll be

  1182. honest with you. Truth is for my life. I

  1183. understand we all need what I'm saying,

  1184. but God's nailing somebody tonight. I

  1185. hope you'll listen to him. This

  1186. inspiration, you see what what is this

  1187. inspiration reveal in the text? Well,

  1188. the Lord appeared unto Abram and he

  1189. speaks to him and the Bible says, "And

  1190. he said, "Unto thy seed will I give this

  1191. land." Now, what does that mean? Well,

  1192. that phrase speaks of three things.

  1193. There's a people under thy seed. There's

  1194. a promise will I give. And then there is

  1195. a place, this land.

  1196. You say, "How what does that fit?" Well,

  1197. this is a deeper revelation of what God

  1198. is going to do. You remember when Abram

  1199. was given the command, notice it just a

  1200. few verses earlier, the Bible says in

  1201. verse one, he said, "Thy he Abram, the

  1202. Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out

  1203. of thy country and from thy kindred and

  1204. from thy father's house unto a land that

  1205. I will show thee."

  1206. Abram would have never saw the land if

  1207. he hadn't left.

  1208. >> Right?

  1209. >> But in this text, God gets him to the

  1210. pl. He finally gets to the place where

  1211. he's supposed to be. And God says, "All

  1212. right, this is the land that I'm going

  1213. to give to you. what you're treading

  1214. upon. This belongs to you.

  1215. You say, "What is that?" Well, it's the

  1216. inspiration. You say, "Preacher, why why

  1217. should I go on another day?" Because

  1218. there's a land that you're called to

  1219. inherit.

  1220. >> You're right.

  1221. >> You know what that is? That's victory in

  1222. Christ

  1223. >> over yourself. You know what your number

  1224. one problem is? Go

  1225. >> ahead.

  1226. >> It's not the regrets you have. It's not

  1227. the fears you have for somebody else.

  1228. It's it's not the disappointment you

  1229. have in somebody or something else. Your

  1230. number one biggest problem is yourself.

  1231. You're

  1232. >> right.

  1233. >> Your reaction, Amen, is more important

  1234. than anybody else's action.

  1235. >> You're right.

  1236. >> Did you hear what I said? Your reaction

  1237. is more important and will always be

  1238. more important than anybody else's

  1239. action. Abram in this text could have

  1240. missed a blessing if he hadn't come to

  1241. where God told him to be. But you see,

  1242. when he got to this place, he realized

  1243. that there would be some people who

  1244. would be blessed because of his

  1245. obedience. There would be a promise that

  1246. would be fulfilled because of his

  1247. obedience. And this place would be the

  1248. symbol

  1249. forever of Abram's obedience.

  1250. I wonder what land, let me listen to me,

  1251. mom and daddy. I wonder what land your

  1252. children are to inherit because of your

  1253. obedience. But if you don't obey, what

  1254. are they going to miss?

  1255. >> Right?

  1256. >> What inheritance are they going to have?

  1257. >> Because we're too afraid to face that

  1258. irritation. Go ahead.

  1259. this inspiration. He says in the text,

  1260. notice that he said, "I unto thy seed

  1261. will I give this land." And Abram, look

  1262. what his response is there. He builded

  1263. an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto

  1264. him. You say, "What does that

  1265. represent?" Well, I I've said all that

  1266. to say these these truths here. There's

  1267. instruction. There's irritation. There's

  1268. inspiration here. But there ought to be

  1269. an indication

  1270. when you get to the place where God

  1271. wants to be. And what is that? An

  1272. indication is not something that God

  1273. sets up, but it's something that you put

  1274. up to go back to the place where God

  1275. showed you something that you couldn't

  1276. see. You say, "What is that?" Well, God

  1277. didn't write a deed.

  1278. >> You're right.

  1279. >> All right. Hang with me. Okay. God

  1280. didn't give Abram a deed.

  1281. >> You're right.

  1282. >> That was handwritten by the fingers of

  1283. God and said, "This is your land and

  1284. sign God at the bottom of it."

  1285. >> He didn't do that. You know what? God,

  1286. your salvation that you've got, he

  1287. didn't write you a letter of salvation.

  1288. >> Amen. I know we've got the word of God.

  1289. Just hang with me. I'm making a point

  1290. here. God didn't write you a letter of

  1291. salvation say such and such date, such

  1292. and such time, such and such was

  1293. preaching. You got saved. sign God on

  1294. the bottom of it because that's not how

  1295. it works.

  1296. >> Right?

  1297. >> You say, "How does it work, preacher?"

  1298. Well, when God meets with us, he has

  1299. designed us in such a way that we're to

  1300. mark where he met with us.

  1301. >> Right?

  1302. >> You say, "Preacher, I don't understand."

  1303. Well, you remember when Noah got off

  1304. that ark, what was the first thing he

  1305. did? Built an altar,

  1306. >> right?

  1307. >> To remember that God brought him safely.

  1308. >> You know what? There was nothing. No, he

  1309. couldn't go through that storm again.

  1310. Thank God he couldn't. Amen.

  1311. But you'd be honest with me tonight and

  1312. say there's probably some of you that

  1313. wished at some point in time in your

  1314. life you could get saved again so you

  1315. could feel what it feels like to do it

  1316. again.

  1317. You know what your problem is? You

  1318. didn't set up a marker. You're

  1319. >> right.

  1320. >> You say, "Preacher, what's that

  1321. indication?" Well, let me say this. I I

  1322. want to draw your attention back to the

  1323. text here for just a minute. Look what

  1324. he says. There builded he an altar unto

  1325. the Lord. He doesn't only build one

  1326. altar in this text, but he builds two.

  1327. Look what the Bible says. Verse 8. And

  1328. he removed from then unto a mountain on

  1329. the east of Bethl and pitched his tent

  1330. having Bethl on the west and a on the

  1331. east. And what's the Bible say, church?

  1332. And there he builded an altar unto the

  1333. Lord. So here he builds a second

  1334. indication. All right. He comes into the

  1335. land. the first place he goes, that

  1336. place of instruction, that place of

  1337. strength, that place of encouragement,

  1338. that place where he found the shoulder

  1339. that he would need to lean on for his

  1340. stay in Canaan land. He leaves that

  1341. place, but only after he'd made an

  1342. indication.

  1343. He set up some tent pegs.

  1344. Remember what I believe it was Jeremiah

  1345. said? He said, "Remove not the ancient

  1346. landmark

  1347. which thy fathers have said." You know

  1348. why this generation struggles so much?

  1349. Because we've watched a bunch of people

  1350. go around pulling up landmarks. You're

  1351. >> right.

  1352. >> Because here's the thing about it. Those

  1353. indications in your life, there's so

  1354. much I could say about this. All right?

  1355. Those indicators in your life are put

  1356. there for you to have a place to come

  1357. back to.

  1358. >> Because in your flesh, just like Abram,

  1359. you know what he does just a few short

  1360. verses later? He goes back to Egypt. And

  1361. I'm getting ahead of myself so much, but

  1362. notice what the Bible says in verse one

  1363. of chapter 13.

  1364. Actually, notice verse three of chapter

  1365. 13. After Abram left out of Egypt,

  1366. according to verse one, verse three, and

  1367. he went on his journeys from the south,

  1368. even to Bethl unto the place where his

  1369. tent had been, what's that say? At the

  1370. beginning, between Bethl Ai, unto the

  1371. place of the what? Altar which he made

  1372. there at the first. And there Abram

  1373. called on the name of the Lord.

  1374. Let me ask you, how long's it been since

  1375. you've been back to that place? I'm not

  1376. talking about a physical place. I'm

  1377. talking about that spiritual place in

  1378. your life where you know that God met

  1379. with you.

  1380. You say, "Preacher, what is that?"

  1381. It's not a geographical location,

  1382. >> right?

  1383. >> You're not going to find it on a map.

  1384. But you know what you'll do? There's

  1385. some verses that God will give you and

  1386. it's all diff different for all of us,

  1387. but I got some

  1388. indicators stuck up in here in a few

  1389. places where God spoke to me at once and

  1390. I can go to that verse and you know what

  1391. immed immediately will happen to me.

  1392. It's a good reason why you write in your

  1393. Bible too. You're

  1394. >> right.

  1395. >> Write dates, times, events when God

  1396. helped you. But I can go back to that

  1397. place and most time I don't even I don't

  1398. even have to have a date or time. I can

  1399. look at them flags that stuck up and

  1400. find where God spoke to me. There's an

  1401. indicator left.

  1402. God spoke to you there using this vi

  1403. this verse. Notice this. I'm moving

  1404. quickly. I need to get done.

  1405. When you get to where you're supposed to

  1406. be, there ought to be an indication that

  1407. you put up, but there also ought to be

  1408. some identification that's given.

  1409. I ain't got time to labor this point,

  1410. but I want you to miss this. All right.

  1411. The Bible says that when he removed from

  1412. Sheckchum in the text in verse number

  1413. eight, he removed from then unto a

  1414. mountain on the east of Bethl and

  1415. pitched his tent. Notice this, having

  1416. Bethl on the west and Ai on the east.

  1417. Now, simply put tonight, Bethl means

  1418. what, church? The house of God, right?

  1419. What does Ai mean? Means a heap of

  1420. ruins,

  1421. a heap of ashes. You say, "What does

  1422. that represent?" tent. Well, notice

  1423. where Abram built his altar and pitched

  1424. his tent in the text. He pitched his

  1425. tent having Bethl on the west and Ai on

  1426. the east. And there he builded an altar

  1427. under the Lord. He pitched his tent,

  1428. that's his dwelling place. And he built

  1429. his altar

  1430. between the house of God and the heap of

  1431. ruins. Now, what does that represent?

  1432. That represents the life of you and I.

  1433. When we get saved, what happens to us?

  1434. We get saved and one becomes two.

  1435. >> And you know what we spend the rest of

  1436. our life doing?

  1437. Choosing

  1438. between the flesh, that heap of ruin,

  1439. >> right?

  1440. >> And between the house of God, that

  1441. spirit. You see, the Bible tells us that

  1442. our body is the temple.

  1443. >> Ain't that right?

  1444. >> We're the house of God.

  1445. >> Abram built his tent between this. And

  1446. you know what this does? This sets up

  1447. the scope for the rest of Abram's life.

  1448. every decision that he makes is going to

  1449. go one of two ways.

  1450. Why did he do this? Because he needed to

  1451. realize where his center point is.

  1452. You see, he could have built that tent.

  1453. He could have put that tent. He could

  1454. have put that that altar anywhere. But

  1455. what does this represent to us? Well,

  1456. the tent, one writer put it this way. It

  1457. represents that we're pilgrims.

  1458. We're living between the house of God

  1459. and a heap of ruins. This world is not

  1460. our home. Abram was what? He was a

  1461. pilgrim in Canaan land. Paul said it

  1462. this way. He said he looked for a city

  1463. that hath foundations whose builder and

  1464. maker's God. What was it? That's an

  1465. eternal city. That's heaven,

  1466. >> right?

  1467. >> And he built he put up his tent here.

  1468. But you know what he also built? He

  1469. built an altar unto the Lord. What is an

  1470. altar? It's a place of sacrifice. It's a

  1471. place of supplication. And it's

  1472. mentioned the last phrase in verse

  1473. number eight. Notice the text. And there

  1474. he built an altar unto the Lord. what

  1475. your Bible say and called upon the name

  1476. of the Lord. You see, God will give you

  1477. instruction.

  1478. There going to be some irritations, but

  1479. he's going to give you some inspiration

  1480. to help you. The spirit of God will

  1481. inspire you. The scriptures will

  1482. instruct you. But you see, out of that,

  1483. you have a responsibility.

  1484. You ought to put up some indicators.

  1485. You ought to make a place of

  1486. identification. You say, "What? What is

  1487. that, preacher?" Well, this is the

  1488. bottom line. This is who I am. You ought

  1489. to decide in your heart tonight and

  1490. realize, all right, you're not perfect.

  1491. When you got saved, God didn't make you

  1492. sinless. You're

  1493. >> right.

  1494. >> And so, what is this place of

  1495. identification? It's showing, all right,

  1496. I've got to b I've got to battle myself,

  1497. >> right?

  1498. >> Every day. But then thirdly, not only

  1499. this indication and identification, but

  1500. there is for sake of literation, and I

  1501. probably need to stop doing this, but I

  1502. I do it because it helps me. So, just

  1503. forgive me. There's a place of invoc

  1504. invocation in the text. He called upon

  1505. the name of the Lord. You see, this is

  1506. the fulfillment of who we are as

  1507. Christians.

  1508. The only desire that God has for his

  1509. people is that they would speak to him.

  1510. Do you realize that out of talking to

  1511. him? You say, "Preacher, but he wants me

  1512. to read his word." You understand that?

  1513. That all that goes hand in hand,

  1514. >> right?

  1515. >> Your conversation with God is prayer and

  1516. Bible study. That's what it is. And all

  1517. he asked of us is that we speak to him.

  1518. And Abram decides that that indicator

  1519. was the altar, the place of his

  1520. sacrifice. The in the identification

  1521. showed his dwelling where he would

  1522. ultimately live his life between these

  1523. two places.

  1524. And his prayer was made on that altar to

  1525. his Lord. And you say, "Preacher, but

  1526. what if I fall?" Well, you notice in the

  1527. text, he falls right after this,

  1528. >> right?

  1529. >> Notice verse nine.

  1530. And Abram journeyed going on still

  1531. toward the south. Now, some writers in

  1532. their ignorance have said this. Abram

  1533. was always going forward.

  1534. You better be careful with somebody

  1535. that's always going forward.

  1536. You say, "Preacher, but some change is

  1537. good

  1538. sometimes."

  1539. But notice what's happened. You see, up

  1540. to this point, Abra Abram moving has

  1541. been good. But you see, his journeying

  1542. was not good in verse number nine

  1543. because of his direction.

  1544. You ought to be careful to never be

  1545. still, but you also ought to be careful

  1546. about where you're going when you're

  1547. moving. You're

  1548. >> right.

  1549. >> Say, preacher, well, how do I know what?

  1550. Well,

  1551. simply put, David said it this way. Thy

  1552. word is a lamp into my feet and a light

  1553. into my path.

  1554. the instruction that you're going to

  1555. find at that tree.

  1556. That's the only way you can keep it in

  1557. the bounds. You're

  1558. >> right.

  1559. >> And you're going to have to hide it in

  1560. your heart. Thy word have I hid in my

  1561. heart that I might not sin against thee.

  1562. And then and only then will you pray and

  1563. then will you find deliverance. You see

  1564. these build this building that Abram

  1565. does in the text. And I didn't really

  1566. get time to emphasize this. There was a

  1567. lot more I wanted to say, but I believe

  1568. the Lord got across what he wanted to.

  1569. Abram could have built a lot of things.

  1570. He could have went to one place, you

  1571. know, he could have built his house and

  1572. put his stakes down and did all of that,

  1573. but that wasn't what God wanted him to

  1574. do. All throughout this this story of

  1575. Abram, you'll find in chapter 13, he

  1576. journeys on, leaves that place at

  1577. Sheckchham, goes to the plains of Mamry,

  1578. and God blesses him there in the plains

  1579. of Mamry, and then he journeys all

  1580. throughout the rest of his life. Why?

  1581. Because he was a stranger.

  1582. But you know, Abram was all was fine

  1583. traveling as long as he was in the place

  1584. where God called him to be. And what was

  1585. that? That was Canaan land. Anytime

  1586. Abram got out of Canaan land, what

  1587. happened? There was trouble.

  1588. You've got a realm of life that you can

  1589. live in. And in that realm, there's

  1590. freedom.

  1591. But you say, "Preacher, well, that's not

  1592. enough freedom for me." What you're

  1593. going to find is there's going to be

  1594. destruction on the outside of it. You're

  1595. >> right.

  1596. >> And you know what sets the bounds?

  1597. Where this thing stops,

  1598. >> right?

  1599. Because the land of Canaan is your

  1600. Christian life.

  1601. And that victory is only found when you

  1602. live inside the bounds

  1603. of the map.

  1604. You're

  1605. >> right.

  1606. >> I hope you don't miss that. Father,

  1607. thank you for the time tonight.

  1608. Lord, it's different service tonight. My

  1609. flesh don't like it, but God, I pray

  1610. somebody's got some help tonight. Lord,

  1611. I know there's so much so many things

  1612. going on. We all got stuff in our minds,

  1613. thoughts, heaviness, burdens.

  1614. But Lord, I pray that each individual

  1615. before they leave here tonight would

  1616. realize, God, that just because there

  1617. wasn't an altar called doesn't mean this

  1618. altar wasn't open.

  1619. And Lord, I believe tonight that each

  1620. one of us, Lord, ought to put up one of

  1621. those indicating marks on this altar

  1622. cuz Lord, I've watched you do it in the

  1623. last two years. these precious people.

  1624. Some have been here 30, 40 years and

  1625. they've seen you do it over and over and

  1626. over again. And Lord, they've got those

  1627. marks up. Maybe it's time for them to

  1628. revisit them again. Lord, would you help

  1629. us to be obedient to you? God, help us

  1630. to identify ourselves, who we really

  1631. are, and put ourselves in perspective to

  1632. make the right decisions. And Lord, help

  1633. us to always be people of prayer. God, I

  1634. realize that many of us live busy

  1635. schedules and God, we don't have the

  1636. time that we want to. But Lord, I pray

  1637. that you would help us throughout the

  1638. day, Lord, to be in a mental state of

  1639. prayer. God, as we go, Lord, you bring

  1640. somebody across our mind, Lord. We know

  1641. that we can bow our head in just a

  1642. moment and pray and lift their name up

  1643. to you. Lord, we know if there's a

  1644. sinner, Father, that we come in contact

  1645. with, God, we know that we may not even

  1646. know their name, but you do. and we can

  1647. call out to you and pray for them. But

  1648. Lord, I pray you would help us all stay

  1649. in the place where you put us. And God,

  1650. if there's somebody here tonight in a

  1651. place where they're not supposed to be,

  1652. halfway between where they was lost and

  1653. where they're found, God, I pray you'd

  1654. get them to the place where they need to

  1655. be tonight. Lord, I love you. Thank you

  1656. for loving us. We ask it in Jesus name.

  1657. Amen. I love you.

  1658. >> Thank you for joining our service today.

  1659. We'd love it if you'd join us in person

  1660. the next time you are able at Meadows

  1661. Baptist Church. Our physical address is

  1662. 2988

  1663. Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

  1664. Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

  1665. school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

  1666. worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

  1667. worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

  1668. evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. For

  1669. more information, visit us at

  1670. meadowsbaptisturch.com.

  1671. Thanks again for tuning in.