The Story of Abraham (Part 1) | Pr Matthew Chang

You're listening to a message to go from at church. We hope this message

will light up your day. How many of you are familiar with Abraham?

Yeah? How many of you had done through a study of Abraham before?

No, everybody like to study Jesus, of course you should. Everybody you

know like to study King David, but not many people go through Abraham.

But Abraham is a very very fascinating character. And I would actually particularly like

to appeal to the young people here. How many of you are young people?

Here? Means all of you? You are all young? Okay,

you're all young, okay, Okay, sons and daughters, if you are

less than thirty, It turned to your father and mother and say that you

are young. Daddy, you are young. Mummy. You know he's talking

about you. Okay. That's why my daughter and my son tells me as

well. Okay. So it's very very interesting, and I would love for

all of us to learn from the story from the trials and the success from

the failures of Abraham. And you'll be surprised how much Abraham has in common

with you and I in our daily lives. You'll be surprised. Surprise is

a lot, Okay, and so we're gonna read from chapter twelve. Okay,

I'm not gonna read the whole entire versus, because the idea is to

stir and wet your appetite so that you will go back and read, you

will study. You will not say that this is because oh I just want

to come here and then download everything. Now you gotta go back. You

gotta read again and again, flip it inside out on left side, right

side, and then you know the word of God and that the story and

the message of Abraham will truly bless you and your family. Amen. All

right, so let's start and begin. Let mistry. Let's go to Genesis

chapter twelve, and we're gonna read from verse one to verse three. Okay,

Chapter twelve, verse one to verse three. Now it says here,

I'm reading from the I think it's the ESV version. Okay. Now,

the Lord say to Abram, notice that his name has not changed to Abraham

yet. Okay, he will enter into a mid life crisis. Not just

kidding, okay that he changed his name later, but it's a very important

lesson from that as well. But his name is called Abram. He says,

to get out of your country. What country, the country of your

family, from your family, and from your father's house, to a land

that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I

will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those to bless you, and I will curse him who

curses you, and in you, all the families of the earth shall be

blessed. Okay. So today we'll have three parts. Okay. So the

first part is about the calling of Abraham. Okay. The first part will

learn about the calling of Abram him and what do we learn here? That

God calls Abraham out first of all, from where, not to where,

yes, from where? First, from where, from his country and from

his family. Okay. So to start there, I'm going to give you

an image. Okay, it's to start with. Maybe it can go to

the first slide. Okay. So this is his family tree. Okay.

If you read into Genesis chapter eleven, you can read all about the Tower

of Babel and all the genealogies the family line that comes from there as well.

Now, Terror is the father, the main patriarch father, Ah,

and you think about it, he lived for two hundred and five years something

if you like that. So it's two hundred and five years, I think,

are technically not even half year halfway there? You no, not even

one third? You know the way they yet you know too long? Is

it too long? You know? Even we buy a houser, we only

go one hundred years. You need by two houses, you know, just

joking, okay, Terra. And then he has three children. He has

Haran who died and Haran interestingly okay, Abraham who married Sarah. Okay.

And then he has no whole who married milkawd daughter Haran. And then he

also has a nephew called Lot as well. Okay, let's go to the

next line. Okay, So journey, it looks like your holiday trip.

Okay, okay, it looks like your holiday. You're planning holiday trip.

They started off where where did where did terror start up from the place of

Uh? You go to a place like where you come from? Where you're

going? Uh? Where do your family come from? Uh? He's like,

you know, unsure or not? Okay, it's from a place startup

from the place called you know, very near the place of Messa, Missopotamia.

If you study your Sajara, your history, you will know that this

is a quite call it the cradle of civilization? True or not? History

teachers? Am I correct? Is sPMA? I used to I used to

score very well in message. Okay, Okay. So Mesopotamia and what was

Mesopotamia known for? What were they known for? What the earth? Students?

Where are students, I'm looking at you, students. What was Messopotamia

known for? What did you guys learn in school? The only history they

learned is tick tok? Is it Mesopotamia? Of course they learned for a

lot of things, okay. But one of the things that were known for

was that what they were polytheistic. Polytheistic meaning that what they worship many gods.

They're not just one god, many different gods. Okay. It's actually

it can be called that there was where it originated from. Okay. They

worshiped many different gods. Okay. One household will have one god, five

gods, ten gods, and another village will have five, five, ten.

Don't have hundreds of gods, okay. And so this culture was inherited

by Tara, the grandfather, the father of Abraham as well. Okay.

And so they went there from h went up to Haran, okay, went

up to Haran, and they settled there. Okay. There was also studies

that they believed that they actually wanted to come down to Canaan, but they

never did, so they went up north to Haran. So Tara and the

children and the nephews settled there, Okay, settled there, and I think

Tara died there, if youre not mistaken. And then from there Abraham,

of course, one of his siblings died, and Abraham became the main male

leader of the house. And as the main male male leader of the house,

and also they should be the oldest one. He then to inherit the

most of his family, all the elders. Always inherit double portion. Okay.

So if there are two children, means you get two thirds, not

half it, know, you get two that's sixty six point six percent.

Ooh nice, sixteen plus percent plus plus. Okay, So he inherited a

double portion. Actually his life was settled already, you know. The father

built a house, settled there, Okay, married a y very beautiful wife,

legendary, beautiful wife, so legendary. Even archaeologists did discovered text written

about her about her beauty from the Egyptian side and even from the Israeli side

or two. Civilization can write about your wife. You know, that's how

beautiful your wife is, you all. And she was sixty five years old.

Sixty five year old. People talk about the beauty of a girl that

is sixty five years old. People told that Asia, that is retirement age.

Ready, you know, not even retirement ageing all. I don't know

what age people talk about beauty. But she was sixty five years old when

legend of a beauty was spreading into every place, into the court room so

much short, into the parliament and all. Okay, so he was in

a way you must understand, Abraham was a settled guy, ready retirement,

settle already got inheritance, got a place, got his family, he said,

from his father's house. He's got relatives there as well, and so

he had everything. And so then after that, no, then from there

he has to come down all the way. Oh theykay, all the way

to the land of Canaan. Okay, there is a place of Bethel Sachham.

Okay, now you must the name that Shacham is a very very important

place. Okay. It's a place where you were encounter many many times in

the Bible. Okay, it's a place of meeting and even uh, you

know the place where all the four fathers, Jacob, Abraham, Isaac,

they all were buried. And Joseph okay, remember who's Joseph, Joseph of

Egypt. Okay, when he told before he died, he told the Jewish

people in Israel said, when I die, you must carry me back to

be buried with my fathers in Shachham. Make sure they swear to him.

Make sure it canry be back to my fore father's place. So why is

so important Because it is the place where they're met God, and God made

a promise to them, and so they want to die together. He wanted

to die with the fathers as well, so it's a very important place.

And then after that went down to Egypt. Okay, a lot of people

tell me that Egypt is on the east side. Know your geology, you

know a lot of people don't even know where egypa isy know. So now

you know the geography right now, very clearly. Okay. So it went

up from the east side to the north, down southwest and then a bit

to the west there. Okay, So let's see, now, is it

easy for Abraham to trust God? Is it easy. How many of you

like to do that? Tomorrow? You know? Okay, tomorrow you leave

your house, okay, go to a place that you have not known for

Okay. Remember when God sent Abraham down there, he didn't give him a

waste location and all. He just said, go down. It's like I'm

telling you what. You take a car and drive south, don't stop and

Singapore, don't stop in Joho. Just drive. When I tell her to

stop, you stop. How many of you let that out? A road

trip and you don't just drive? You're temporarily not. You just go and

you peck everything you go when you stop when I tell her to stop,

you stop, and you're leaving everything behind and all your family and your wife

is following you, and you're going down with you know, you just bought

a house, but you're gonna leave everything. And Abraham wasn't. If I

heard before, it's that Abraham's family was known to be quite wealthy. One

not that super different, but they will be well to do, okay,

because they were selling The father was making idols and selling idols and stuff like

that as well, so they were quite well to do. And he's gonna

leave his father's house to go there. Hey, there was no waste location.

You know, you cannot go to Airbnb or to trip advisors and book

you know, accommodation, they're nothing. You just go there. Okay,

you just go there. People welcome you, good, people don't welcome you.

That's a problem. Okay, that was a big problem. He was

leaving to a place where he has no inheritance. Okay. He came from

a place where he had a physical inheritance. He already had a physical father

who laid down a foundation for his future and his family, and he is

asked to leave that behind. How many of you like that? Don't to

your mother? Father? And mother said Dad today, I'm gonna leave everything

behind. All the parents like, ha, go go go bye. Remember

when we were young, were threatening our parents. Then I'm gonna leave this

house, gonna stay at my parents' place. Bye, you know what.

Twenty meters then they have to start coming back ready. Okay, So he's

gonna leave his father's house, leave his inheritance, okay, to a place,

to a forum place. Okay, based on what based on a brochure,

based on something he saw online. No, he based everything on what

he thought he heard. You get mean right, how me or you will

claim that you hear the voice of God? There is one and all claim

me to hear the voice of God is a very important thing, but it's

a very scary thing to say, because you don't simply say God spoke to

me. If if everybody claim God spoke to them, man, then how

it's so easy to claim that God spoke to me. That's why cannot argue

with them. You know, you use the ultimate authority at the NAMA.

Cannot argue ready, if my children said God told me this, I cannot

argue anything. Ready. If everybody were to abuse God's name like that?

How But it's one thing to say you hear the voice of God. The

other thing is to believe and to live on it as well, to act

on it as well. And you must understand everybody. Look at well,

look at Abraham, was like, what are you thinking? And you don't

You say you hear the voice of God? But you don't even know where

you are going. You have one direction, but that's all direction. Okay,

I got a lot of punts by gonna say it. Okay, got

direction. You don't have a place where you're gonna settle down. You just

go because you heard the voice of God. Wow, And what did God

promise you? By the way, okay, oh, but before you leave,

my imber, remind you that you don't have any children. You know,

you have no inheritance, said all you know who's gonna work for you,

who's gonna support you when you grow old? And you want to leave

your house in your relatives and your inheritance? Oh? What did God promise

you? He promised you to make you into a nation to have many children.

How old were you? How was Abraham? How? Oh was Abraham

seventy five years old? If you see your grandpa suddenly one day, Hey,

I'm gonna go away away. I'm just gonna take the kind drive down

man, and wherever it takes me, it takes me. The Lord will

be with me. Man. How so do you have anyone going if you

know, I'm just gonna go and then stop when God tells me to stop.

There was what he was doing, literally, not leaving the safety of

everything. You want to take your EPF with you, No, go provide,

I'm not asking to do there. But he was going there. He

has no children, and he's going there because God promised to make him into

a father of many nations. Okay, and so it was a very very

challenging thing for him to do. Let's read from verse four. Okay,

from verse four. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him,

and Lot went with him, the nephew went with him. And Abram was

seventy five years old when he departed from Haran. Okay. Then Abram took

Sarah his wife, and Lord his brother's son, and all their possessions that

they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran. These

people whom they acquired are their servants. That's why I told you he's rich.

Okay, He's very very rich. Okay. And they departed to go

to the land of Canaan, Cain. They went down south, so they

came to the land of Canaan, and Abraham passed through the land to the

place of Sachamkay. So this is a very important name as far as the

Terrabin tree of more, this tree is a very important tree. This tree

will come again and again in the upcoming chapters if you read there again.

And this is the tree where Abraham was lying down, and the tree angels

or the men of God appeared before him as well. Okay, there's a

lot of things that happened there as well. There was a tree whereby Abraham

also made the promise, or I can't remember was it. I think he

cut the covenant with one of the king as well. Okay. And the

Canaan knights were then in the land. Okay. Emphasis there. It says

there and the Canaan knights were there in the land. You went all the

way down south and you just realized that this place has been occupied. Okay.

What it means is that it's not just people there. It means that

the whole land was occupied. Okay. And he was a stranger. He

truly was a stranger and an alien. Then when he arrived, the Lord

appeared to Abram and said, to your descendants, I will give you this

land. Well, finally the GPS worked. You arrived ready. And how

do you how did he know that he arrived? God appeared to him.

God appeared to him and say that to your descendants, I will give you

this land. And there he built an altar to the Lord who appeared to

him. And he moved from there to the mouth is of Beth, and

he pitched his tent what did he pitch a tent? How many? If

you like living in tents, why do you pitch a tent? Did you

know that for Abraham's entire life he only lived in a tent. For a

man who came from his father's house, rich with an inheritance, he left

everything and believed God again and again and again, even though he was living

in a tent. To the very end, he believed in God even though

he was living in a tent. Living in a tent tells everyone in your

neighbor that you are an alien. It's like you go to a condor,

go to a dama. Right now, he got nice houses here you call

Sancturia, and you pitch a tent there, everybody will know that you don't

belong here. It's true, you get me, right. You cannot follow

houses it you don't have a permanent addresses, say oh, that's where you

live. That's what it means. You know, pitching a tent means it's

temporal in a way. It's a very spiritual thing as well. You get

I mean, we are living in what tense? This earth and this life

is a tent. But God's promise goes beyond our tents. Amen, It's

very very powerful. Abraham true out all his life. He believe God.

It's like I got I'm gonna put the down payment to buy a house.

But while I wait for the house to be completed, right, I'm willing

to live inside a tent, even until the day I die. I live

in the tent because I believe you will deliver your promise. How many of

people do that? You buy a house a three years not completer? You

already start complaining, Radio, true or not? You really chased Radio?

I need to do inspection. Ready, you know, Abraham wait until the

end of the year. He didn't even see the fulfillment, got Isaac,

but nation, come on U? But did He never wavered in his belief

of God. You see how great is belief. If you know now all

days I told you three years that we don't see our property. We complain

ready, no, no, not already see them ready? Abraham believed is

amazing, okay, And that he pitches them with Bethel on the west and

I on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called

on the name of the Lord. Okay, Then it says so Abraham journey

going on still towards the south. Okay. So this is a very powerful

story of what they call it of Abraham's obedience. Now, okay, I'm

going to move on to the second part. Okay, let's move on to

the second part here now in verse ten, okay, it says here,

now, there was a family in the land, and Abraham went down to

Egypt to dwell there, for the family was severe in the land. When

people read the story, they're just like, oh, Abraham and down south.

That's all. I may ask you a question, okay, and you

need to answer. I like to make it interactive for everybody. My answer,

did Abraham made a mistake going to Egypt? Oh? Such a hard

question? Is he a trick question? Maybe I should read the rest of

the verses before I answer, quick one, just tell me, okay,

look at the verses here, famine and all. But let me ask you,

did he make a mistake going down to Egypt? No? No,

who says no? Hands up? Who says yes? So few? How

about those people? Didn't raise your hands? You're so scared because it's a

trick question, isn't there? This is a very important thing in your life.

This is actually one of the two most important questions. I want to

ask you this because I told you one. The most important thing for a

man, for a person to know us okay, is to know whether you

hear the voice of God. It's not about whether the weather happens, whether

times are bad, whether to people every year say oh, economic melt down,

coming economic tomor coming next year, got coronavirus nix or go already.

Every time there will be seasons calling mane, There'll be voices calling up from

the world, and you'll be sometimes, you see so clear to do the

right thing. So famine, man go down south? Did God tell him

to go down south? Did God tell him to go to Egypt? Did

God? Did God tell me to go to Egypt? No? It's very

clear. I don't have to go into theotical debate. The simple reason God,

do you know, that's the first clue we have. That's the first

important God did not tell him. God appeared to him where in Egypt?

No, in the land of Canaan, in checking himself, God appeared and

God gave him a promise. God appeared to you, It did, and

gave you a promise. God, Then why do you continue walking? What

will cause you to move away? From the position of calling and blessing.

There will always be something, and it's never the bad thing that call you

away. It's the good things. Understand, the people. The things that

remove you from a position of blessing a call and calling are always the good

things, the good things that take you away from the God things. Always

we're too smart. Bad peace will never put away. It's always the good

things. It's because you experience famine here you see Egypt, that's called good

man clear Ma. But Abraham, the first place that he went into this

calling was what was the vehicle he used? What was the drug card that

he used? Faith? And this thing why I'm saying no, he left

from a place you to hear everything into this position where he met God.

By what faith? You? When you when you were non believer, you

came into a place, into this church, into this fellowship, into where

you are. You enjoy the blessings where you are right now out of what

faith alone? Nothing you have in your life can please God except faith alone.

You are literally blankrupt. All of us are BANKRFD. The only thing

we can please God is faith. But without faith, it is impossible to

please God. I mean, you got into this position of it. But

yet suddenly you have something happened to you. You enter into this place by

faith or by fear. Ah. So there's the first cool winning. God

never told you to go. He went there because there was a famine.

Okay, if you learn many many times again in the Bible, a lot

of Israelites left Israel during the times of famine as well when they were not

supposed to look at the story of Roof as well. Okay, study the

story of Roof. What happened to their husbands? They were not supposed to

leave their house. They were supposed to leave badly Halm the house of bread

during the time of famine. When they're left to the land of more web,

they suffered. They eventually came back. True or not? And in

a very important question for our lives as well, or not? We're always

when we go through a very difficult timer, do we immediately go to the

next good thing if we are honest enough, do we move out of faith

or out of fear? It's a very hard thing to say, you know,

because we see all of us as humans, we have this uncontrollable need

to be right. We had this ego thing, you know, everything moment

once I move ready, you can never tell me I'm wrong because it goes

against a everything I need to be right. It's called that need to be

self righteous. But God comes and breakthrough. If you don't ask why did

you go there? Why did you go? Is it really God called you?

People say, but God called me to go there and go to a

different country, to a different job, to a different place, to a

different church, to a different cell group, to a different leader. Because

I heard I think that God called me? Did God really tell you to

go? Because when you say that, God holds you accountable, not just

that for your words, you know, because you sign off with His name.

You know. Ah, it's like taking someone's checkbook out and sign off

out with the person's check book. You know, you catch it in you

know how many if you like to do that, don't simply use God's name

in pain? Seriously, if you feel so conveniced, als that is God's

will, say it with fear if God permits it. Maybe this is what

you know I would like to do. That's it, Get me right,

don't you what's God's name? People use God's names to that we can shut

people up. You know it's true, that's what this generation is done now.

Ah No, but I really if you got then we can't say anything.

Really, don't do that, be accountable, you can mean right,

don't seemply use God's name. Okay. Anyway, I don't want to go

too much on that. This the lawd I can teach. Run on from

here. Okay. But if you're not convinced that he did the wrong thing,

then let's go to the whole second part and see what happened after there.

What happened to the man of Abraham, what happened to his wife,

and what happened to his to his nephew, whether when they are in Egypt

and after they return from Egypt. Let's see what happened to them and what

did he learn? Okay, and you will be able to apply that the

lessons that Abraham learned as a template in your own life and you make your

decisions. You can see what I'm saying. Yeah, it's very very important

now hey. In verse twelve, okay. In verse thirteen, he says

Abraham was okay, verse sorry, pabogize verse eleven, okay, verse eleven.

And it came to pass when he was close to entering Egypt. Then

he said to Sar right, his wife, Indeed, I know that you

are a woman, beautiful woman of beautiful countenance. Your husband, Ladies,

if your husband come back and then say this are your alum bells ring?

Ready? Ye honey, you look extra beautiful and crisp today. Okay,

I don't have to come out with something. Okay. Who then you look

your wife looks at you. There, What did you want? What do

you want? What did you do? What did you buy? You mean

you're not going to be available this weekend? So but he started off with

this, No, I know you're beautiful, okay, but because you are

beautiful, you are you are complimenting a lady now. But then he immediately

turned the conversation into a live you know, he said, you are beautiful.

It's beautiful, it's it's it's it's a compliment. Then but because then

he said that, but because you are beautiful, when the Egyptians see you,

they will say this it's his wife, and they will kill me and

they will let you live because you are beautiful. You will you will kill

me. You turn a compliment now into a condemnation. You know, I

will die because of you. You came by and you say I'm beautiful.

Now I'm your problem. I'm a burden to you right now. True or

not, that is exactly what he was saying. This is not I'm trying

to compliment you, but now I'm a burden you all. So that is

what he is actually saying. Okay, okay, So because of that,

because not because you are beautiful, but I know that you love me.

Because you love me, you will say that you are my sister, so

that it will be well with me for your sake. Ah, you are

a good person, not just beauty, but you are a good person and

you love me. And because you love me, you will say that you

are my sister. You will lie for me. Then, Ah, smarter

on I. Because you are a good person and you love me, you

will lie for me. That's what he's saying. He turned the whole thing

around. Abraham, you know, okay, okay, so that I am

I lead. You must understand that culture at that time, Egypt, Shim's

they were barbarians. Okay, so they just take what they want. Okay,

But let me ask you this question, Abraham, so smart famine time

going to Egypt, did you really think that he doesn't know what waits for

him in Egypt. I tell you many times again, Abraham lot Roof saw

all these people way before they go to a place. They know what awaits

them. They they know their culture. They're never once I didn't know they

were. They're gonna, you know, ask for my wife. Oh,

I didn't know that they're going to be asking me to worship their idels.

They know, they know. And a lot of times you say that I

don't know why it's gonna await for me if I change, if I go

up from here from my place of difficulty to a place where God is not

calling me to, I don't think it would be God or bless me.

But in deep inside your heart, you know what awaits you there. You

just hope that it doesn't happen on me. But as you draw nearer to

the gates, you walk nearer to the gates of Egypt, your fear starts

to mount up for your own life, and it's so much pressure on the

man that you start to even risk your wife. When you go to a

place out of fear, your fear will consume you. But when you go

to a place out of faith, God grace supports you. You see,

you can tell with the moment when he went there, he was full of

fear. There was no faith in all. If it's fake, gold would

have spoken to him, or at least he would have strengthened himself. He

made this decision on his own, and he realized that maybe I got myself

into problem. And when you panic on, you drag everybody to help.

You want to know, even your wife or so, and especially you look

at your wife, you know, you look at you. You know,

you get into deep waters and you realize things are pulling you down. You

look around. I think my wife is going to be my undoing because she's

so beautiful. If she's not so beautiful, I'm okay. Still, you

know, at least I can manage it. Maybe I'll pay bribe. But

she's so beautiful, and they're going to culle me for it, you know

what I mean. Right, So when you make you go on your own,

you go without God's blessing, you go without God's calling. You are

on your own. You realize you don't know what you don't know, and

you know what I'm talking about here, And a lot of times, honey,

have you been to that type of situation. We're so smart so smile,

read all the news, ask che gpt already about our plan. But

arrive, I still don't realize. You don't know what you don't know,

and then you panic, can on and you strain the relationships of those around

you, and those around you are the one that suffer. They you think

they are a burden, but you are the burden because you made the decision

out of fear. That was what is happening to Abraham. Okay, let's

move on. Okay, so you see it's not going off to a good

start. Ready, it is not off to a good start. And so

in verse fourteen, and so it was when Abram came into Egypt that the

Egyptian saw the woman that she was very beautiful, sixty five year old lady.

Now they said very beautiful, and not okay, the princess of Pharaoh.

Also so even other the ladies and not I don't know what to call

it nowadays that supermodels or I don't know, influences, you know, they're

so And they said so beautiful, and went all the way to Pharaoh and

the top guy, you know, and they said that we're not gonna steal

her, We're not gonna kill this guy. You should do it, boss,

because they know if they take her, they're gonna get killed. Also,

they're smart as all. Okay, And the woman was taken to Pharaoh's

house. He treated Aburn Abram well for her sake. Ah, you see

her, Your wife's so beautiful. She made you rich. You know,

Abraham man went into Egypt, are poor and like poor. Okay, he

came out way much richer and out of Egypt. You know, you might

say that a see Abrams made a right decision. Man, he was rich.

Man. Ah, you say he was rich and it's a blessing.

Wait till you get to partry when I tell you what happened to him and

a lot. Okay, So this wife was actually not a burden. The

wife was a blessing to him, isn't it. He was rich because of

his wife. You know why what did they pay for her? Because of

her? He had sheep, he had oxen, he had male donkeys,

male female servants, female donkeys, and camst my goodness, because of your

wife. They gave the whole car industry, you know, gave you the

house, gave you the car, gave you the corn door, gave you

the cash, everything room for you all the works for it. But in

verse seventeen, but the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because

of Sarah, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abraham and said, what is

this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she

was your wife? And what did you say? Why did you say she

is my sister? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore

here is your wife, Take her and go your way. Okay. So

Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife

and all that he did. Okay, So that was a short version.

Okay, I know I escaped a few past. But in the middle there

the Lord appeared. The Lord intervened. It's kind of funnier, you said.

You know, we go to a place out of fear, and now

out of faith we get into trouble. We blame people as burdens. Okay,

and then who has to come and save you? God has to come

and save you. God has to come in unwind your messing. It's really

is it's really the place that God calling to be to evidence the already you

know you have, first of all, you're winning by fear and second,

you got so much mess. The type of messa you're doing. The type

of messa is because you are so irresponsible. This is not the man,

the type of husband, the type of husband that God wants Abram to be,

you know, and God promises Abram to be the father of many nations,

you know, trying to how is he going to have children without a

wife. Remember the promise to Abraham is always to his immediate family, to

our one means the wife gets it. Also, she the wife for a

long time, I believe it was for Abraham. She dubted herself for a

long time until you read later on Godd know you. There's a very important

theology that we all have to understand about family concept. One and all,

when God's God not in the family, the male is the male and the

husband is the head of the house. But when God speaks to you,

he speaks to you as one as well, meaning you and your wife also

also hearing you know, get me right, and your wife when she hears

what you have to impart to her spiritually, God will also confirm through her

you know what I'm saying. So for example, like I tell you and

I said, like a dear I feel like I want to start a business.

Okay, I really feel like this is the word of God for me.

Then my wife like saying like sure, not sure or not? You're

gonna use all our kids savings and not energy and then mortgage our house.

Will do it, but I don't feel like it. You all. Sometimes

the husband will say, you know, there will be one girl. Husband.

I'm your husband. I feed you, I clothe you, I do

everything. Even though even though the wife was okay, then you do want

to follow me, read your Bible? Okay, oh flex ready? You

know? Then what does the wife respond? How if you flex like that,

I have to submit that. But that is not how you lord over

your wife because if you really believe that God spoke to you, do you

believe that God will speak to her as well? Ah? So God confirmed?

No mean most if this is really the world, you tell your wife.

Your wife is like, ah no, no, you wait, you

wait and say, honey, I'm releasing it to you by faith, and

I also by faith, I believe that God will speak to you as well,

because God's what is always for the both of us and for our children

and for our family. You get me, right? And so the wife

like, okay, okay, I'll go bed and pray about it. Pray.

But because the word is in the mouth, she's like, she's pregnant

with it now. And nine months you will carry this word of God in

her and it will start to bear bear bear. But you don't realize it.

Hey, after a while, her, honey, you know, then

the wife will come back, come, come, come to the husband.

Hey, remember the other time you told me you wanted to start this.

You don't realize it. But actually I've been thinking about it and I cannot

get it on my mind. I think that you should do it. I'm

not asking you to start businesses, by the way, but I'm telling you

this is how it went, because you are then the husband receiving the world,

and the wife and comes together to confirm God's word for them as well.

And the haden gets the best thing because she is not forcing the wife.

But the wife comes willingly to his side and clings together and walks this

journey. You get, I mean right? This is this is how a

marriage should be wanted. No, okay, okay, everybody, okay,

so far to all the young people here. When you choose a guy,

you choose a girl, and make sure they follow this protocol. Okay.

I'm speaking to you as you feel, my daughter. Okay, It's very

important a man that knows the word of God and respects how God's work comes

down to your family, everybody. Okay, so far call everything you guys

learning something today. I told you Abraham's story is very fascinating and very relevant

to our lives. One very relevant one. Okay. I hope I'm convincing

you. Okay, Okay, let me draw to the third part. Ready,

Okay, that the last part? Oh what went to my notes?

Okay? Okay. So he went so Abrahm was called he went by faith.

Then he had a boo boo. Okay. He went to Egypt because

he saw his surrounding. I'm an alien in this place and there is no

food around. I'm gonna take my wife go down there. Okay, even

if you know. But I made a mistake in Egypt so much so that

I blame my wife as a burden. But I didn't realize that by giving

my wife away, I'm also giving God's promise away. Because God's promise for

me to become a father of ma nation was for me and my wife.

If I give her away. Doesn't that mean that I don't trust God's promises

and I literally broke God's contract. You knowe what I'm saying here it basically

you stepped away from God's covenant. You're not it's for you and your household.

You and your wife are together one and not. But you gave your

You gave your wife away because out of fear. So everything that Abraham did

while he was in Egypt was out of fear and uh. And it was

sinful. Okay, it was fear and simple. Every step of the way

was was wrong, even though he got rich. Okay, Now, he

he left Egypt rich. Okay, there was no mistaken about it. Okay,

he left Egypt rich. Now, Genesis chapter thirteen. I'm not gonna

go to the whole entire chapter, but I'm gonna draw to a closer Genesis

chapter thirteen. Okay, it says verse one. Then Abraham went up from

Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and not with him

to the south. Okay. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver,

and in goal. And he went on his journey from the south as

far as Bethel, to the place where his tenth career to where his tent

had been at the beginning between Bethel and I, to the place of the

altar, which he had made there at first, and there Abram called on

the name of the Lot. So Abraham came out of Egypt after God unwinded

his mess. God saved in and delivered from Egypt. Okay, but the

funny thing is that he came out richer than he was. Okay, But

where he went to he went back to the first place again, to his

first love, to the place where he arrived out of faith. Faith brought

him here. He came back to the place I realized. I realized that

everywhere I go I may a miss the only place that I've got providence and

grace is what it's the back to the place where God called me to be,

the place where I met, to be where I know, even if

there's a famine, God still watches over me. I rather be in a

place of family with God's presence, then be in a place that is rich

but without God's presence. You get me right. You rather be in the

wilderness wandering for forty years, but gold goes before you, rather than to

be Egypt in bondage. You know what I'm saying. What I'm saying people,

this is a very important lesson in all. So never make a decsions

just out of your eyes and out of your sight. But hear from the

voice of God. Okay, now verse five, Lord also who went with

Abraham had flocks and herds and tents. Now things take a turn. I

told you he came out rich. Right. Doesn't mean now that you get

everything from Egypt, but from the place that you're not supposed to be as

a blessing one and all, even though they give you, cast, give

you condor give you cash in this case, not just you. You know,

your nephew also got rich and all. But these riches come with one

a burden and a burden. And what was it? In verse six,

he says, now the land was not able to support them, that they

might not dwell together. For their possession was so great that they could not

so great were they could not? It was so much They came out of

Egypt. Oh the blessing was Egypt was so good. I got so much,

oh so nice, but came out It start to split your family.

You think having abundance is good, goot, but so much so that it's

gonna split your family. You're meant to have a house for such a people.

But when you carry so much stuff, right, you carry by all

the things you inherit, all the things that you're not supposed to do,

don't talk to each other. And then because of that you start to speak.

You start to have problems. You're never meant to have problems. You

know what I'm saying. You started have problems that you're never meant to be.

And there was in verse seven, and there was strive between the hurtsmen

of Abram's livestock and the hurtsmen of Lot's livestock, the Canaanites and the Paratides.

Then well in the land they were fighting in the stranger's landing on.

People are watching the a. You come down from the north all the way

and you live in the tent. You don't even have a place to live,

okay. Then you left our place, saying that this place called family,

and you went down to Egypt and you came back very rich. But

when you came back rich, you started fighting with your brother. With your

nephew, well done, What would people think of him? And he's god?

You get me right? He was not good testimony. You know,

no all good testimony. Oh, he was being a bad testimony. See,

even the things of Egypt, so called or blessing, was bringing a

poor blessing to him and the people around them as well. People couldn't see

the saltiness and the light that you were supposed to be displaying. You don't

need that. You don't need the success of the world to validate you as

a good and successful Christian. People. Oh, you know what I mean,

right, You don't need the world to validate you to be a good

and successful Christian. You all you know what I'm saying here. All you

need is to hear the voice of God and remain there by faith. Okay.

Now, and in verse eight, okay, what did Abraham do?

So Abram said to Lord, very wise of him? Okay, because it's

hard because Lord was his true family, no children, only is his wife.

I think his wife is still agree with him. Now, okay,

your wife is still agree with him. Okay, nephew, Please don't fight

with me. It's okay. My wife already sallow me. Okay, Please

don't leave me, okay, okay, So let's do this. Please,

let there be no strike between you and me. And let my hurtsman and

your hurtsman. Okay, for we are brethren. It's not the whole land

before you. Okay, please separate from me. If you take the left,

I will take the right. If you take the right, I will

go to the left. So Abram, being the oldest, he was very

kind of him. Okay, he said that don't fight, okay for me

at this point, I just want to keep the relationship. Okay, I'm

gonna go by fair. You go left, I will take right. I

go if you go. If you take right or left, you have the

first tip. This is very hard for a person to do. You know

why, because he was the oldest, and he actually was entitled to a

double portion. Actually his nephew was not entitled to anything at all. Do

you get I mean? Right? But it was very big of him to

give up his right like Jesus did. He gave us his entitlement and his

right in heaven as well. So what did he what did he focus on?

Peace? Sometimes, if you want to work the peace, you have

to give up something. What you are entitled to and what you think is

so right for you, you have to give it up as well. If

you want peace and that's hard. Sometimes our family dispute are the worst,

isn't it. I've been true before. That's my right. That's my right.

I tell you the nonsense that comes out. But ask the Lord for

his word. Asked him to give you peace, and we are full of

peace, the peace of God. You will seek peace with men, even

if they don't want to seek peace with you. You will seek peace with

them. And the peace of God will direct you to give as the Lord

Jesus gives. Amen. Now it's the part that draw to a close Verse

ten, and Lord lifted his eyes. This is you must underline this,

Okay. Lord lifted his eyes and saw all the plane of Jordan that it

was well watered. Jordan is in the east. Okay, it was well

watered. Okay. Listen to the description. He says, it was well

watered everywhere everywhere. It was well watered. Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and

Gomorrah on the east side is where seldom and Gomorrah is two major cities.

Very evil. Okay. And he says that it was it was described like

the garden of the Lord. Ah, what does it mean like the garden

of the Lord. Has he seen the Garden of the Law. Before no,

he's he's not that, oh okay, but he describes it as the

garden of the Lord. And then what hey, uh sorry, like the

garden of the Lord. Then he says, like the land of Egypt as

you go towards. So this is a very powerful verse, you know why.

You see when Lord was given this privilege to choose first, right when

he looked, like we all do, we would look God, where do

you want me to go? Where do you want me to go? And

then so one place, Oh, I would like to take this job,

maybe go to this place. Maybe I would like to maybe get involved with

in a relationship with this person. Okay, I think that person was really

called by God. Maybe this job was provided by God. This plane is

called by God. It sayss like the garden of Eden. God. It

means why where God's presence is conn Where God? What else? When I

don't mean me when they're saying they were cast out of Eden out of the

presence of the Lord. When you say that, the Lord means like gods

so beautiful. Only God can be there, Only God can be there.

It's like the God of Eiden. Oh, Lord's your provision thank you you

have answered my prayer. Looks like it, But then the narrative changed the

word like the gardens of Egypt. So did he really saw God or did

he saw Egypt? In our lives, when we see something so beautiful and

so enticing, it looks like the Lord's blessing? Is it really God?

Or is it Egypt that you saw? It's always the latter, isn't it.

It starts like the Lord but ends up really like Egypt. But how

did Lord get to imagine Egypt without being to Egypt before? You see,

when you visited before Egypt, it plants a seed in your mind. When

you get involved in things that you shouldn't do, it affects you and it

leaves a stain in you. Ah makes sense. When you get involved in

things that you shouldn't go, you get involving things you shouldn't do, it

least a stain in you. That's the that's the truth. If not,

we're not imagine this is like Egypt? You know, because why did Lord

chose it? Then? Because it reminds him of Egypt. But he will

justify and say it is where the Lord is. You see her. The

hearts are buried deceitful. But we are not. We are not following God.

Now, we're just following the stain, the bondage, the bondage of

Egypt. When the Egypt, when you when you look into Exodus, right

the Egypt, when the Israelites when they were when they left Egypt, Radia,

separated by non cut off by the sea. Really know, they're clear

from the enemy, you know. But yet at the mountain of God,

and what did they worship? They still build a golden carfin on this golden

carp out. Noway, imagination, go and google and check. Oh,

okay, bill, No, they built according to the yearning of their hearts

to the gods of Egypt. The Egypt had a stain on them. So

when you so, what do we learn from this whole entire thing. Abraham

was caught there, but yet he made a mistake going to a place that

he shouldn't be. Of course, it affected him as a husband, attracted

him as a as a leader, as a household. And now he's brought

a stain and the sediment into his nephew's life so much so that it affected

his nephew's destiny, you know. And this nephew made a huge decision for

himself and family based on what they saw in Egypt. So people, this

is important for your own life. Be careful what you get involved in,

the people, the job, even the surrounding. As nice as it is,

I come from Melbourne. I love Melbourne. That tell you. But

doesn't mean a place look like Melbourne. That means you should go to Melbourne.

Or if I'm not getting anyone by the way, you can't mean right,

doesn't mean you go to some place that's so nice, so good.

That means it's the Lord's want to know. You are accountable to the Lord

to what he has told you, and you remain there out of faith relationship

as well. Woh, this guy Christian? Now doesn't mean that it's a

Christian means he or she is your spouse. Radia. No, you gotta

open up your eyes. You gotta pray, you say the Lord then afterwright

is not like because it's from Egypt, or because it reminds you of a

K pop star, or maybe it reminds you of your exh Okay, So

be very careful of the things that live the stain in our lives so that

we don't make the same mistake we hope you've been blessed by this message.

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be a good week ahead for you. God bless