Good morning and Happy Aloha Friday. Here’s what I want you to do. Try to greet as many people as you can with that saying today. When you do watch their face as they’re processing it, “doesn’t aloha have something to do with Hawaii?” Aloha is a good thing, a good ideal that we could use more of here on the US mainland. Aloha is love, goodness, kindness, caring and respect towards all. It’s how the ancient Hawaiians operated their culture. Everyone was expected to love and respect one another. As a result, things worked pretty well. Just imagine if we could have the spirit of Aloha all over North Texas today. It would no doubt be a better day for everyone. And the funny thing is, the idea of Aloha sounds a little familiar doesn’t it?
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
Who woulda thunk it, God created Aloha.
This morning after I had read and studied Genesis chapter 24, I took a break and went outside to water. I did the same thing yesterday. As summer continues to intensify, you can hear our little plants crying out for water. Early morning watering is something I truly treasure. The mornings are cool, they’re quiet and still. The sun is just starting to peak through the Eastern clouds as God is bringing about a new day. The promise of a new day to walk with the Lord is a special thought indeed. What miracles does the Lord have for us today?
I drag out the hose and it brings such joy to be able to nourish the beautiful plants God has made with the pure water He provides. As I water, I think. I ponder. I meditate on the Words of God that I have just taken in. God’s Words are a miracle in that you can mediate on them endlessly and they will always speak back. You can think on it indefinitely and it will always reward you with gems and nuggets of wisdom for your effort. It’s during these times in the yard with a hose that God seems to be so alive in me. In fact, it was here in these moments that God spoke to me 4 years ago. I will never forget that morning. As I was watering mammoth elephant ears and giant canna lilies, the voice of God rang through my being. In order to truly serve God, He will need two things from you. Your availability and your obedience. Without those two elements the equation of serving God will never work. I had made myself available, but God needed for me to verify one thing, my obedience. He spoke to me, “whatever I tell you to do, do it.” In it’s essence a very, very simple command. In fact, one that can be answered with a total of only 5 letters. Yes or no. You see, God has this same question for all of us. Will you do what I ask of you, no matter the cost, the place or the sacrifice? And we all have to answer Him. But what I found out was the answer was not to God. God knows our heart. The answer is to ourselves. We think that we are answering God but deep down, we are confirming our own hearts to ourselves. My answer was yes. Yes, God I will be available and I will do what you ask of me. God is asking you this same question today. God wants your yes, what is your heart's answer?
This morning we encounter quite the remarkable chapter. When you read it, you will more than likely see it for what it is. A narrative on how Abraham secures his son Isaac a wife. Choosing a wife was much different back then but there were still important factors that would dictate the success of the marriage. In fact, would you believe that the main selection criteria for Abraham should still be the main selection process for every Christian that is selecting a spouse today? Yep, but notice that I said Christian. As a Christian you have been called by God and you are set aside by God. Your spouse selection will therefore look different than the world’s. Christ followers are to marry Christ followers. God’s Word has a lot to say about this and I can also tell you a lot about this. The Bible calls it being “equally yoked” and I call it setting a marriage up for success. Paul talks at length about the importance of a Christian not marrying an unbeliever. That’s not our lesson today but you can read up on it if you have questions, it’s in 1 Cor 14-18.
But it is a major part of our chapter this morning as Abraham knows that this is imperative for the marriage of his son Isaac. Listen to the one rule that Abraham has in selecting a mate for his son Isaac, whom will fulfill the covenant that God has for His people:
“And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (Gen 24:2-4)
You see, the Canaanites did not follow the Lord. They worshipped false idols and Abraham had enough wisdom in the Lord to know that if Isaac took a wife that worshipped idols it would wreck the marriage. So, he tells his most trusted servant that he must go back to Abraham’s homeland and select a wife from amongst the people that follow the one and only true God, Jehovah. Now you definitely need to read the entire chapter (I recommend you read it twice) because this is a beautiful, beautiful love story. It echoes how Christ courts us as He selects His bride and brings us to Himself. A beautiful chapter indeed. But what struck me on the head like a cartoon hammer this morning was the process of how Isaac’s wife was selected. The glory of this chapter is the Lord leading people that have submitted to His leadership.
I think today we all want to be “led by the Lord” but it seems most people are oblivious to what this means and specifically what it looks like. If you want to see the Ikea instructions on what it looks like to be led by the Lord, you have it here in Genesis chapter 24. After reading it through twice, I stopped and circled every time the word “Lord” or “God” was used in a context of prayer, praise or faith. 26 times. 26! This chapter is the definition of what it means and looks like to ask the Lord to lead and then let Him do it.
I think a problem that most have walking with the Lord is who does the leading. A while back Margie and I took several ballroom dancing lessons. I was a little apprehensive, but it was really a lot more fun than I thought. But you know what’s wild about ballroom dancing? Someone HAS to lead. The dancers have to decide, and the leader has to be the leader, there is no other way. If the follower gets a little ahead the leader will pull them back in. If the follower tries to take the lead, the dance falls apart. The point? If you ever hope to experience the beauty of the dance, you have to know who is leading and let them lead. How many times in our walk with Christ do we take the lead from Him? It seems the dance is getting a little off track, so we take things into our own hands (or feet.) Fear of failure, control issues, pride and selfishness can all force us to wrestle the lead position out of the hands of Christ. But folks, as we do, the dance falls apart. What was meant to be a thing of beauty, becomes a dance of chaos as the leadership is challenged.
In our chapter this morning I see three distinct steps in letting the Lord lead. We ask Him to lead and then we let Him. No matter what we think, how we feel, or what the dance might look like, we let the Lord lead. Let’s take a look at the three steps:
1) We ask Him to Lead us through prayer. Most people never get past this step. Do you want the Lord to lead you? Many Christians just cannot fathom giving up control. We live in a world of control freaks today. Not only is it part of our sin nature but our society deems it as a noble trait. Be strong. Be independent. Do everything for yourself. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get it done for yourself. Don't dare ask for help. We admire people who seem like they can do it all themselves, right? But alas, it’s a lie. We can do nothing on our own and even if it seems like it, it is fleeting. If it is from the Lord it will withstand a storm, but if it is our own building, it will fail when the winds come. The first step in our story today is that Abraham asked the Lord to lead him in finding a wife for Isaac. He knew he couldn’t do it, his selection would not be like the Lord’s, He needed and desired God’s perfection.
Folks, we need God to lead us in everything we do today. We should constantly be in prayer today about every decision in our lives. Everything. If you really want the Lord to lead you, you will ask Him to lead you….in everything. Your job, your family, your finances, your sexual relationship, your education, your dating partners, your time in His Word, your friends, your church role, your potential mate, your service to Him, and on and on and on. This is the first step in letting the Lord lead, you ask Him with a pure, faithful heart, knowing that He will hear and He will answer if it is in His Will.
2) We let Him lead. Now that you have gotten on your knees and cried out to the Lord to lead you, what do you do? Will you let Him? Are you a yo-yo Christian? When things are bad do you give them to God but when they shape back up do you take them right back? I’ve done this in my life and it always ends up poorly, of course. Can you imagine going to the dance school, paying for your ballroom dance lessons and after they assign you a teacher to lead you in the lessons, you argue and fight with them the whole time? “I can do it better, move aside and let me, I don’t think you’re doing it right, it’s not fast enough” We think this scenario is asinine, but I see it every day. People cry out to God for His leadership and then they fight Him for control every step of the way. I see so many failed walks with God right here on this step. If you’re going to ask God to lead, you have to let Him.
So why don’t we give up control and let Him lead? Here’s just a few reasons:
A) I can do it better than God
B) I like to be in control
C) It might not turn out the way I want it
D) It might not be fast enough for my timetable
E) Submitting to God (or others) is not easy for me
F) I’ve asked Him before and He didn’t listen
G) I've already got it taken care of/I can do it myself
Again, this list could be as long as the equator as we make excuses as to why we will not submit to God’s leadership. Ultimately it comes back to our sin nature and our natural resistance to the things of God. But we can conquer this by allowing the Holy Spirit to intervene. And how do we do this? There is only one way. SURRENDER. You give up to God. You let go and let God. All of it. Everything. Until you surrender all to God, this step will continue to hound you.
3) We praise Him for His leadership. By now we have prayed for Him to lead us, we have completely surrendered to His leadership and now we use manners and we say thank you. We praise our Heavenly Father for His goodness, His care and His Love. This is another step that we can easily miss. If we pray and He answers it, we act like a bank robber that just got the big bag of money. We jump in our car and speed off because we got what we wanted. But wait, stop, slow down. Get back on your knees just like when you were crying out to Him in need and now praise Him for caring for and loving you. This is one of the single biggest failures in the Christian walk today. We should constantly have hearts that are praising the goodness our Heavenly Father.
So, our story today starts with Abraham asking God in great faith for a wife for Isaac. He sends His servant to do the job. The servant also prayed for God’s guidance as well, in fact, multiple times throughout the story he prayed to God to clarify His leadership and guide his decisions. As God answered him, he surrendered completely and allowed God to lead him fully. And every time God answered Him with divine leadership, he praised the Lord for it. You see this pattern happen over and over here in chapter 24. Ask the Lord in Faith, let Him lead and then Praise Him as He does. Folks, use this pattern today just like you use shampoo. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Ask Him, let Him and Praise Him. Repeat.
Blessings.
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