Progressive Commitment Part 2 (Charleston Lim / Martin Wong)

This series really made me think about my life and pointed me to listen to God.
This is Part 2 of the series, if you are looking for Part 1, you can find it here.


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ABRAHAM
When 10 years had passed and the promise had not yet come to pass, Abraham and Sarah decided to help God.
Genesis 16:1-6

Sometimes a good idea may not be a God idea.
Abraham's bad decision resulted in thousands of years of war between 2 groups of people.
Up to day, generations later, there is still war and conflict in these countries. 

Imagine how that must have felt?
Some of us feel the same way, our mistakes seem to have long-lasting effects.

How did Abraham deal with his mistakes?
Genesis 21:9-14 "... sent her away"


COMMITMENT #4
Abraham dealt with his mistakes by admitting his mistakes and let it go.
Leaving Ishmael —> Letting go of the son he should have never have had —> Leaving his mistakes and failures

Ask yourself:
What do you do with the mistakes in your life?
We have to let our mistakes go. 
You may have much guilt and many regrets, but whatever mistakes you made, you need to let go of your past and look forward to the future. 
God is a God of redemption.

Some of us take time to let go of our mistakes… 

… For example, if you are together with someone whom you know is not the right person for you. Your family and friends have been warning you about his character. But because you are invested, that you have been together for 5 years, that you find it hard to let the relationship go. You think that maybe if you just get married it will be okay. That’s not the right decision. 

… Abraham struggled with this too. Many people think that when Abraham let go of Ishmael, he was a baby; but the Bible says that Ishmael was already 15 when Abraham let him go. 

No matter what mistakes we've made, there is always redemption in God. 


COMMITMENT #5
At this point in time, Abraham had let go of his home, his father, his nephew, the son he should have never had.
What more could God ask for? God asked for Isaac, his miracle son. 

Genesis 2:1-3
God asked Abraham to offer Isaac on the mountain as a burnt offering
At this point, after many years Abraham finally got his promised son, but God asked him to give it up.

Leaving Isaac —> Letting go of the son God gave him —> Leaving his love

If we are willing to let go of the precious things in our life, God will speak to us.

Genesis 22:10-12

God did not kill Isaac. God is not a heavenly kill-joy. 
Some of us have the mentality that God wants to take away everything good from us. That is not true. 
God wants to bless us but He first wants to test us. When He knows that our hearts are pure and that He is first in our lives, then He will begin to bless us abundantly.

Genesis 22:15-18
... Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants… 

Whatever you hold on to will eventually dwindle away.But Whatever you yield and let go, God will begin to multiply.


Will you let go and let God?
Some of us hold on to our most precious things so tightly that we refuse to let God into that area of our life. 
But we need to know that the thing that we give to God is what will multiply. 
God is in the business of giving not taking. 

Ask yourself… what is your Isaac? What is most difficult for you to let go? 
Is it your career? Your ministry? Your reputation? Your children? Your boyfriend / girlfriend?



Finally…. 
There is one interesting similarity between the two stories… 

When God asked Abraham to leave Ishmael...
Genesis 21:14 “so Abraham rose early in the morning"

When God asked Abraham to leave Isaac...
Genesis 22:3 “so Abraham rose early in the morning"

Abraham had immediate obedience and followed the voice of God by rising early in the morning. When God spoke, Abraham did not delay or hold back whether it was regarding his Ishmael or his Isaac

Bishop Bronner spok about “Scission” which means “to cut"
* Excision - Cut out
* Incision - Cut in
* Circumcision - Cut around
* Decision - Cut off

When God speaks, will we make a decision? Will we have immediate obedience?
Abraham did not become a Hero of Faith overnight, but he did take steps of progressive commitment, which eventually brought him there. 

Today, what is God challenging you on? What is the next step in your Progressive Commitment?