God's Glory Church

We all want to have an understanding from God of where we should go this year, what we should do, and what ministry the Lord sees us in. There are several very important aspects that will help us understand exactly what God’s plans are for our lives. In the book of Genesis we read a wonderful story about Abraham. Wonderful, because in it we can see what plans the Lord had for Abraham’s life and how Abraham himself realized them.

“And the LORD said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee; and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing; I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. And Abram went as the Lordtold him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. And Abram took with him Sarah his wife, Lot his brother’s son, and all the property that they had acquired, and all the people that they had in Haran; and they went out to go into the land of Canaan; and they came to the land of Canaan. And Abram walked through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak grove of Moreh. The Canaanites [lived] in this land at that time. And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And [he] built there an altar to the Lord, who appeared to him.” (Gen.12:1-7)

God’s vision can be very broad, but it always includes specific details that are important for us to fulfill.

God didn’t just call Abraham, He showed him specific steps to achieve the vision that the Lord had for his life.

Abraham needed to leave his homeland, his father’s house, and go to the land that God told him about. Always, if you and I want to fulfill a vision from the Lord, we will need to leave something in our lives. It is very difficult to leave what is familiar and familiar, so many people prefer to stay where they are now. Do you want God to bless you? If yes. Then leave what you are holding on to today, but you understand that this is already a passed stage in life and you need to move on.

I want to show you one picture that very clearly depicts the fact that in order to follow Christ we will more than once have to give up our plans and goals – this is the picture “When You Are Coming.”

Despite its modest size, this painting invariably makes a deep impression on viewers and is rightfully considered one of Annibale Carracci’s masterpieces. The artist drew the plot for the work from early Christian apocrypha, which was subsequently retold more than once in the medieval “Lives” of saints. The Apostle Peter spent the last years of his life in Rome. When persecution of Christians began there, he decided to flee the city. On the Appian Way he met Christ. Peter asked him: “Lord, when are you coming?” (“Lord, where are you going?”). The Savior answered his disciple that he was going to Rome to be crucified again. Then Peter was ashamed of his flight and regarded the words of Christ as a command to return to the city and suffer martyrdom there.

Let’s think about what do I need to leave behind today and where is God calling me to go in this new year? What ministry does God see me in and what should I start doing for this?
God will not bless us in our comfort zone. Sometimes the Lord is limited by our disobedience, and it is because of this that many of God’s promises never come to fruition in our lives.

For God’s blessings to become a reality in our lives, sometimes we have to be like one snail:

It was a cold, windy day in late spring. A snail was slowly crawling up the cherry tree.
The sparrows on a nearby tree had a lot of fun looking at her. Then one of them flew up to her and asked:

– Hey, you dumbass, can’t you see that there are no cherries on this tree?

Without interrupting her path, the little one calmly answered:

– They will be when I get there.
What to do if God has called you, but what the Lord promised you is not yet happening in your life? It is important to be faithful to the vision from God, otherwise we may become like Abraham.

In Genesis 16 we read: “But Sarai Abram’s wife bore him no child. She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, Behold, the Lord hath shut up my womb, that I should not bear; Go in to my maid; perhaps I will have children by her. Abram listened to Sarai’s words. And Sarah, Abram’s wife, took her maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, after Abram’s sojourn in the land of Canaan was ten years, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. He went in to Hagar and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, she began to despise her mistress. And Sarai said to Abram: You are guilty of my offense; I have given my maidservant into your bosom; and she, seeing that she had conceived, began to despise me; Let the Lord be the judge between me and you.” (Gen.16:1-5)
Therefore, the next revelation is this: if you do not fulfill God’s vision for your life, you will fulfill someone else’s vision.

Because Abraham was not completely faithful to God’s promise, he was easily led astray by the words of his wife. Can Sarah be blamed for tempting her husband to compromise by inviting him to help God fulfill his promise? I think not. It was to Abraham that God made the promise, and it was he who was responsible to be faithful to God’s word.

We often fail to fulfill God’s vision for our lives because we try to please our family and friends. We try to be convenient for them, but as a result we fulfill not God’s plans for our lives, but the plans of our family and friends. Is this bad? I think so. Abraham not only quarreled with his wife over Hagar, he himself unknowingly gave birth to an entire people who are at enmity with Israel and Christians to this day.

We can give birth to faith, or we can give birth to resentment and bitterness. We can be the cause of salvation, or we can be the cause of disappointment and unbelief.

I’ll tell you one story:

Once upon a time, an enlightened atheist researcher visited a tribe of savages in central Africa. Talking with the natives, he spoke with mockery of faith in Christ as a prejudice of backward people. To this his interlocutor answered him: “If you had come to us ten years ago, we would have killed you, roasted you on the fire and eaten you. And if now you can leave here in good health, it’s only because a missionary came here before you, who told about God and made civilized people out of cannibals. We accepted faith in Christ and His teachings of truth and love, so we let you go.”

It’s good to ask yourself a question today: whose plans and goals am I embodying in my life today? Why should I implement these plans? How do my goals for this year fulfill God’s vision for me personally and for my church?
It’s easy to test yourself by answering a few questions. What am I doing for God today? How do I serve my brothers and sisters in my home group? What do I plan to do to minister to the unbelievers I know?

I believe that there are no useless members in the church. Jesus tells us that every member is called to be useful in the Body of Christ, which is the church. Everyone can help the group leader in the ministry, everyone can visit their brother or sister, everyone can show attention and care – call, pray for the need and help as best they can.
“Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abramand said to him: I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless; And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly, greatly. And Abram fell on his face. God continued to speak to him and said: This is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations, and you will no longer be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations; and I will make you very, very fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you; And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and between your descendants after you throughout their generations, an everlasting covenant, that I will be your God and your descendants after you; And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you wander, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Gen.17:1-8)
Is it easy to believe God’s promises? No it’s not easy. It’s hard to believe when what God promises doesn’t happen for many years. A little later in this chapter we read:

“And God said to Abraham: Do not call your wife Sarai, but let her name be Sarah; I will bless her and give you a son by her; I will bless her, and nations will come from her, and kings of nations will come from hers. And Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said to himself, “Shall there be a son from a hundred years old?” and Sarah, ninety years old, will she really give birth? And Abraham said to God: Oh, that Ishmael were alive before You! God said: Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you will call his name Isaac; And I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant [and] to his descendants after him.” (Gen.17:15-19)

Looking at Abraham, we can say: “It was easy for him to believe, because God Himself spoke to him.” And I will say that Abraham had a hard time believing because God’s promises for many years were just good promises. Therefore the next revelation is:

God is always faithful to His promises, the question is whether we will wait for their implementation.
In the last century, missionary and traveler David Livingston made a second journey across Africa. 300 blacks followed him. Livingston’s money was running out. He gave the last of his belongings to a tribal leader from Zambia, asking him to care for and feed until his return from England the 300 people who had accompanied him on his exploration of Africa. The leader agreed. David promised the Africans, having completed his business in England, to return to Africa and take them by ship to their homeland.

As soon as David Livingston left the continent, local residents began to mock the blacks accompanying the missionary. They were asked:

“When and where have you seen a white man care about black people? And don’t think that he will ever return!”
But 300 Africans from the Makololo tribe were waiting; We waited 1 year, we waited for the 2nd year. They laughed at them more and more. But they answered:

“You don’t know our father (that’s what they called David Livingston), he will not deceive, he will definitely return. And he will return us to our homeland.”

They continued to wait with faith and steadfastness, although during their wait some of them died of illness.

Finally, in the third year, the population of the tribe suddenly heard a noise from the ocean. People ran to the shore, where they saw a huge steamer approaching. A loud and unanimous cry rang out in the air:
“Our father! Our father!

Negroes from the Makololo tribe rushed into the waves of the ocean and swam to the ship. Climbing over the side onto the deck, they threw themselves on Livingston’s chest with the words:

“We knew you would come back!”

If a person knows how to be faithful only because he is taught by Christ, then will not Christ Himself keep His promise?

Pastor, Alexander Koltukov.