Moments in the life of a Pastor

Walking with God

Author Archives: Giles


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1 Following in Faith Part 1

Genesis 12:1-6

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.

We have all read about the mighty men of the bible, Moses David, Daniel, these are a few of the greatest warriors, kings, prophets, and leaders of history. But none of them achieved the special honor bestowed upon “the father of all who believe, the father of all those who also walk in the footsteps of faith, the father of many nations” Abraham.  As we begin this new series Abraham shows us the start and sustainer of the Christian life, faith. How did he ever develop such towering trust in God, and what can we do to develop the same type of Faith? Today we will see that Abraham focused on:

  • The Promises not the problems

God said: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”  Abraham proceeded based on the Promises not the possible problems. Genesis 12:1-3 records God’s great promises:

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”

God directed Abram to do only one thing “Leave” in return God promised to do eight amazing things for him. Often when it comes to walking by faith we focus on the unknown and we project our problems instead of proceeding with the promises. Yes this did require Abram to leave his country, his relatives and his people, he had to leave his comfort zone. He had to give up the land he knew best, the culture he had grown up in, the familiar sights and sounds. People who walk by faith often hear God’s voice calling them to go to leave now and to move forward in faith. At times this has to do with a geographical move, as in Abram’s case, at other times God directs his people to move in maturity or materially. Sometimes God calls us to leave our current work situations, to sever relationships and our security. These changes are often difficult and when you walk by faith, God never lets you settle into some area of self-safety or stability. Just when you reach a certain place spiritually and decide to pitch your tent and relax for the rest of your life, God says, “Leave.” This was the same story for Abram, actually he was never allowed to settle down permanently as long as he lived.

Abram took his family caravan and left town choosing to live off the promises of God, their source of sustenance, and it must be ours as well. We tend to focus more on the commands than the promises, but God’s call was backed up with His promises not punishment. God’s moral commands teach us where we fall short, but it doesn’t bring a solution to our human dilemma. Only the promises bring us hope, and only if we respond in faith, as Abram did. It is God’s promises that sustained him throughout his life and by the time Abram arrived in Canaan, God was already adding more promises to the original group. He said, “To your offspring I will give this land” God’s abundance and provision kept flowing through His promises. Today the great majority of us are command-oriented, we wake conscious of God’s moral law so we try to do right hoping that he will approve of us at the end of the day. What if we would wake thinking about God’s wonderful promises, what He has said he will do through and in us? Yes we need to know what God wants us to do, the call and command, but to carry it out He gives us the provision of His promises. As we focus on the power of His promises they will tenderly direct us in the way of obedience and right living. The tender love of God toward us revealed in His gracious promises is what draws us to a closer walk with the Lord. Abram felt so close to God that “he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD” Abram’s heart reached out to God in worship. He could not help lifting up his heart and hands in adoration to the One who had been so good to him, so generous, so affirming. Abram had not earned any promise or blessing by previous conduct, this was all because of God’s gift of grace. Today are you living life based on the promises or the problems, are you allowing the provision of His promises to sustain you?


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31 Worship seeing the whole picture – Part 2

  1. Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

As we continue to look at the freedom found in worship we see the call to:

  • Offer yourself on God’s altar

The word “offer” was a term that described the bringing and presenting of an animal for sacrifice on an altar. In the Old Testament a live animal was brought to the priest and the owner would lay hands on the beast to symbolically say, “This animal takes my place.” Once given it could not be taken back because the animal was killed and the blood was sprinkled upon the altar. It means “to present once and for all” by placing oneself at the disposal of another, at its core is the idea of relinquishing one’s grip and giving up control. It harkens back to the first mention of the word “worship” in the Bible as Abraham and his son Isaac made their way to the mountain to make the ultimate sacrifice. When Abraham said to his servants in Genesis 22:5: “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Right from the very beginning, worship is connected with obedience to God through the offering of a life to Him. Being accustomed to offering dead sacrifices this idea of a “living sacrifice” would have been a radical idea to the Jews of that day. Paul is calling us to commitment to be all in for Jesus, today we want to compartmentalize our life with the Lord but once the sacrifice is offered to God, you don’t take it back. This is not doing business with God by bartering with Him, we are called to present our “bodies” to the Lord, we are exhorted to offer our total being to Him, not just bits and pieces. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says: “You were bought at a price, therefore honor God with your body.” Romans 6:13 tells us to offer every part of our bodies to Him as instruments of righteousness. God doesn’t just want to be a “part” of our lives when it’s convenient, He wants complete commitment. God’s not looking for the sacrifice of beasts but the bodies of believers who will be sold out to Him.

  • Purposeful and pleasing praise

Paul continues by saying that our life offering is to be “holy and pleasing to God.” The question of worship is not, “how did I like it and did it please me?” But “Is my worship pleasing to God?” So much of our worship is self-pleasing vs Savior pleasing. Worship must focus on the work and the wonder of God, it’s about the Master not me. We are called to make a decisive dedication of our bodies which is not just a duty but a delight. This is a holy offering and the sacrifices that were presented to God in the Old Testament were to be spotless and pure. Anything less was an insult to God because holy means to be set apart for Him. Worship is a verb and so adoration must lead to action, today who are you living to please?

  • Living worship as a way of life.

This then is our “spiritual act of worship.” This phrase means our “service of worship” and would have been familiar to those who understood the Old Testament sacrificial system. Their “service” was any ministry that the priests and Levites did in the temple unto the Lord. Today as believer-priests, when we offer our bodies we are involved in the sacred service of worship as a way of life. What Scripture teaches us is that our lives are meant to be continually revolving around our relationship with Jesus Christ, it’s about a lifestyle of worship. Everything we do is accompanied with the intent not just to please God but to proclaim Him. No matter where we are or wherever we go, if we are living a life presented to God, then we are always looking to bring Jesus into every situation we encounter. When we wake at the beginning of each day we start by seeking to include God, to bring his presence into that moment. At work we live to intentionally bring God’s presence into the lives of those around us. In our families, relationships, our personal lives, our church, the social settings, in all things at all times, we bring God’s presence and touch. We must be at “work” worshipping while we walk with Christ. We talk about a worship Service but worship is not just what we do once a week. True worship is the presenting of our bodies as living sacrifices to God, rather than a worship service we should have service worship. Since God’s desire is to make us into the image of His Servant Son it only makes sense for us to serve like He served. Pick up the towel, look for needs, serve in secret, give without the goal of getting. This is everywhere worship, worship as a living faith instead of as a formula. Unfortunately for many today instead of seeking to continually and constantly develop spiritual lives that are overflowing with sincere awe and admiration of God, the Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, instead of discovering the depth of a real relationship with the Redeemer and living in light of His love, Instead of hearing the cry of all creation, proclaiming the greatness of our God and joining in as part of that creation to proclaim the majesty and beauty of the One Who is Worthy, we have settled for a formula, putting together a recipe of righteousness. We have devised a way to break down the spiritual, supernatural act of faith that is worship into a schematic. What we need isn’t a formula for faith but a sincere song of worship, a lifestyle of love for our Savior. So today will you submit to the supremacy of Christ and surrender your life which is your spiritual act of worship?