Hear, Obey, Follow, Receive

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. Genesis 12:1-4 (KJV)

God commanded Abram to do four things:

1. Get out of his country.

2. Get away from his kindred, or his people.

3. Get away from his father’s house.

4. Go into the land that God would show him.

These four commandments required faith and obedience. Abram believed God enough to act. These four commands were required for Abram to receive what God was promising him. For God to make us great, we must believe and act. Then we will receive the promises of God. When Abram obeyed, God:

1. Made him a great nation. What we do impacts others, especially future generations.

2. Blessed him, empowering him to prosper.

3. Made His name great in what Abram became and accomplished.

4. Made Abram a blessing to others. We must first be blessed to bless others.

God also promised to bless the people who blessed Abram and curse those that cursed him. This was God reinforcing the law of sowing and reaping through Abram. God would bless nations and peoples who blessed Abram and would deal individually with anyone who came against Abram.

Abram had a choice, as did the people with whom he interacted. What we do and choose always affects others. God always leaves it up to each person whether to be blessed or cursed. What we sow, we will reap. How we treat others will come back to us. What Abram chose and what we choose can allow all the families of the earth to be blessed. God blesses us so we can release that blessing to the nations.

We must obey God fully. Abram took family members with him although God told him to leave his people and his father’s house. Taking Lot, his nephew, caused him issues later. Obedience to God will help us avoid problems. The more fully we obey God, the more we can glorify Him with our lives.