Bill Brady  2/3/2019

Page 3 of “How to Begin your Journey”

We saw last time that Abraham is our example of living a Faith-Journey.

• He began his Journey by leaving as he had been told.
• He chose to journey to the place that The LORD (YHVH) promised to show him.
• He began believing in the Promises that the LORD gave to him.

This time we will look more closely at beginning the Journey.

‘Now the Lord had said to Abram:

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him…’  Genesis 12:1-4

First and foremost, YHVH promised to show Abram where he was going.

• Abram was told to go “to a land that I will show you”.
• Go.
• As you go I will show you the way.
• At some point I will show you were your Journey will end.
• Right now, I tell you to start your Journey.
• I will give you further directions once you have started.

When Abram left he had a destination. 

• He didn’t know the name of that destination.
• He didn’t know the details of The Way to that place.
• He did know the One who told him to leave.
• And he knew what he had been told to do.

Abram was told to leave and go.

• Abram left and went.
• This was a Beginning of his Journey.

You begin your Faith-Journey by leaving.   

• As you leave you go.
• Leaving and going are two parts of one action.
• Done at the same time.
• You leave behind a Past.
• You go (Journey) towards a Promised Future.

You Journey by Faith.

• Faith gets you started.
• It gets you moving.
• And keeps you moving.
• Faith keeps you moving.
• Faith is always in a Promise.

Faith is exercised right now in the midst of your current circumstances.

• Faith is always a going to.
• It is a going to a Promise.
• Faith is moving towards.

This is why we as a family say, “Don’t Camp”.

• When you camp you stop moving.
• You stop believing.
• Believing is a continual going.
• If you find that you have started to camp simply break camp and go.

As you are going you are also leaving.

• As we go we are always leaving something behind.
• We leave behind the Past.
• We go towards the Future.
• We leave behind the Old.
• We go towards the New.
• The New is a Promise.
• Going towards the New is Faith.
• Leaving the Old is Repentance.

“… let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God.”  Hebrews 6:1

• Repentance and Faith are a foundation.

What is Repentance?

• Repentance is changing your mind, turning around and going back in the right direction.
• What is the right direction?
• The right direction is towards the Promise.

What was Abram told to leave?

“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house to the land that  I will show you.”

• Leave your country.
• Leave your family.
• Leave your father’s house.

Years later Abraham told his servant to go find a wife for Isaac.

“…I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the 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 you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”  Genesis 24:3-4

• His country is still his country.
• His family is still his family.
• He did leave them.
• He is now living in the land that is promised to him.
• And with a family that is promised to him.

Where is your country?  Where is your family?

• Your country is where your heart is living.
• It is where you are living by faith.
• Abraham left living amongst those living in his country.
• And began living by faith in a country that he hadn’t yet seen.
• He and his wife left living amongst his family.
• And began living by faith amongst a family that hadn’t yet been promised.

Abram was the first generation of a new family living in a new country.

• The first forerunning generations are called to leave.
• Isaac was the first generation to be born into the new family in the new country.
• He didn’t need to leave his new family and country.
• He needed to stay in his new family and country.

In this day and time most of us have been called to leave.

• This is because we have been called to be forerunners.
• Our forerunning ecclesia is our new family.
• They are travelling together towards a new country.

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”  Jesus speaking to the ecclesia in Ephesus in The Revelation of Jesus Christ 2:5

• The ecclesia at Ephesus had been camping for a while.
• It was no longer on a journey as a family.
• An ecclesia that camps and refuses to move on is in danger of losing its lampstand.
• An ecclesia that loses its lampstand is no longer an ecclesia.
• It is a lifeless organization without the light of revelation.

This family has various groups (ecclesias) that are at various stages of the journey.

• You can easily move from one group to another as you Journey.
• In this way you can stay in this family for all of your Journey.

Here is Intermediate / Advanced explanation of the 7 Promises and how to make them yours.

https://www.oneunitedbody.org/2019/02/04/the-7-promises-made-abraham-and-to-us/