This message was preached by Franco Lonappan (who leads One Nation church, Mumbai) at Word of Grace Church Pune, on the 28th of April 2014 . You can listen/download to the audio by clicking here
Gen 24: 1-12
This is a story of a loving father interested in
the future of his son. He is
mindful, even in his old age about his son. He sent his servant to a far away
land in order to find a bride for his son.
Abraham has a lonely walk with God. He had no one to encourage, admonish etc. no
church, no accountability, no life groups. All
he had was the spirit of God, instructing and counseling him.
He had an apostolic heart-
to reach out to the nations of the world.
Q. what is the apostolic
ministry?
1. It’s about fathering.
Abraham cared for his son even at that age because he had the heart of a
father. The spirit of son ship is the
greatest gift from God. Not only are we forgiven, but we sit with him in
the heavenly places as sons and daughters. 1 John 3:1
says- “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be
called children of God! And that is what we are!”
Christianity is about son ship. We were far from
God and He brought us near to him. This
ministry is about fathering and being fathered.
1 Corinthians 4:15- “I am not writing
this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.”
1 Timothy 1:18- “Timothy, my son,…”
Abraham takes risks to unlock the true potential of
Isaac. They lived in Canaan, a pagan idolatrous place. But he did not
compromise. The apostolic gift comes to
unlock people so that they reach their full potential.
Its about looking after their sons and daughters.
In this context, it must be said, that daughters are also very important in the
purposes of God.
2. It’s about relationships.
Christianity is all about relationships. Our relationship with God and our
relationship with one another. Jesus came to restore our relationship with God-
to break the wall of hostility between us and God.
When Abraham said to his servant to find a suitable
bride for his son, he trusted his choice. This man (Eleazor) was his servant
for 65 years. The only condition he placed was that she should be a part of the
promise. Abraham is saying, I value you
as a gift from God and I value the gift God has given you. This servant was
the one person who could have jeopardized God’s plan. This shows the trust he
had upon him.
Q. Can we
trust?
When we go through difficult times, we do not want
to trust anyone anymore. But remember that Jesus trusts you. He trusts you with
His bride. The Bible says that one of the phenomenons in the last days is that
the love of many will grow cold. Do not let this be. Trust!
Invest in
relationships. The apostolic
message is- love one another. If you put the law and prophets together- the
message is to love one another. It’s not a difficult thing to do.
Pay
attention to your family and your relationships. Children count. Let’s pay a
big premium for that.
3. The apostolic ministry recognizes peoples’ gifts and releases them. Abraham trusted others
gifts and talents to see God’s plan. Gen 14:14- When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken
captive, he led forth his trained men, born
in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”
Abraham recognized people’s
gifts and released them. They became an army.
4. Mission: Abraham was not going to settle because he
was sure that his mission will be successful. When God sent Jesus, he knew he will
find His bride. And here we are- a part of the glorious bride of Christ. He
says, “you will be successful”. We are here to find a bride for God’s son.
5. The big picture- Abraham reminded himself about the
vision. Look back at the faithfulness of God in your life and know that His
promises will be fulfilled.
In verse 24-27- the
servant bowed down and worshipped. The
big picture is that we belong to a God of faithfulness. He’s given amazing
promises and Abraham was holding on to those promises.
2 Corinthians 1:20- “For
no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘yes’ in Christ.”
Lot and Abraham lived
in the same time, but we see how they responded to God’s promises, how they
treat their children and the legacy they leave behind.
Let’s believe in the promises of God.
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