The Road Back (Pastor Jeff Shipley)

Obedience, Failure, and the Road Back to God

Now I want you to pay attention it wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military.

We're gonna be in Genesis chapter 12 today, and this is one of those sermons that I love because Have y 'all ever seen you younger kids probably won't but the cool generation generation X if you y 'all remember saying Sergeant York you remember anybody at all.

I know you would Quentin. You're actually cool. All right a few of you well for those you don't know it's a true story about a guy. That was a believer. He went to World War one and in World War one He had a conflict because he didn't want to kill he didn't want to do all this and Gary Cooper plays him in the movie, and there's a scene where he's sitting up in the mountains trying to figure out what to do and as he's sitting there the wind blows and It blows and he happens to look at a passage of scripture.

And it's an answer to what he's been praying about well this sermon that happened to me Genesis chapter 13 Spoke to me very powerfully and before we get to those first four verses in Genesis 13 I got to give you the backstory you see I am very much Like Abraham, and that's why I love God's words because there's no protagonist in a Shakespearean kind of Understanding they're all just regular people.

They're idiots. They're liars. They're Deceivers they're manipulators. They are just well like us just a bunch of idiots.

And.

They being fallible people constantly finds themselves at odds With living out the holiness of God. Christian have you ever done that? Oh, I hate that. You know there's No more anguish than a child of God living in rebellion.

Been there many times many times unfortunately. So here we have Abram now. In Genesis chapter 12 God called Abram out To be the father of what would be many nations now. I want you to understand. Especially those of you that grew up in church.

Abram was not attending First Baptist Church of her okay. He was not mr. Superchristian with a King James Bible. In fact the Word of God tells us even in the New Testament That his family were pagan idol worshippers.

They were worshiping idols and God chose him To be the father of a great nation guys. I want you to understand something. I don't care where you failed. I don't care where you failed. Your failure does not disqualify you from God's service.

Ever ever. I don't care whether you've been in prison. I don't care whether you've been divorced. I don't care whether you've been an Alabama fan. God can call you and save you out of your godless.

Hedonistic ideas oh.

My gosh Genesis 12. Abraham's on that mountaintop Christian you ever been there. You ever been there? Oh, man, you and God are like. You feel like you can walk up to Satan and pimp slap him right. You feel like you and God are so Enmeshed and you have that peace.

Well, let's read Genesis chapter 12, and I want you well. Let's read verse 13 because that's gonna be I'm sorry chapter 13. I'm doing something wrong learner guys. Will you just make it do it because the pastor's too stupid.

There we go. Let's read Genesis 13 1 through 4 because this is going to be our text it says so Abraham went up from Egypt he and his wife and All that he had and what with him. Into Najeb now. Abram was very rich in livestock.

Silver and gold and he journeyed on from Najeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning. Between Bethel and a and by the way those places still exist today to the place where he had made an altar at the first and there Abram called upon the name of The Lord.

Guys he was in a place of returning, but let's go back. Couple of three months. Let's go back to Genesis chapter 12. And I just want to point out just a few verses for you. God calls Abram and Abram Immediately obeys he says hey, I want you to get out from where you're from.

Where you're comfortable being leave everything behind and follow me and Abram was like right on man. And in Genesis 12 for so Abram went as the Lord told him he was obeying.

God.

Christians when we obey God We have a sense of.

Connection with God.

I know some people want to use music or sermons. Church attendants are giving money. To try to feel connected to God that crap won't work. It is that Holy Spirit of God who is telling us to obey and when we.

Acquiesce when we.

Submit in humility to God's call there is a union and a fellowship with God. He was obedient to him but also notice this I can remember as a young Christian. Praying for this so much. Oh my gosh. I remember praying for this.

It says here in Verse 7 then the Lord appeared to Abram. I know some of you're like, yeah, I don't get it. Well, if you're a Christian, have you ever had that moment in your life? You're just like God.

Can you just show up like, you know, like flex out on me or something? You know, can you just like I don't know throw me a sign. Have you been so desperate you've been driving down the road and said well I got this what I'm supposed to do make that light.

Turn green before I get there. Have you ever done that? I need some therapy if y 'all don't start saying yes, cuz I think I'm crazy. Just show up God that pay offspring this land. You notice there's no if there.

There ain't no if you see in the Word of God, there's a there's a conditional covenant and there's an unconditional covenant. Grace, thank you. Jesus is Unconditional. God said I love you. I you are my child.

I forgive you. There's nothing we did to earn God's forgiveness. Well here God just gave him the whole land of Israel and said here you go. Man wouldn't you love hunter wouldn't you love for God to show up and say here's 3 ,000 acres of prime hunting land, right?

The presence of God was there but notice Abraham in verse 8. He said he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. He built an altar and called upon this name. I Hear in the Hebrew it actually says and he called upon Yahweh.

It's funny.

Because in Romans chapter 10 verse 13, it says whoever will call upon the name of Kurios. You see in Romans 10 13 it's referring to Jesus here. It's referring to God the Father. Things that make you go.

For.

All you anti-trinitarian Morons out there. I'll be waiting for a paper for you to explain that Abram was in a place of obedience. He was in a place where he was in the presence of the Lord Communing with him and he was in a place of worship and submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Ergo to put it into a modern-day colloquial. He walked down the aisle and got saved. Ah. That's what happened. Not wait, there's more verses later. For not 14 years for verses later. God I hate myself for this.

Let me just confess. I have had moments where I've sit there and gone. That's it. God. I'm done with this sin. I'm not doing it. No, no get behind me Satan. What are you doing? Hey, man? What is wrong with us?

Are we really that dumb or verses later? All you have to do is go down two verses to verse 10 now. There was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there. In other words, he went down to bus and bus and fresh down there.

Right and.

As he gets down there He came to a place where he chose the logic of man over the sovereignty of God. Now Y 'all follow me on this. He was just in the presence of God and God said here you go. Here's a nation all for you.

Right there.

And Abram was like Cool God, this is what Memphis and had having a golden corral man. Yeah. Yeah, I need to get on that. He trusted himself rather than trusting in the God whom he just trusted to leave.

Everything men strikes and oh No, we got to go to Mickey D. So as he's traveling down now his wife her name at this point is Sarah. You have to understand God changed his name and his wife's name right now.

We're dealing with a guy named Abram who will later become Abraham that's right. It funny how Jews couldn't eat pork, but they named God named him Abraham, you know.

But anyways.

Yes, I am stupid. Sarah must have been finer than frog hair split three ways. She must have been smoking hot. Because as they're going down to Egypt, he looks over at Sarah, you know, he's riding his camel or whatever.

He's riding. He's riding his camel. He looks over his wife. He's like man. She looked good.

Listen I.

Don't want to get down there. I don't have no problems with all these Egyptians. So when we get down there, I need you to do two things. First I need you to walk like an Egyptian. Carrie that was for you.

But here's what I need you to do. I need you to tell them that you're my sister. So they won't kill me and take you okay. You know what? He gave in to Christians. Man I hate that fear stuff. Oh. It stinks, especially when you're crazy.

That's what I call my anxiety and to pray. I've take a crazy pill and. Then anxiety and depression hits you. Yeah, it got quiet in here for those of you living in deniability and those you don't know what I'm talking About.

Let me help you out. You're constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Y 'all with me now, okay. You're afraid that you're gonna be found out from all the things you think you got away with. Man, that stinks, don't it?

Mmm. PTSD, whatever you want to call it and you give in to that fear. You give in. Now I know I have. I'm afraid I'm gonna lose something. I'm afraid I'm gonna lose comfort. I'm afraid that I'm gonna lose peace.

I'm afraid I'm gonna lose this and I harder I try the worse it gets are y 'all with me at all.

Sucks.

Sucks.

He ain't no better than us. So he gets down there. And he lies about her and he says and notice this line in verse 13 Say that you are my sister that it may go wet in a min. Y 'all check this out say that you are my sister that it may go well with me.

Because of you and that my life may be spared for your sake now. I dated this girl and she was a Dancer not ballet. Yeah with me. She had another name her name was Asia and she wasn't Asian. I never got that but anyways we'd go in bars in places and When I'd walk in you guys are gonna know what I'm talking about.

You walk in with a sweet young thing on your arm. You start eyeballing and you're eyeballing for those who are eyeballing. You know what I mean? Y 'all acting like you don't know what I'm talking about.

You know what I'm talking about. You know you and your lady walk by and some dude sitting there doing this you're like, what's up, man? Yeah, I need something you good. Okay, cuz I can come over and talk to you if we need to talk.

You know what I'm saying? Not a mom. He says why I don't care if you got a sleep with the entire nation of Egypt. I don't want to die. Yes, right. Netflix and chill. That's cool. As long as nothing happens to me.

He gives in to fear. You know what it really was he was more confident in his ability to lie than he was in the sovereignty of God. Manipulators, I'm sorry addicts. Manipulators. Grandma, um, I might have a job at FedEx and I don't have a suit.

To to go and I need some gas money. Well sure, baby. I'm so proud of you feed feed feed check rip later. Well, how'd that job interview what? You know. It's amazing. As we try to fix things with our own logic and our own lives and we end up getting more screwed up than we were to begin with verse 15 when the princes of Pharaoh saw her.

They praised her to Pharaoh like dude. You got to come check this out and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. You want to take my wife where and do what I don't think so, man. Well, you're gonna die.

Well, I'm gonna die swinging boy. You know, that's that's my cow. I got my brand on her, you know. That's probably bad. Isn't it? Is that bad? I feel so bad now. You know what happens when we fall we drag other people with us.

Daddy's.

Husband's. We drag them with us. We will actually put our family our church our Community our nation in a position to falter because we're too afraid to handle the truth, man. Look at verse 19. Now you want to know the height of indictment?

You don't know the height of indictment. Verse 19. Looks who look who puts him into check. The pagan the godless unbelieving worldly pagan. Pharaoh who's worshiping a dog from the Nile. He faltered and he failed.

But now he has to hear the voice of a heathen going this Why did you say? To even the lost person it doesn't make sense. Why did you say she is my sister wife. And go?

You know.

One of the heights of arrogance that I see in churches and with Christians is this Because you invited Jesus in your heart Lord Savior you somehow have a morality that higher than the world. Well friends, I'm here to tell you I know some atheists that have more character in their dealings with their family than some Christians.

I.

Know.

Some heathens they have more financial Fidelity than some Christian pastors. Yeah, dude. Are you really wearing a hundred a thousand dollar suit? With one of them Gucci fruity rings, first of all, you look like a fruit look like a man, you know.

But secondly you're sitting there talking about you need money for this this this and this. Go sell your suit. You know what I'm saying? I always love it when pastors from India call me on the cell phone.

Well, they don't call me they use the Facebook texting. Oh, we're all starving to death. We're all gonna die. Well, maybe so that $500 phone in your hand, oh. That's a good idea. Yeah, see you liar. Morality does not come from Christianity.

Holiness comes from Christ. You don't get the two confused because there are some really good moral people in this room. They're going straight to hell. Okay?

So there's Abram.

He was in a good place.

He got screwed up.

Now what? Now I'm gonna be honest with you and I'm embarrassed to say this, but I'm just being real with you. Even as a pastor I've realized I'm in that bad. I've realized I'm in Egypt. I realized. And I stay.

Not out of rebellion.

Just out of. I'm gonna screw it up anyway, so why try? Have y 'all ever been there. You know what? I mean? Why bother? In other words, I have the desire to want to change. But I kind of put it in neutral and coast and then I pray and say Oh God help me.

Removing Yourself from Egypt

Chapter 13 verse 1. So Abram Went on up out of there. The first thing that we've got to understand is if we want a road back to where God is it takes Removing ourselves from where we're at. You got to remove yourself from where you're at.

You know, there's a person in this room this morning who said I want to be a Christian. But I don't want to lose my friends.

Wow Wow.

God.

Guys repentance takes removing. So Abram went up from Egypt. He and his wife and all that he had and a lot with him. You've got to separate yourself, but here's the other thing. You got to separate your stuff.

You got to separate yourself. Well pastor. What do you mean by that? It means this if you keep working your hands to the bone. Trying to acquire more money to try to chase the peace that only can be found in Christ.

You've lost your mind and you're still wandering in Egypt. If you think that money or fame or the Acclamation or the adoration of mankind is ever going to give you that sense of belonging and that sense of peace and that sense of Comfort you've lost it.

Or you don't watch the Hollywood news peoples. Those people are crazy man crazy.

Guys.

Remove yourself from that garbage. Listen. Remove yourselves in the absence. All right, watch this in Egypt. Notice how God was speaking to notice the difference in Egypt. There were no altars There were no prayers and there was no presence of God.

Do you understand the difference you see when we don't put first things first. Matthew 6 33 says this. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Then all these things will be added unto you guys.

Understand that it takes removing but it also takes this returning. Returning now pastor. Isn't that the same thing? No. How many of you have ever done stupid remove yourself from that situation and jumped in something up?

But you don't understand what I'm saying. Watch this. I quit using cocaine. Right. Well, it was a deliverance. What I did is I weaned it's myself off of it from staying high all the time. You know what?

I mean?

So.

Some of y 'all are looking at me like yeah, I know but I ain't gonna say nothing. That's all right. We all know you're a loser. Go right out and say You trade one stupid thing for another stupid thing.

Well pastor. I don't really get that. Okay, you leave one codependent relationship with a guy who says he loves you jump into bed with another guy have sex with him to try to find the same love and commitment and And and acceptance and he jumps on he treats you like garbage.

So what do you do? Yeah. Relationships. And four marriages later eight rebellious kids from six different people. You're going. If God loves me so much Why did he do this to me?

Guys.

You got to return back to the beginning. Look what it says here in verse 3. And he journeyed on. From the gegeb as far as Bethel. By the way, what's the word Bethel mean in Hebrew? House of God house of God.

He moved as far as the Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the Beginning. If you feel like God's not with you. I can tell you this on the authority of God's Word. He is.

He is.

If you ever feel like this far apart, I hear preachers say guess who moved. Listen. Whether you move into stupid or not God still with you. Okay, remember Christian you. In your heart and in your life.

You were an enemy of God Romans 5 8. But God was never your enemy. God never at any point did not love you.

Ever.

On your high moments and on your low moments. The love is the same. His faithfulness is the same his grace is the same. It does not change for you to find that peace. God's been moving. You need to do the same.

Go back to the things at first. You fast-forward. 4 ,000 years later. 4 ,000 years later. We're Abraham now. We're talking in the book of Revelation. A new church that Paul had started in the book of Acts has now been running about 20 Years, and they are a mega church busting up.

Busting it up. They're over there in Ephesus and man. They got children's programs a bus ministry. They're rolling. Okay, they really didn't have buses or combustion internal combustion engines back then.

That was a joke. Please thank you for the courtesy chuckle. Anyways. They're in Ephesus don't tear it up and it sits there and Jesus himself Has a message for that church. He goes man guys. I appreciate you.

I do son. He writes seven churches. This is one of them. He goes boys. Y 'all are kicking butt on that doctrine stuff. You really are. You are wearing that doctrine out and then false teachers man. Yo, yo zoom in on man.

You run them guys out of town. Revelation 2 verse 4 but.

But I.

Have this one thing against you that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Hmm.

Remember therefore.

From where you have fallen.

Repent. Repent it doesn't say cry. It says repent and Do the works you did it first. If not I will come and remove the candlestick from its place. In other words Church, we're a candlestick. We're supposed to hold up the light of God.

There are churches hundred churches this week that are closing and it's not because black people moved into the neighborhood. Okay, that's always love when I hear pastor say that well the neighborhood changed Jesus didn't.

The sin of mankind's the same. Don't know how much melon you got your skin. Same lust desires failures are still there and the blood of Jesus is the same for them as it is for you. Well pastor, you don't understand.

Our congregation is all old. Old people while dangerous behind the wheel.

Owen.

Yes, maybe they can't go out and split wood and do all that other stuff. But I guarantee the senior saints that have truly been saints have got a lot to offer. The young people are just too dumb to know that they even need.

You know what I'm saying? You know what the real reason is.

We just.

Want to stay in neutral. We're hurt we're beaten up we feel like God's abandoned us we feel like we're not used. We feel like we've sinned too much. We have failed God too big and there remains no place for us.

If that's true. Then why does God tell us to repent? You see the idea of repentance is to bring and restore that which was do you know a non-believer? Cannot repent of their sin. I know that's gonna freak some of y 'all out.

You what are you using to repent with? You say a converted person. That's always loved when I hear people talk about revivals. 42 people got saved in this revival. Well, that was a misappropriation of effort.

Because revivals aren't for people getting saved. Revivals or for reviving people in other words getting people who are once alive and on fire. Back on fire again. See you see that's what the church does.

Well that person over there smokes crack and he's sleeping with her. They need to repent now your God was hated you just gossip. Cut sin because God will hold you accountable for that just like her adultery.

We want to put people in boxes. There's only two lost and saved. That's it. That's the only denominations there are. I Also recognize that you got to go back but I need you to recognize your place. I'll need to recognize your place.

Now. What do I mean by that? Well, I Being a licensed ordained Senior pastor, I know my place my place at the front of the line. I Big time boy, I'm big time. I talk to people all over the world. I got pastors who have churches ten times bigger than mine calling me for advice.

I'm somebody boy. Oh, they're under my shirt. I got suspenders over here. You know, hey, I'm somebody.

Oh.

Well, I'm somebody Right. I'm an idiot, but I'm somebody you know what I love about this. It said He went up verse 4 I'm sorry verse 3 and he journeyed from Negev any place where he put his tent. You know what us Christians need to start going to being again his tent dwellers.

Because it changes our attitude. It changes our perception. We want to build houses. We want to build permanent houses. Let me let y 'all in on the secret. You don't own Anything. Oh, I'm an appraisal.

No. According to the federal government. You don't own anything. All you're doing is written it. No, I own my house. No, you don't. You don't ever say yours as far as I read the Constitution. He would be paying taxes on it because you don't own it.

That's my land. Give it a generation. It's gonna be a quickie Mart.

You see we.

Put so much emphasis on the physical and tangible. That we try to slake out of that some sort of purpose meaning and peace. And it's just turns to ash guys. You see we need to remember we're dwelling in tents.

We're just passing through here. Abraham was a pilgrim not a drifter. A drifter just goes from one place to the other without any idea. He's a pilgrim he has an end goal in mind. The promised land is just right across that river.

And God has called him there and he might have got misdirected. But the promise land of God is still calling him back. You see that's repentance. Will you understand to the call of God on your life? It's just as strong as today in your failure as it was and in the beginning.

And God's provision for grace is just as strong. Remember people were just pilgrims and we get lost because we're stupid. But the voice of God is calling us home one last thing and I'm done. You know what repentance also takes.

Restoring.

Mmm.

We got to remove stuff. We got to return to the beginning. But we also have to be restored. Chapter 13 verse 4. I don't think I've kept going have a sorry guys. Chapter 13 verse 4 it says in there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.

You see at the beginning he called upon the name of the Lord. And at the end he had to call upon the name of the Lord.

Listen.

This is a building. It is not a church. It's not a church. Ecclesia means a gathering of believers. That's a church. Yes. I am a pastor. But I don't have any more Holy Spirit than you do. The same God that saved me is the same God that saved you same Holy Spirit.

You got the same Holy now. I know you see these guys walk around guy. I got a double anointing man. Shut up, you ain't got double nothing. Right only thing you got some bad breath take a tic-tac shut up.

You can't call upon the church. You can't call upon the pastor. You can't call upon the nostalgia of what it used to be like 30 years ago. You can't call on the feeling of euphoria of peace and joy you had when you were first saved.

You got a call.

Upon the name of the Lord, I Just want to stop here.

Guys.

The best way I can explain the difference between calling the Lord and call upon the name of the Lord I shared this Wednesday was my little girl Ashley. Did she it back there? She's so cute. Hey, baby, ash.

I love you. She's single boys. Sitting back there when she was like, I don't know. How was she back then in Wyoming? Two three something like that. Mama. Would get out to back in Kena. Now if you don't know what the back in Kena is it is the most grotesque.

Terrifying sound in presence that my two-year-old daughter ever saw. Gwen would turn that vacuum cleaner on this. What Ashley would do. She would run past when run past knives guns chairs Fire extinguishers 9 -1 -1 on the teller.

And she would run through the house screaming daddy. Daddy. And she would see me with her arms and she would just run and jump. She wasn't worried about what she looked like what she sounded like what she had done what she hadn't done.

She wasn't worried about her failures or prospects or promises. All she knew is that she was afraid in a need of something greater than herself. And she called out and when she saw me she jumped. Because she knew her daddy would catch her.

Some of you in this room want to turn repentance into religion and it never works. Does it. You've tried it a million times. You've been the one when the guy at four o 'clock in the morning says if you want to get saved pray this prayer every head.

Bowed and every eye closed.

Repeat after me. How many times you prayed that prayer?

Right.

Because just in case it didn't work. The prayer will never save you guys. The church will never save you. I'm so thankful that my life changed because I called upon.

The name of the Lord Yahweh.

Watch this verse 4. Just one more time. Just one more time. Just read it with me. It says this to the place where he had made an altar at first and there Abraham called upon the name of the Lord. Now.

It is true that a church won't save you won't save you. But you know what the church was designed to do.

Help you.

This altar right here. There's a reason in 2024 we still have an altar because it's a place where people have made decisions. It is the Rubicon for many people that they finally crossed over and face that fear.

It is a place of a touchstone of peace. It is a whoopee for some people that just need that little bit. Hey, I'm one of them. I am making fun of you. I'm the most nostalgic person. You know me and Jeremiah are the only people in my family who actually care about anything.

My wife are those are the kids shoes when they first all learned how to walk throw them away. Yeah, I'm sure when he was one years old. Well, you don't need that no more. It's diaper that we ever change.

I'm keeping it, you know, I'm not nostalgic right guys. We need altars in our lives. I'm not talking about false ones. I'm talking about a place that we physically Can come when we're wounded and we're more hurt and not only meet the Spirit of God there meet the people of God there.

I love when people come down here to pray and it's like just people that don't even know them just start coming up and praying. For I don't know what we're praying for. Guess what? It don't matter. Pray for them.

Well, I'm not really sure what's wrong. They're ugly. They're fat. They're stupid. Whatever just pray for a man. So I don't know their name you ain't got in. Well, I don't know how to do that then start praising God.

That a person saw a need in their life and chose to overcome fear and come to a place where healing was Church if you keep waiting to go out those doors to minister. You keep forgetting that God has brought people right here for you to be the church.

Okay, so that's what we're gonna do. We're going to in a moment stand and if you're not sure if you're a Christian or not. We got people that can help with that if you are just beat up. If you feel like God's done with you and there is no way possible he could ever use you again.

Let some folks tell you. Hey, man, that ain't true. I used to think that exact same thing. We got a bunch of them in here. You know if you're struggling with addiction if you're whatever it is, I don't care whether you are a trans lesbian drug addict.

I.

Had an adulterous affair with the neighbor's dog, whatever how horrible it is. I Guarantee we got someone in here who went through that parties here. Look I wouldn't told that one boy.

Guys.

This is your time. You've heard the Word of God. Your choice right now is to repent or leave just like he came in. I'm gonna ask you to stand. I'm gonna ask the pastors to come down forward. And if God has spoken to you this morning you come in obedience.

You come as he leads.