Abraham’s Relational Life

Messages for October 2017: Our Month of THE BLESSING

Message for Sunday 15^th October, 2017

Theme: Walking in the Footsteps of Abraham

Topic: Abraham’s Relational Life

Introduction: Our desire this month has been to know the secrets of Abraham and to learn his way of life from him as he exemplifies an outstanding life of faith which God Himself has enjoined us in Isa.51:1-2 to follow. Last week we looked at eleven (11) qualities of Abraham which were the attributes that set him apart from others.  This week we will be looking at his relational life.

Relational means concerning the way in which two or more people or things are connected; of or relating to kinship.  One other quality that was established from the outcome of what we learned last week is that Abraham was a good communicator.  He related well with God and people and therefore maintained relationships relevant to His purpose.

Let us look at the types of relationships Abraham established and maintained:

1.     He was a family man - This reflected in his having a good wife and maintaining a healthy relationship with her. In the New Testament, she was even sighted by Apostle Peter as an example of the kind of wife godly women should emulate. See 1Pet.3:1-6 and Gen. 12:1.

2.     He was such a great husband: His wife had no problem following him even in the most uncomfortable circumstances. In response to his genuine affection for her, she even referred to him as her lord! See 1Pet.3:5-6; Gen. 12:5, 11-13 and Eph. 5:28.

3.     He was a father indeed to his children and household to the point that they all followed his footsteps. For instance before having any child of his own, he raised his nephew as his own son and led him as a secure leader which in turn compelled him to follow Abraham on his divine journey. See Gen.12:4 and 13:1; Gen.18:19; Prov.13:22 and Prov.4:1-4.

4.     Those that stayed with him also prospered. This is because by the blessing of God upon his life, he was able to replicate prosperity in others who followed him. Lot so prospered that their substance grew beyond their ability to stay together.  They had to separate at Abraham’s instance. Gen. 13:5-9 and Ps.92:12-15.

5.     He submitted to the Lord via his priest - Melchizedek. He tithed and partook of the Holy Communion in a figure when he received bread and wine from him. Gen. 14:18-20; Heb. 7:1-2.

6.     He was legacy minded and this guaranteed that the blessing was passed on to the next generation. A legacy minded person would invest their lives in preparing the next generation for what God wants for them because God is transgenerational his promises usually exceed the current generation so that He could fulfill his word beyond the first generation. Gen. 22:15-18; 26:1-5; 28:1-4; Acts 3:25.

7.     He was wise in handling relationships when they went sour.  He let God tell him what to do and how. See the example of Lot and Hagar. Gen.13:5-11; 16:3-9; 21:8-14

8.     He raised others so the best of them could be displayed to enable them fulfill their purpose. See the example of the war he fought using men he raised in his house and teaming up with his friends referred to as his Confederates. Gen. 14:4-16

9.     He was a strategic planner and warrior which placed a demand of excellent interpersonal skills on him. This is why he was able to have some friends referred to as his confederates. They went to fight the war that delivered Lot his nephew from the enemies of Sodom and Gomorrah. He not only worked physically, he also did spiritually; he tithed. See Gen.14:1-24 and Heb.7:1-9.

10.            The presence of the Lord was so much on Abraham that Abimelech asked him to enter into a covenant with him so that their relationship will continue between their offspring and future generations. Gen. 21:22-27

He grew to become a war general by his effective leadership ability over the souls he won. See Gen.14 which we looked at earlier talking about the story of the war Abraham fought.

How he managed and resolved conflicts in his house and neighborhood:

·        He was a peaceful person and shunned strife.  When he noticed that there was strife between his herdsmen and that of Lot, he told Lot that there should not be strife between them as they were brethren.  Abraham told Lot that they must go their separate ways to create enough room for their large household and flocks.  He gave Lot the right to make first choice of where he wanted to move to and Abraham went the other way.  They separated peacefully and without any bad feelings towards each other. This is why Abraham was able to go and rescue Lot later in Gen.14 when Lot got into trouble. Also, when God was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah Abraham took the time to intercede for the place because of Lot and his compassion for the people of the place. See Gen.18:17- 33 and Gen. 13:5-12.

·        When Abraham was informed that Lot was in serious trouble he discussed with his group of friends that agreed to help him.  He also informed his personal trained servants and they all went to rescue Lot, defeating the enemy.  Abraham was always ready to help his brother any time he was in trouble and involved trusted people to assist him. Gen. 14:10-16

In what way have the relationships of Abraham affected us and our generation?

·        His relationship with God was the most important thing in his life because he always obeyed instructions promptly. This is why we are his seed today through Christ. God was able to come into this world through the lineage of Abraham because of his legacy mindset and today, the world is still being blessed by the seed of Abraham which is Christ Jesus. See Gal.3:16.

·        Because of his faith and obedience, the blessings of Abraham transcends generations. Forever, the blessing of Abraham would still be relevant.

·        He believed in team work. He knew that the accomplishment of many is greater than the accomplishment of one, so he raised a team of men involving his household servants and friends to help him when the need arose for him to fight a battle to save the lives of some loved ones. See Gen.14.

·        His relationship with his children shows how parents should train up their children. When he passed on, in spite of the fact that Ismael was sent away earlier, he teamed up with Isaac to bury their father. Also, because of his protection of the Covenant for Isaac, he sent away the children of the wife he married after Sarah’s demise. Her name was Keturah. See Gen.25:1-6 and Prov. 22:6.

What could Abraham have done differently to benefit our present generation?

He should not have agreed to Sarah’s suggestion of having a child with Hagar in doubt of God’s ability to give them one together. Eventually, they still had to believe God for the son and had him; so Ishmael was unnecessary. See Gen.16:1-2: 17:15-19 and 21:1-7. See also Heb.11:11-12.

Some mistakes he made and how we can avoid making the same mistakes

·        When the Lord told Abraham to leave his country, he should not have taken Lot.  Lot became a distraction until they were separated.  When God gives us an instruction we should endeavor to find out exactly what we are to do before we start to avoid any unnecessary distraction. Gen. 12:1-4; 13:14-15.

·        Not telling the total truth in a situation for fear of unfavorable response.  It is better to be truthful from the beginning. Their situation though was quite challenging and understandably they were actually siblings. Gen.12:10-20; see also Ps.15:1-5

We shall draw the curtain on this message here for today. We shall be looking more into the life of Abraham in subsequent messages to learn more about this great asset because he is the custodian of the blessing we have all come to Jesus Christ for.

Someone reading this may be contemplating becoming a seed of Abraham through Christ but does not know how; I have good news for you. If you want you can become a member of the family of Abraham right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be born again:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.