Text; Gen. 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Introduction; Abraham might have been satisfied with a sixty acre farm, but God had promised him a home sufficient for the multitudes of promise. God had promised BIG and Abraham believed big and as a result he received big.!
Note the positive nature of God's command, 'He didn't say, 'Well maybe you ought to---"!
I. Abraham had to move out to receive the promise, 'I will be with you'.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
A."Go ye" ever precedes the promise, "I will be with you".
1. Sowing must ALWAYS go before the harvest.
Psa.126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
2. A church should have at least as many missionaries as she has members..
'Lift up thine eyes' THEN GO YE!!
3. Asking is ALWAYS the order BEFORE receiving..
Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
When we pray little prayers we must expect little answers!
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
'LIFT UP THINE EYES' THEN GO YE!!
4. We have a BIG job in a huge field. Preach to every creature in the whole world..
'LIFT UP THINE EYES', THEN GO YE!!
II. Consider the unlikely way in which God gave them the promised land.
While only a small band, they were allowed to go into slavery!. Yet he brought them out with a mighty hand.
I Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
A. While under great pressure, the little flock became a great multitude.
III. Our BIG God can still do great things.
'LIFT UP THINE EYES', THEN GO YE!!
II Cor 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
A. Consider the builders of Babylon.
Gen.11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
1. They were ONE in purpose.
2.They were one in language.
3.God said they would do whatever they set their mind to do except He stopped them. How much more could WE do WITH His help?
Rom.15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Cor.1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Phil.1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Phil.2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
IV. Look upon the fields. THEN GO YE!!
Jno 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
A. The lost are faced with a BIG terrible HELL!
Lu 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
B. Remember, it is HIS field and HIS harvest. If there were no use in laboring He wouldn’t ask us to waste our time. THE LOST CAN BE WON.
Psa 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
'LIFT UP THINE EYES', THEN GO YE!!
This harvest knows no season, it is a year-round crop ready to be harvested.
C. Our church can grow.
We must 'LIFT UP OUR EYES' THEN GO!
D. The lost can be saved with a BIG salvation.