As Far As You Can See (1)

Genesis 13:14-18 KJV
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.

Our text is a conversation God had with Abraham after Lot had separated from him. In the earlier parts of the chapter, we were told of strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. The Lord had increased both men and given them substance. However, this increase brought up issues. The land was too small for them, hence, the contention. Abraham stepped in and called for a ceasefire. He wasn’t someone given to strife. “We are brethren”, he told Lot. “Why fight, when we can choose the path of peace? The land is before us all. Choose which part you would like to go and I will take the other part”. Lot chose the side that looked more flourishing and headed there. But it was towards Sodom and Gomorrah. It seemed Abraham’s portion was not as rich as Lot’s. It was at this point that God had this discussion with Abraham. “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever“. The Lord told Abraham that as far as he could see, He will give to him and to his seed forever. What he saw wouldn’t just affect him only, but also his seed! If he saw little, he would get little. If he saw big, he would get big. His vision would set the limit of what he acquired, and affect generations after him. It was no longer a question of God’s willingness to give; “how much do you see? how much can you believe?” It will be unto you according to your faith. God is much more willing and able to meet any need, but it is as far as you can see. Today, l want to begin to share some insights that will be valuable to us to help us set our sights aright, if we are to get the best of God.

1. THE CALL TO A LIFE OF SEPARATION

Isn’t it interesting to note that Lot had to separate from Abraham before God had this conversation with Abraham? I have never seen any man who amounted to anything great with God that didn’t have to separate himself at one time or the other. There are things you just must separate yourself from. No, we are not talking of being anti-social or having psychopathic tendencies here. Let’s discuss some of these things we should separate ourselves from and to.

A. Separation from Carnality

2 Cor 6:14-18 KJV
¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 
¹⁵ and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 
¹⁶ and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 
¹⁸ and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

The Spirit of God, speaking by the apostle Paul, tells us to come out from among them and be ye separate. The man that will go far with God cannot walk in the counsel of the ungodly, sit in the seat of the mockers or stand in the way of sinners (Ps 1:1) and amount to much with God. What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? Separate yourself to righteousness. In Ephesians 5:11, Paul writes, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them“. You see, we are told to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. They are unfruitful, they have nothing worthwhile to give you, rather they can destroy you or hinder and short-circuit the power of God in you. Sin will corrupt those potentials you have and finally destroy you, if you stay in it. Some things, on the other hand, may not be sinful in a way, but they can be unfruitful. They are weights that can hinder you in your race (Heb. 12:1). For such weights, you will have God to deal with you on them. What can be weight to me may not be to you. God wants to do so much in our lives, but we have to separate ourselves from any uncleanness and any unfruitful work of darkness.

B. Separation to Prayer

Luke 5:16 KJV
¹⁶ And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Jesus had a reputation of separating Himself to pray. Little wonder, the next verse tells us that the power of God was present to heal as He taught (Luke 5:17)

Luke 6:12, 17-19
¹² And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God…
¹⁷ And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judæa and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 
¹⁸ and they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 
¹⁹ And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

You won’t see miracles in your life if you spend all the time chatting and laughing and sleeping. Do you want the power of God manifesting in your life? Do you want to see and do great things with God? Do you want to have amazing testimonies of God’s marvelous provisions in your life? Then, you must separate yourself to prayer. Jesus didn’t heal the sick because He was God. He ministered as a man. He had to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit like any man would today, and He did that by staying in regular fellowship with the Father. Make a quality decision today to separate yourself to prayer, to stay in constant, regular fellowship with the Father. It is in prayer that we get guidance and direction for our lives. We are strengthened and emboldened as we pray. In the place of prayer, we draw resource to drive back the forces of darkness. You are prone to fall into temptation once the fire upon your prayer altar begins to burn low. Some things we do are legitimate but let’s learn to withdraw and pray.

Mark 1:35 KJV
³⁵ And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 

What strikes me each time I read the above verse is that, Jesus, the previous night held a crusade in which the sick were healed and the oppressed delivered. I know what it means to minister and sense virtue leave you. Many times you are so physically exhausted that all you want to do is just sleep. Yet, physical exhaustion and a busy schedule were no excuses to the Master. He woke up “a great while” before daybreak, got into a solitary place and prayed. I have resolved, like the Psalmist of old, to “give myself unto prayer” (Ps. 109:4). See Acts 6:1-4

C. Separation to the Word

Ezra 7:10 KJV
¹⁰ For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Acts 2:42 KJV
⁴² And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 

Ezra carved a niche for himself and a place in God’s Hall of Fame because he prepared his heart to seek God’s Word, to do it and to teach it. What a resolve! What a heart preparation! He gave himself to the Word of God and became instrumental to God in the revival that God brought to the Israelites who just returned from exile. We must give God’s Word first place in our lives. We must prepare our hearts to study the Word of God, to be doers of the Word and to teach it as occasion presents itself. We can’t be wishy-washy in our commitment to the Word of God. We must esteem God’s Word more than our necessary food (Job 23:12). We need to continue steadfastly in the study of the Word. God’s Word contains God’s wisdom. God’s Word is able to make us wise (2 Timothy 2:15). As we pay attention to God’s Word, we are built up and strengthened (Acts 20:32). God’s Word has power to make us become what we read. God’s Word is life and health to our body (Pro 4:20-22). Let us give it first place in our lives. Let us separate ourselves to the studying and practice of the Word. The man who does the Word will be blessed in his work (James 1:25)