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A Personal Devotional by Debbie Hall
Steady and Loyal
Read Genesis 15:1-16:6 PRAY!
Introduction
Three sons left home, went
out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts
they were able to give their elderly mother.
The first said, "I built a big house for our mother." The second said, "I sent
her a Mercedes with a driver."
The third smiled and said, "I've got you both beat. You remember how mom enjoyed
reading the Bible? And you know she can't see very well. So I sent her a
remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12
years to teach him. He's one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and
verse, and the parrot recites it."
Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks:
"Milton," she wrote one son, "The house you built is so huge. I live in only one
room, but I have to clean the whole house."
"Gerald," she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time
at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!"
"Dearest Donald," she wrote to her third son, "You have the good sense to know
what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious.
Four Basic Personality Types:
Driven to Achieve Like Paul
Inspiring and Active Like Peter
Steady and Loyal Like Abraham
Cautious and Detail Oriented Like Moses
Exposition
15:1-6 The only way to be righteous in God’s eyes
In response to God appearing to him, Abraham had left his homeland behind and moved to Canaan (A big step for anybody, particularly a person who was Steady and loyal like Abraham, who love security and a familiar environment)
When the land was not able to support both him and his nephew Lot, he had allowed Lot to choose which land he preferred (That’s just like a Steady and Loyal person- selflessly letting the other person have first pick, and making the best of what was left)
When Lot got into trouble because he chose the bright lights of Sodom and Gomorrah over country living, Abraham left his flocks for a time and rescued his nephew Lot from danger (That’s what a Steady and loyal person loves to do- help in times of trouble)
At the end of that rescue, Abraham got to meet Melchizedek, the King of Salem, who brought out bread and wine, the elements later that would be used in the Lord’s Supper. After being blessed by Melchizedek, Abraham responded to his greatness by tithing to him. (In typical Steady and Loyal person fashion, Abraham refused to take money from the wicked King of Sodom for himself, only letting him reimburse the men who had helped him rescue Lot)
And that brings us to the passage I have selected today
Abraham is troubled over how the blessing through him to future generations is going to be realized, because he has no blood heir
Note that God approached Abraham: Isn’t it great to have a God who wants to meet with us when we’re distressed?
And there in verse one God starts by speaking words of comfort to Abraham: I am your shield, I am your reward
And when you are trying to help a person like this, it’s vital that you do it in the context of the relationship you have already earned
Abraham pours his heart out to God in verses 2-3
And God lovingly responds to his friend Abraham by giving him clarifying information in verses 4-5
Now before we talk more about the strengths and weaknesses of the primary S person, we need to take a minute to talk about what verse 6 means
V. 6 Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness
The way a person is saved has never changed: it’s by faith in God
“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted as righteousness.” Romans 4:5
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” -Hebrews 11:6
PICTURE- DIFFERENT WAYS PEOPLE COME TO CHRIST!
15:7-21 Helpful information in relating to the primary S
Approach them as an honored friend first, not just to “get it done”
Relationships are the most important thing for a Steady and loyal person; Notice how God is enjoying his time with Abraham- look at 18:17-19
“I have known him”
They make the best friends because they are so loyal-we saw that in Abraham leaving his flocks to rescue Lot
Now Inspiring and Active people are also the most people oriented, but there is a difference- I’s love a crowd, but have so many friends they often really have no deep friendships
Talking in front of large crowds is difficult for an S; they have fewer friendships but know they’re friends deeply and richly
Tim Leary’s words to me as an I- “Everybody had a peace of Danny Campbell- I wanted my piece- it wasn’t that great!”
Give them time to process things and ask questions
Abraham needed more information, and God patiently gives it to him here in these verses that follow
S’s do not like change; They enjoy pleasing people and can consistently do the same job
Motivated by sweet and sincere opportunities to help others
Pressed for a decision, an S will agree because they value the relationship- that does not mean they will be wholehearted supporters
Sometimes leaders that are D’s and I’s think they have support from S’s- but they really don’t
Many a preacher has been frustrated by thinking there was wholehearted support for an initiative he had proposed, only to have almost no one show up for the actual event!
S may stand for Southerner here! No matter what, be sweet!
When an S is given the time to process a decision and agrees with the decision, no one will be a bigger supporter of the direction
I don’t know what I would do without the Steady and Loyal people in my life- this is what Elizabeth is like, my best friend and the best mother I know. We have a couple of staff members with this trait, and a host of wonderful Christians in the church that are just like this- not the most flashy people in the world, just faithful
Paula was a born into a wealthy family in Rome in A.D. 347. She grew up aristocratic and respected, but at age 33 she encountered Jesus Christ in a way that changed her life. She became friends with the great Bible translator Jerome and eventually left Rome to settle near him in Bethlehem.
Jerome was crusty and impatient, but Paula got along with him splendidly and aided him in his work. She established a nearby monastery where she and her co workers ministered to the poor and hungry. “What poor man, as he lay dying, was not wrapped in blankets given by Paula?” wrote Jerome. “What bedridden person was not supported from her purse?”
Jerome and Paula worked side by side, unmarried, as brother and sister. As Jerome labored to exhaustion, translating the Bible into Latin, Paula paid his expenses from her family inheritance and gathered supplies for his work. She copied his manuscripts. She studied Greek and Hebrew and critiqued his work. Jerome, who needed intellectual and critical stimulation, found her conversations invaluable.
-From This Verse, February 2nd, Robert J. Morgan
16:1-6 The Steady and Loyal Person Under Pressure
When pressured to accept an idea, an S will often give in for the sake of harmony rather than stand up and say, “no, that’s not a good idea.”
So they’ll go along with a bad idea, and sadly, if they’re not careful, they’ll go along with a sinful idea
Sarah was impatient and ready to have this plan happen that Abraham kept trusting God for
At a minimum Abraham should have gone to God about it- but to please Sarah and get her off his back he gave in
Under pressure the primary S becomes subservient, insecure, fearful, weak willed, and withdrawn
Other people sometimes take advantage of this in them- so a S Christian that loves the Lord winds up getting into sin because they can’t say no to a “friend” or family member
Note the terrible position this puts them in; verses 4-6
Abraham as an S failed to stand up to Sarah- he did what she asked him to do and then she got mad at him for doing what she asked him to do- and as she got madder, he got weaker, even tolerating her harsh treatment of Hagar
Now have you ever had that go on- you did what the person asked you to do and then they got mad at you for doing it
This is a lesson for all of us- we may as well do what God wants on the front end- because when we do wrong we’re going to see the ramifications of our bad decisions keep coming back to us
Abraham not saying no to Sarah has led to thousands of years of conflict in the Middle East
As an aside, I love the fact that Abraham never stopped loving Ishmael, even though the promises of God would be fulfilled through Isaac. For Abraham’s sake God blessed Ishmael also. And at Abraham’s funeral, both Ishmael and Isaac were there to bury their father.
Hopefully that’s a word for someone here this morning- keep loving all the babies you made!
Here’s what the Primary “S” needs to learn:
Need to learn to say no to someone who wants you to do wrong, being more loyal to God than to that person
When you know something is wrong, you need to say so and not be loyal to the point of joining someone in sin
Particularly important in a D/ S Marriage;
Note that particularly when the wife is a D and the husband is an S
Women who are D’s often accuse their S husbands of being passive and not leading- that’s not true at all- he’s just going to lead in a more quiet way- and you both need to meet in the middle to have a better marriage
S husband, you need to be more assertive in leading your family. D wife, you need to stop running over your spouse!
As much as we don’t like it, change provides opportunity
S’s do not like change- These are hard days to be an S, because change has become the order of the day- somewhere the D’s and the I’s took over and the pace of change is astronomically different than it was 100 years ago
These days you can’t count on loyalty from your company, the players on your favorite team, even in your home-
But if you just resist change because it’s change, it won’t be long before you become a fossil
Keep your eyes on Jesus and the unchangeable gospel, and then embrace helpful change- like how technology allows us unprecedented opportunity to reach the nations
Boldness and taking risks is sometimes necessary
I think of the step of faith that one of our members took a few years ago in opening his own computer business- what a risk!
But oh how that risk has been blessed of the Lord
I think of someone obeying the call to full time ministry, packing up and going off to seminary-
If God is calling you, say yes!
Let’s Pray!