SERMON NOTES

Genesis 13:8

The success of the team is not just contingent upon who they have on the court or the field, but the success of the team is contingent upon whether or not those people are in the right positions.  It’s not just people, it’s place. 

Put people where they NEED to be, not necessarily where they want to be.  

An associate is what I call a “tweener” position. It’s not evil, it’s just unique.  A person that’s not evil enough to be an enemy, but not safe enough to be a friend. 

  • Doesn’t mean that the fruit for friendship is not there or is not developing.  But it might mean that you might have the time or the desire to do the kind of inspection that would determine whether or not you want to take the relationship beyond the surface level.

  • An associate may get your stuff, but a friend gets YOU. 

  • An associate may get your skill, but a friend gets your SELF.  

    • ability/transparency. 

    • With someone/on someone

  • An associate relationship is a result of intersecting schedules or interests.

Vision is a picture of God’s preferred future. 

“I wanna make your name great”

In order for me to do what’s never been done, you gotta become someone you’ve never been (not someTHING, someONE).  Abram’s not enough. 

  • You ready for me to blow you up?? I’m getting ready to blow everything up. 

  • You can’t receive vision without disruption

  • People who are unwilling to let God disrupt their life, are people who will live without clarity. 

  • With vision comes disruption.

  • Moses had to move from his country, his family, his household.  You can’t become a new person without new influences. And I gotta move you, Abraham, because you’re going to shrink to the smallness of your circle. 

  • Right now, just go north.  Just walk, and as you walk, I’m going to make clear to you what the next steps are.  Before you want the next word, be a good steward of the last one. 

  • Maybe God is silent because He’s waiting on some of us to obey the last piece of instruction He gave us. 

Gen 13:1

The beauty of the Bible is in the detail. 

Sometimes when God pushes people into an uncomfortable future, they want to carry something with them from their past. 

God made Abraham wealthy & influential...Lot got the overflow of Abraham’s blessing. 

He probably starts confusing association with personal anointing. 

This tension is created, the dynamic starts to shift--that’s what happens when you carry Lot further than you’re supposed to carry it. Lot was a good relationship for Abram, not Abraham. Some relationships are at their best when you’re at your worst. Abraham addresses the awkwardness. The physical separation can be a metaphor for emotional separation. Abraham acknowledged that this relationship isn’t what it used to be.  

I’m not willing to lose my herds over you. 

Priority for Abraham was distance, not a destination. “Which ever way you go, I’ll go the opposite.” He didn’t mess up the relationship he just acknowledged that they weren’t close.  If I have to manufacture passion to fight for this--I shouldn’t. Many people mismanage this. You become distracted from purpose and you don’t make deposits in the most important relationships, because you're treating Lot like your friend instead of your associate. 

3 TYPES OF ASSOCIATES

  1. Parasite.

    1. Lives and is sustained at the expense of the host. 

    2. For this relationship to live, I got to die.

    3. They cause: sleep disorders (you can’t rest), teeth grinding (you gotta grind necessarily), immune system dysfunction (you become more vulnerable, because you're depleted your defenses)

  2. Partner

    1. Friends build into you, partners are people you build with. 

    2. These people want my gifts, not me. There’s a spirit of friendship, but it’s really my gift. And that’s not evil, it’s a fact. ‘Cause if you weren’t that good, ya’ll might not be that close. It is a transactional relationship.

  3. Pace Makers

    1. Don’t talk to all the time, but they give you that boost.  Battery pack. Good periodically, not good consistently. 

    2. You don’t want them under your skin too long they might cause infection.

Just cause you’re not in pain, don’t mean you’re healed.  

DISCUSSION:

  1. How do you think this message will help you in your life?

  2. “Friends build into you, partners are people you build with.” Who do you have in your life that builds into you? Who are you building with?

  3. “The beauty of the Bible is in the detail.” What do you think this means?

STUDY AT HOME:

  1. Find a detail in Genesis 13 to research and study. Bring notes in and tell the group about it.

  2. Try to come back next week with a Bible or God question to ask the group and get their opinion on.

Comment