Today I want to talk to the first generation believers. Those of you who are starting a new lineage, liked we talked about two weeks ago. And that is that you are creating a new lineage – you are building something so powerful. Now in that same situation, Abraham had very specific instructions from God:
Leave your country, leave your people, and leave your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great and you will be a blessing – Genesis 12.1-2
Now, God is speaking to you today – and He wants to make you a great nation, He wants to make your name great and He wants you to be a blessing! That’s awesome news isn’t it. If you struggle to believe that, spend some time this week meditating on it: God wants you to be a blessing, God wants you to be great, God wants to make something out of you! No matter your past, no matter your heritage, no matter your background.
But the first instruction God gave Abram, in fact the very first word God told Abram when He spoke to him wasn’t “Great” or “Faith” or “Righteousness” or “Covenant”, but it was “LEAVE”.
You will never be great in the kingdom of God unless you realize the power of leaving. Now remember Abraham was the first of a generational line to believe in a God that his parents and grandparents never knew. That is a major deal whenever it happens, and there is always a great battle when a first generational believer comes to Christ. And the key to winning this battle is not fighting hard, but learning to leave!
You have to leave your country (that’s a place), you have to leave your people (that’s your culture), and you have to leave your father’s house (that’s your family). God had a plan for Abraham that would change the world, but it couldn’t happen with Abraham staying in his father’s house.
This leaving is not just a physical move – it is a change of culture, a change of identity, a change of thinking, a change of everything. It was going to affect how he related to his nation, his culture, his tribe, his family, habits, mindset, his paradigms – everything. If Abraham did not leave, he could not have done what God wanted him to do!
No-one has to grasp this “LEAVE” in the way a first generational believer does. In fact, if you are a first generational believer, you are doing the leaving for your children’s children! There are battles you face being a second generational believer, but nothing like the battle of learning to leave. I have seen many people fail to learn to leave and cut short their productivity, their fruitfulness and their discipleship. I have seen people fail to disassociate with the idols of their ancestors, I have found people who cannot worship in a multi-cultural church because they never reach the point of maturity where they can step out of their cultural norms, I have seen people who have never grown in Christ because they are still tied to the apron strings of heathen mums and dads.
We need to learn to leave, and as best we can on our side, leave with dignity and keep the door open. And you need to realize that in Abraham’s day there wasn’t anywhere else to go – your whole livelihood was in the father’s house. No one went to uni and chose what they wanted to do, they did what dad did. Walking away from your family left you with nothing, but that’s ok because God is your source. I have seen too many people become Christians, move out from mum and dad, but still are totally dominated by them mentally, emotionally, financially. The old family line doesn’t easily let go and they never grow in Christ.
So the first word that God has to say to every first generational believer is what He said to Abram: LEAVE. It sound easy, but as many of you know, it is not. It is hard work, but the lineage you create is worth it. The fruit of the wisdom of learning to leave will change the lives of your children’s children.
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