Genesis 12:1 was a very instrumental verse for me. When I was working as an engineer in San Diego, I was on the phone with my dad who was in Los Angeles. I was explaining to him that I believed God wanted me involved in some form of full-time ministry. My dad (not a Christian) said “There is no god who would tell somebody to leave his family or his country,” and he slammed down the phone (my dad has never hung up on me before). At once, I remembered Genesis 12 where the God of the Bible told Abraham to leave his country, his people and his father’s household. My dad did not know the God of the Bible. It was at that point that I knew I needed to refocus my energy on preparing for the ministry — 12 months later, I quit my job and started full-time study in the seminary. As a missionary once told me “You cannot tell other people about an Awesome God if you are unwilling to follow this Awesome God.” Until that phone call, I was not following the Awesome God I claimed to trust in.
The calling of Abraham was a call of faith. He was called to a place unknown by a God Whom he did not fully know. I have often had plans for the next year, next three years, next five years — oddly, very few of them have ever come through. Yet, God has never left me. There are times in which God’s calling will take us into the unknown and into unchartered territories. As Pastor Bert said on Sunday, our security is not in anything on earth but only on God — He is the only One Whom will never fail. Indeed, there is a Great Adventure ahead but unless we are willing to heed the Lord’s call “Come and follow me”, we will never be his true disciples.
-Alex Chow
This was the introductory sermon of the year and a continuation of our series. You can find the entire series at the BCEC Sermon Page or listen to last week’s sermon directly – The Great Adventure.