As a pastor and speaker, I’ve encountered countless individuals struggling to break free from generational patterns and fully embrace God’s calling on their lives. Today, I want to share some powerful insights from Genesis 11:31 that can help us understand why we often settle for less than God’s best and how we can push through to experience His complete blessing.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – A Phrase That Never Should Have Been
We’ve all heard the phrase “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” But what if I told you this phrase should never have existed in the first place? God works generationally; one generation’s “no” can become the next generation’s curse. Conversely, one generation’s “yes” can unleash freedom for future generations.
Consider this: Your decision to surrender to Jesus fully has implications far beyond your own life. It transmits down through the generations, shaping the spiritual landscape for your children, grandchildren, and beyond.
Breaking the Cycle: My Personal Journey
Let me share a bit of my own story. My biological father was a murderer, and I didn’t inherit what most would consider a “nice” middle-class lifestyle. On one side of my family, we have Sicilian mob connections. On the other, we’re hillbillies from West Virginia. In other words, I come from a background steeped in “sin of every flavor.”
When I set out to start my own family, I faced a significant challenge: How do you become what you’ve never seen? Many of you can relate. You might be trying to be a loving father without ever having experienced one yourself. Or you’re striving to be a nurturing mother without that example in your own life.
Here’s the tricky part – we often make inner vows never to become like our parents, but the devil has a way of getting us to the same destination by a different route. I vowed never to cheat on my wife, yet I did. I swore I’d never become an addict, but I fell into addiction. The enemy knows us better than we know ourselves, and he’s been playing this game for thousands of generations.
The Power of Humility and God’s Grace
Let this serve as a reminder: If you’re a Christian, you did nothing to save yourself. All of our good works were like filthy rags before the King. We need to start there. If we’re going to have a competition in the local church, let it be a humility competition.
God’s Generational Plan: The Story of Terah and Abraham
Now, let’s dive into Genesis 11:31. It reads, “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.”
The phrase should have been “the God of Terah, Abraham, and Isaac,” but something wasn’t completed in Terah’s generation. That assignment was then passed down to Abraham, who had to figure out how to be what he had never seen.
Settling for Less: The Danger of Partial Obedience
Terah set out for Canaan but settled in Harran – only halfway to his intended destination. This is a powerful metaphor for our spiritual lives. How many of us have made progress but settled for partial obedience?
Maybe you’re thinking, “Pastor, I drink less than I used to,” or “I’ve switched from cigarettes to vaping because it’s healthier.” Perhaps you’re saying, “I only relapse into pornography occasionally now.” But hear me clearly: If the devil can’t stop you completely, he’ll try to make you comfortable enough to settle for partial obedience.
The Holy Spirit is calling you not just away from what you used to be, but into what you’re supposed to be. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed – not partially free, but completely free.
The Blockage in Your Breakthrough: That Last 1%
Here’s a hard truth: 99% surrender and obedience is still 100% disobedience in God’s eyes. The blockage in your breakthrough might be that last 1% you’re holding onto. God wants to bring you over into 100% surrender. That’s where the favor is. That’s where the blessing flows.
You’re Never Too Old for God’s Purpose
Some might argue that Terah didn’t complete his journey because he was too old. But Scripture tells us he lived another 70 years after settling in Harran. Age is never an excuse with God. Just look at Smith Wigglesworth, a plumber who became a powerful healing evangelist in his retirement years.
Obedience is an accelerator. When you give God your complete “yes,” He can make up for lost time and put you right back on track as if you’d never messed up.
The Root of Settling: Idol Worship
Joshua 24:2 reveals the real reason Terah settled: “Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.”
Terah’s settling was evidence of idol worship. He began worshiping other gods, and that spiritual compromise was passed down as an inheritance. This explains so much about our own struggles.
Faith: The Key to Fulfilling God’s Call
Hebrews 11:8 tells us, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
Faith is the key. When you feel anxiety, fear, or panic, what you reach for reveals what you worship. Many of us are like Terah, reaching for different “gods” for comfort in various situations. But true faith means reaching for the one true God in every circumstance.
Worship as Spiritual Warfare
Let me share a personal story about the power of faith and worship. As a teenager, my family faced eviction. Instead of panicking, I turned on worship music and began praising God. My mother joined me, and miraculously, while we were still worshiping, someone knocked on our door with a check for the exact amount we needed for rent.
Stop judging my worship if you don’t know my warfare. Worship has gotten me out of situations where no human hand could help. I refuse to worship other gods – I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Switching from Plans to Commands
The American church often makes plans, but the true church obeys commands. It’s time to switch from our own plans to God’s commands. We don’t need a plan – we have a Savior who has the plan. He’s driving, and our job is to obey.
My journey into full-time ministry wasn’t about asking God to put me there. It was about being faithful with the harvest field right outside my front door. When I was faithful with that, He sent me to an even more challenging field in New York City.
The Power of “Nevertheless”
Jesus, facing the cross, prayed, “Let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done.” That word “nevertheless” is the key to transition. It’s not that you don’t feel fear or reluctance – it’s what you do in the midst of those feelings that matters.
We need a “nevertheless” mindset. “I don’t want to evangelize… nevertheless.” “I don’t want to be generous with my finances… nevertheless.” It’s in these moments of choosing God’s will over our own that we step into our true destiny.
Breaking Family Patterns: Sometimes the Old Must Die
Acts 7:2-4 tells us that God appeared to Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. God told him to leave his country and his people. But it wasn’t until after his father’s death that Abraham finally left Harran for Canaan.
Sometimes, the previous generations – or their ways of thinking – have to die for us to finish what God started in our bloodline. This isn’t about disrespecting our elders, but about breaking free from limiting patterns and beliefs that hold us back from God’s best.
Dream Bigger: A Personal Story of Faith
Let me close with a personal story that illustrates the power of dreaming bigger. Years ago, when we were struggling financially, I overheard my single mother in the kitchen, pounding her fist on the table and declaring, “Dream bigger, dream bigger!”
She later explained that as she was doing dishes, God challenged her to envision greater things for our family. “What if God could use our family to touch nations? What if God could use my son to preach?” The Holy Spirit kept prompting her to dream bigger.
Years later, I watched my mother’s face appear on movie screens across America in 2,000 theaters, encouraging single mothers to dream bigger. God had been faithful to that kitchen table declaration.
Your Call to Action: Dream Bigger and Go All the Way
It’s time for you to dream bigger. Good is the enemy of great. You are called to be an Abraham, to walk fully into your destiny. The generations that come after you will forever thank you for your “yes” to God.
I challenge you today: Make the decision to go 100% in the direction God has for you. Don’t stop halfway. Surrender all your thoughts, desires, and plans to Him. Declare with me: “Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done. I will dream bigger. I’ll go all the way. No turning back.”
Your obedience today could change the course of generations to come. Will you answer the call?
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