Genesis 12:5 – And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Hello readers, we are on the verge of ending what has been a pretty turbulent and crazy and wild year. In amongst all the drama, the thing that matters most still is reaching people for Jesus Christ. Perhaps we lost sight of that. Perhaps we’ve got all caught up and carried away in all the wrong things in life. Perhaps we need to step outside Herod’s palace to once again see that guiding star in the night sky. The question we are asking today is… Who are you taking to heaven with you? How many souls are going with you to the promised land? I’d never noticed the simple truth in this verse until today. Look at the verse quoted above… Abram took a lot of people with him into Canaan. He wasn’t the only bloke who went in… his wife did, his nephew did, and a whole heap of people did, souls who the Bible says he had gotten in Haran. He took some people with him. Who are you getting? Jesus said if you follow him he’d make you fishers of men… have you caught anything yet?

How is your life going to influence others? Is it going to influence others at all? Is your life going to the cry of vanity, vanity, vanity when all is said and done? Can God use you? Today, how many souls are going with you to the promised land? God had made Abraham a promise. There was a land that God wanted Abraham (then called Abram) to go. Same for you. God’s call is upon your life, the call to be saved, the call to obey him and the call to serve him. You have a place to go, you’re on a journey, that’s why the Bible says we are strangers and pilgrims in the earth. The thing is, Abraham knew God’s word and he believed it… that’s why he obeyed it. We have so much trouble obeying God because we really don’t believe him. Even then Abraham had taken his time getting into Canaan, and when he got there, a famine came and he was leaving it. Get there and don’t leave people. God has a promised land for all our lives and ultimately we live in the hope of the future promised land of heaven and eternity with Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:4 – Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We have been given exceeding great and precious promises. Just as Abraham had God’s promise to him, we do also, and not just one either. We have the promise of salvation to all those who call upon the name of the Lord, the promise of the Holy Spirit to those who believe, the promise of full and eternal deliverance from sin and death and hell, the promise of future glory and a new heaven and a new earth… these are just some of the promises that God has for us. How many people are you going to take to these promises? Many people don’t like that kind of land. What kind of land is under your feet?

The land of promise is found only in obeying God’s word. You can’t see it, you can’t get directions to it, you can’t enter it, you can’t obtain it… if you do it all your way. This is the land that you get through believing God’s word. Through trusting and obeying his word in your life.  Abraham had ears to hear, he had eyes to see, he had a heart to believe, he had a mind and will to obey the word of God.

You can’t take anyone to any promised land if you aren’t going there yourself. Maybe the reason we aren’t reaching others for Christ is because we are not right with God ourselves, perhaps not even saved ourselves. Look at this for a verse in the Bible… Daniel 12:3 – And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Think about where this verse is placed in the Bible, it’s in Daniel, and there’s a lot of prophecy in it of what is going to happen at the end of world. At the end, tehre’s going to be some shining… those shining will be those who shone in this dark world.

You and I were commanded by Jesus Christ to let our light shine. We have to let it shine because most of the time we are covering it up. See, shining isn’t me thinking… I’m… trying… to… shine. Shining just happens because Jesus Christ shines through us. His life and light radiates through a saved child of God. Of course, you can’t shine if you have no light… and we have no light in and of ourselves… Jesus Christ is the light of the world. In order to get light, we need to get saved, we need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we need to get in his word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

These people who have led others to Jesus Christ shine in this world, and they will shine for ever and ever the Bible says. That’s quite a lot of shining. How’s your shining going? Have you been blacked out by rebellion, disobedience and sin? Moses’ face shone when he came down from the mount. Why did he shine? Because he’d been with the Lord. The reason we don’t shine is because we have no relationship and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Psalm 126:6 – He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. What a verse. The Bible has no promise that it will be easy, but there should be some sheaves that you’re bringing with you. It all starts with the precious seed. That precious seed is the gospel of Jesus Christ, it’s the word of God, it’s THE truth. That’s what brings rejoicing, without doubt, because there’s no doubt about this truth or any of the truths of the word of the Lord. When souls are delivered from the power of darkness… it makes it all worth it.

Psalm 30:5  says that weeping may endure for a night… but joy cometh in the morning. You know, there’s a morning coming… the bright and morning star called Jesus Christ. What’s going to be in the morning for you? I remember back to Judges 16, Samson was deep in sin, and the Philistines were laying in wait outside of the house he was in… with a harlot for the night. They said… in the morning we will kill him. For some, the morning which could have been joy and rejoicing and shining, will instead turn into weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth when you’ve rejected Jesus Christ, you’ve trodden under foot his blood, you’ve slapped the hand outstretched to you and snuffed the air with the same breath that was granted you of the Almighty.

How many souls are going with you to the promised land? Abraham took some souls with him into Canaan. It wasn’t just him, he took people. Why should this world and Satan claim all the souls? Jesus Christ crossed a stormy lake to claim the soul of one filled with thousands of devils. Why don’t we have that care for souls that the Saviour we profess has? Eternity is on the line people, your soul and the souls of others are on the line. Your obedience to God’s word counts, your life counts… look how it counted here… none of these people would’ve gone in if Abraham wasn’t going. It took someone who knew, who heard, who trusted, who believed, who obeyed the word of God.

Who’s going with you? Jude 1:22,23 – And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. You can make a difference. You can pull someone out the fire. There’s a lot of people destined for eternal hell fire, can God use you to make a difference? Or instead you’re the one that needs reaching… when we should be reaching others for Christ, holding forth the word of life… we instead are the ones who need reaching! No wonder so many will be ashamed at the coming of Christ, instead of making a difference instead here we are feeding our flesh, exactly contrary to what we are instructed to do in Jude!

Abraham took some people with him to the promised land. Who are you taking with you to heaven? Who are you taking to truth? Who are you taking to God’s promises? Are you content with seeing people lost and in darkness and in sin, without hope, without joy, without truth, without light? God’s got a lot better for us, he loved us all so much he sent his Son to die for all of us. God uses people to reach others, and he can and will use you. Souls are depending on you. It’s not about you being great, it’s because you care, it’s because you’re going in a direction that lost souls in the darkness think hey, I want what he or she has. Abraham had some ability to impact others because he knew God’s word and obeyed it. That’s how you make a difference, when you’re born again of the same precious seed that you then bear to others in all seasons. Jesus said if he was lifted up that he would draw all men unto him. We need to lift Jesus Christ up… they’re not following us, they’re coming to Christ. The promises of God are to this whole world, salvation is for any who will believe, all these promises are extended, why not take some souls with you to the promised land?

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