1. Building With God’s Blueprint

2. Genesis 12:1-4 The Call of Abram
To answer a grand calling The Almighty needs a person who has a grand character.
In order to:
-Become a great nation
-have ALL families on earth (NLT) be blessed through him
God needed Abram to become a man of great character. He was going to have to become a man of tremendous faithfulness. He was going to have to be a steady force who could withstand ridicule, criticism and setbacks. The Lord’s plan to build character in Abraham would follow a blueprint of sorts.
All structures, particularly the great one’s require a blueprint.
The Call of Abram

3. The Building Plan: Share the plan Genesis 12
Repeat the plan Genesis 15
Repeat the plan again Genesis 17
Endure criticism Genesis 18
Demonstrate ability to deliver Genesis 19
Face Setbacks Genesis 20
Time…Time…more Time…
God can be considered the greatest builder of all time. The scope of the universe, the complexity of the planet which we inhabit, the intricacy of the living things that inhabit the earth make that clear. God can build!
Those things are visible. What about things that are not though. Things like character. Is God a master builder there too? You bet your Big toes he is!
With Abraham the process unfolded something like this…(Screen)
Perhaps you have heard Abram’s story and just sort of figured that God made the promise and really took his time to deliver sort of as a way of testing Abraham’s faith or maybe his patience.
What if that is just a smaller part of something bigger. What if Abram at 75 (when he was called in Genesis 12) was not yet the man he needed to be in order to answer the calling of God for his life? What if the 25 years time that passed between promise and fulfillment was about building his character?

4. Because…
The truth is that you could scour the scriptures looking for the man or woman who was “set to jet” and ready in all respects to answer the calling that God had for them and what you’d find is that NO ONE is really ready. In fact a case can even be made that Jesus had some things that he learned (Hebrews 5:8) in preparation for the calling God had for him.
God build character. And all building takes time. Time can’t be rushed along. “It takes a year to get a year’s experience.”
Building can be delayed though when we don’t show up to work.

5. “I’ll do it myself.”
Sometimes we’d rather chart our own course and grow into who we feel we’d like to be without interference.
While there is much to be said to realizing our potential and accomplishing our dreams we MUST remember that we are the created, not the creator.
The purpose for which we are sent and to which we are called is way bigger than ourselves.
Imagine if someone like Jason Weijola simply said “hey I’m going to use these gifts just for me” or if Aaron Arndt just used his work ethic to build up his own nest or if Mike Gibbs took his earning potential and kept it just for the pursuit of catching Wisconsin’s biggest Muskie…so much would be lost to the community in the pursuit of personal goals. If Lincoln would have just stuck with being a lawyer, if Tubman would have just made it north and never gone back. So much would be lost. Honestly, we don’t all get a “grand calling”…but we can be assured that will NEVER get one if we decide not to open ourselves up to God’s calling…settling instead for doing it ourselves, in our own way, at our own time.

6. There are times of course where we know the calling, we agree with the calling and even approve of the calling. But, we wish that it would come to someone else or at a more convenient time. The calling of God is expensive. The calling of God can be inconvenient. The calling of God is thrilling and frightening simultaneously.
God calls us to be his hands and feet for affecting change in the world, for helping the needy and defending the fatherless. God employs us in this ministry of reconciliation and bids us to make new inroads and create new friendships in order to help people find salvation.
Imagine if the person who reached out to you would have listened to the voice of fear and skipped out on sharing their faith with you. What affect would that have had?
God’s blueprint is daring, but that is also a part of what makes it awesome!
“I’m Afraid”

7. Your life has a calling. At minimum you are called to live in holiness, you are called to go and make disciples and you are called to engage in all things as though they are a part of your offering to God. You might also have a deeper calling. A calling to lead a Service Project, a calling to fund missions, a calling to write a book or a song, a calling to lead a ministry or a calling to go out on a church planting.
ALL of God’s calling is to greatness, because God is great. If God is involved, it is great. Don’t compare callings. Just celebrate that you are called and listen to it and go for it.
Realize that when God calls he also equips. He builds your character to ready you to meet the calling.
God isn’t finished.

8. Build your life around God’s calling for you
Build your life around God’s calling for you. Construct the very focus and direction of your life, geography, resources and relationships on the Rock.
They best place to be is wherever God has called you.
We’ve got an idea for our lives and the way we’d like to have them go. We drive in that general direction unless and until God calls us to turn.

9. Genesis 17:1-7
Big callings require big characters. The size of the calling which God gives is always in direct proportion to the size of our character.
Abram meant exalted father.
Abraham meant father of many.
24 years into the process God changed the name of this man he had called. He had been built through tests, setbacks, trials, criticisms, observations and lots of time. He was fallible along the way, but in general he stayed the course, stuck to the blueprint of God and was made into someone God could use.
All I want is to be useful. I makes no difference to me if I am a leader or not, if I am working for the church or not, if I am comfortable or not. Am I useful? If so than I am happy. Each of us can be useful.

10. Paul’s Letter to the Romans
I wrap up the message by highlighting what Paul the Apostle wrote in regards to Abraham in Roman’s 4 and 5…
Read Romans 4:18 thru 5:5
God built character in Abraham to equip him for the great calling he had for his life. That building blueprint was of God’s design. Sometimes we just want to do it ourselves. Sometimes we’re just afraid. Abraham had those options as well. But, he chose to trust the master builder…and all nations on earth were blessed because he did.
Follow Abraham’s example, follow God’s blueprint and understand that the hardships in the process may very well be God building in you the character that is going to be required for greater things.