Our Favorite Things: Control

Brian Priebe | Executive Pastor | December 17, 2023

Genesis 12:2 (NIV)
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

Genesis 12:10-13 (NIV)
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

Genesis 15:5b-6 (NIV)
“Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 16:1-2, 4a (NIV)
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

Two Main Areas of Control:

Control of People

Control of Environment

Genesis 22:1-3 (NIV)
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

Genesis 22:6-8 (NIV)
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

James 4:13-16 (NIV)
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

Reflection Questions:

1. Read Genesis 22:1-18. Discuss Abraham's trust in God's provision in challenging circumstances.
2. Share the areas of your life where controlling your own plan is easier than trusting God's plan.
3. Read James 4:13-16. What is James' criticism and his expectation for how we go about day to day?
4. Of the idols discussed in this series (money, comfort, relationships, reputation and control), which is the area you identify the most challenging for you? Is there any step you plan to take to move forward?

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Notes Page: https://journeybozeman.com/sermons/notes/2023.12.17.pdf