(Genesis 12: 1 – 8)
2. The Price of Separation: A. The example of Abraham: Another price we must pay is the price of separation. There are many things we must separate ourselves from in order to attain greatness. Abraham’s parents originate from Ur of the Chaldeans, an idol-worshipping nation. In order for Abraham to attain God’s destiny of greatness, he was called out of his home country to go into Canaan, the land of promise. Because of his obedience, God said to Abraham in Gen. 12:2-3 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”. Abraham’s act of obedience about separation resulted in God’s blessing. When we separate ourselves from our past and everything that may represent an idol, we will attract the covenant blessing of God upon our lives. When Abraham left his family to go into the Promised Land, he took Lot with him. The presence of Lot in Abraham’s life prevented the fullness of God’s blessing upon his life. He had to separate himself from Lot in order to possess his inheritance. There may be things in our lives that represent Lot and until we separate ourselves from them, we may not experience the greatness that God has destined for us.B. The example of Elisha: Another person that paid the price of separation was Elisha, the servant of Elijah. When Elijah was about to go to heaven, the sons of the prophets tried to discourage Elisha from following Elijah, but Elisha refused to be discouraged (II Kings 2:1-3). He separated himself from the sons of the prophets and unto Elijah his master. Because of his decision of obedience, Elisha received a double portion of the anointing upon Elijah and he became a great prophet of God. When we separate ourselves from the world and unto God, we will become very great, even greater than Elisha the prophet. C. The example of Daniel: Daniel and his friends also paid the price of separation (Daniel 1:1-15). They separated themselves from the other Jewish exiles who ate the king’s food in Babylon. They refused to defile themselves with the food offered unto idols. Daniel 1:8 says “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself”. Because they paid the price of separation, they became very great in Babylon. We also must separate ourselves from anything that can defile us in order to attain our greatness in God.