Bible Text: Gen 12:1-5
Partnership literally means when two or more people come together to achieve a common goal.
The focus of this content isn’t about the partnership with human beings, but with God. God is the best partner you must have to be fruitful in life.
Having him on your side means everything else gets fixed, including partnership with people. You need God at every moment of the journey. That is the starting point; as any relationship that will lead you to greatness is initiated by God. That is to tell you that no one can stand in the place of God.
Gen. 12:1-5 clearly documented how Abraham became fruitful through his partnership with God.
Gen 12:4 – So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
The three key areas Abraham partnered with God were in: Obedience, Sacrifice, and Faith.
1. Partnership Through Obedience:
Obedience means compliance to an order, request or law. It also means submission to authority.
Obedience is not an option in partnership with God. Abraham partnered with God in total obedience. He left his father’s house without argument or excuse. He left his family, his comfort zone, for an entirely new place to start a new beginning.
God might have been ministering to you to leave or move away from a place of familiarity, to embrace the new He’s leading you to. What you need to do is to come to a place of obedience, for you to experience fruitfulness.
Staying in your familiar place for too long can keep you in the prison of limitation. It is to your benefit to obey God in the face of daring risk. In the case of Abraham, his departure was necessary for his growth. You can’t get to a new place without leaving the old.
Abraham also partnered with God in obedience by giving up what was important to him. According to Gen 21:8-14, he sent Hagai and Ishmael away on God’s command. You must be ready to give up some comfort and security. You must be ready to give up what you treasure the most for God.
Now ask yourself, what is too big or too much that you cannot let go for God? You are only limiting the extent of your fruitfulness.
2. Partnership Through Sacrifice:
Sacrifice goes beyond slaughtering of animals. Sacrifice is when you decide to surrender a possession, whatever it is at all.
There must be something to bring to the table for the basis of forming the partnership agreement. Abraham was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
In Gen 22:15-18:
(15) And the angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven. (16) and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, (17) I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, (18) and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Even without knowing what was in it for him, Abraham sacrificed Isaac as a seed, and he reaped the fruit of multiplication by being the father of nations.
God loves sacrifice and it is those who are ready to sacrifice to God that can enjoy his fruitfulness. You can sacrifice your time, talent, treasure, money, body, etc., for God. Rom 12.1 beg us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service.
3. Partnership Through Faith:
This is the bedrock for all other forms of partnership (obedience & sacrifice) earlier mentioned.
In the book of Heb. 11:6 – But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. To go far with God, you need faith. To stand with God, you need faith.
Say this prayer: O Lord, help me to partner with you for the rest of my life, in Jesus name.
