08/02/2024
LIFE OF A SOJOURNER
A sojourner is simply someone who lives away from home or A person who resides temporarily in a place. simple as that
This Hebrew term and its translation convey the basic idea that a person (or group) is residing, either temporarily or permanently, in a community and place that is not primarily their own and is dependent on the “good-will” of that community for their continued existence. (GOOGLE)
The dictionary definition of sojourn is “a temporary stay.” The Bible frequently refers to God's people, both the Israelites in the Old Testament and Christians in the New Testament, as sojourners and exiles on the earth.
Sojourning means pilgrimage, one who views life not as a destination but as a process, a continuous journey.
Earth is an example of a pilgrimage for every being in it. No matter how long you last on earth you’ll eventually leave it one day, The bible teaches us that we are sojourners. Our permanent home is in God's kingdom, and our earthly life is—in a way—like that of a traveler
TRACING STEPS BACK TO THE LIFE OF OUR FATHER ABRAHAM
From the beginning of time, starting with Adam & Eve, mankind has desired to be a settler. In Genesis 1:28, God’s first command to mankind, He says “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. In Genesis 9:1, as Noah and his family get off the Ark, God tells them “be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth.” It is clear that our Creator’s desire is to fill the earth with worshippers of Him.
As you continue in God’s Story, you find the descendents of Noah, all living together in one city with one common language, saying in Genesis 11:4 “Let us build for ourselves a city with a tower, that reaches to the heavens, so that we can make a name for ourselves, and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” It was also clear to the descendents of Noah, what God’s plans and purposes were. They were to be sojourners and not settlers, yet they chose to directly disobey God’s desire. In Genesis 11:8 we see that God gets what He desires, whether men obey or not. For in an instant God scattered these people over all the earth, confused their language, and they stopped building the city. We see that it is God himself not man that created the world’s nations, the diversity of cultures, languages, and peoples.
The more we get know God and His Story, we learn that God’s Story is an epic. An epic is a story big enough to live in. Sojourning and being a sojourner is all about learning to live in the context of God’s Story, not trying to make our own little story. Mankind’s search and strive for independence of its Creator God is evident through the stories of the Bible
TRACING STEPS BACK TO THE LIFE OF OUR FATHER ABRAHAM
In the story of Abram, the power of the story is not about the great things that Abram did. Abram, was a descendent of one of the seventy nations God created at the Tower of Babel. When you compare what the people wanted at the Tower of Babel, to what God promised Abram they are the same. In Genesis 12:1-3:
“The Lord said to Abram leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 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. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.”
The power behind the story of Abraham is that through Abraham’s faith to obey God kept His promise to make Abraham’s name great, Abraham’s family into a great nation, and to bless all the peoples of the earth for all generations through him. The story of Abraham is not about him getting to the promise land, it is about Abraham being dependent on his Creator God. It was God that changed his name to Abraham, which means father of many nations. The story is about Abraham leaving all that he knew to follow a God he did not know, to a place that God had not even told him. Do you feel the extreme dependence that Abraham must have felt? Abraham was a sojourner, a Gentile, a man from the nations, who was wealthy, and a prominent member of his community. God asked Abraham to leave all this stability behind to follow Him.
God is asking us to follow this great example of pilgrimage ourselves, today in this modern age. The American Dream says we are to settle, stay close to family, make lots of money, take care of our family, and have a nice home, with as much security and stability as possible.
From the beginning of time, mankind has been fighting this battle to settle and not be scattered over the face of the earth.
Are you going to sojourn or settle?
IF YOU PLAN TO SETTLE HOLD LIFE LIKE ITS YOURS this is for you
remember if you walk the same path for 10years you'll see same thing for 10 years and only a settler could walk a path for 10years.. WE ARE ALL SOJOURNER nobody own the world, dont hold it tight like its yours....
IRE oooo
