This is probably dating some of us.
Remember Superman?
This is a little more up to date.
Or this.
Maybe this man? Or James Tiberius
Kirk.
Someone that you respected -
looked up to - that had an impact on your life.
For many of us it was President Reagan. For
some it was this man. For
many its been Billy Graham.
This morning we’re beginning a study of the
life of Abraham - focusing on lessons in faith. Thinking
through a top ten list of the most significant
people in the Bible - or just the top 5 - who’d be
on that list?
Jesus -
God - number one of course. Moses. Paul. David. Without
question - Abraham would be on that list.
Judaism - Islam - Christianity -
all trace themselves back to Abraham. Abraham’s
a man that God spoke with - ate with - incredibly
blessed - used - holds up as an example to us - be
like Abraham.
An example to us of a man who lived by
faith - someone we should look up to - that we
should pattern our lives after.
What should be encouraging for us
- the more we get into this study - is that unlike
some superheroes - who are larger than life -
we’re going to see that Abraham struggled with
faith just like we struggle in our faith. His
faith wavered.
He messed up. He had lessons to learn. Abraham
is a guy that we can relate to on the level of
where we live life.
And yet - what gives us hope - is that
through it all he grew in his relationship - his
faith in God.
We’re going to start our look at
Abraham - beginning in Genesis 11 - starting at
verse 31 - and get a running start at chapter 12.
Genesis 11 - starting at verse
31: Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the
son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his
daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they
went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in
order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went
as far as Haran, and settled there. The
days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and
Terah died in Haran.
Terah had three sons - Abram -
who was married to Sarai - Nahor - who was married
to Milcah - and Haran - who had at least three
children - one of whom was Lot. They
all lived in Ur - which is located here
in what is now southern Iraq. Here’s
a picture of what Ur looks like today.
Ur was a very sophisticated city. It had
great wealth - culture - a library - a university. There
were ziggurats - temples - office buildings - a
highly complex - literate civilization. The
religion of Ur was the usual mix of sacred
prostitution and idolatry. Like
everyone else in Ur - Abram was probably a
worshipper of the local Moon goddess.
In the book of Acts - Stephen
tells us that while Terah and his family were
living in Ur - while Abram is worshipping idols -
God broke into Abram’s life. God
commands Abram to leave Ur and head to a land that
God would show him.
Which is what verse 31 describes.
The family leaves Ur - travels as far as Haran -
located here - looks like this today. Then in
Haran - at the ripe old age of 205 - father Terah
dies.
Genesis 12 - verse 1: Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country, and from your
relatives and from your father’s house, to the
land which I will show you; and I will make you a
great nation, and I will bless you, and make your
name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I
will bless those who bless you, and the one who
curses you I will curse. And in you all the families
of the earth will be blessed.”
Verses 1 to 3 are the incredible offer that
God makes Abram -
absolutely mind boggling. Walk
with me through this offer. There
are two parts to this offer that we need to grab
on to.
The first part is what God commands Abram to
do. Say
that with me, “What God commands Abram to
do.”
Command number one:
Leave your country. Go
forth. You’re
the power hitter.
Clear the bases. Bad joke.
Go forth from your country. Don’t
get comfortable here in Haran - keep going. Leave
where you’ve been living - what you’ve accumulated
around you - the security you’re clinging on to -
your ambitions and loyalties. Leave
it behind.
To follow God - means leaving
behind the old life - the values we’ve lived by -
what we’ve tried to control our lives with - our
goals - our desires - the world we constructed
around ourselves.
Leave behind the stuff of the world. Leave
it behind to follow God.
Command number two: Leave
your relatives. Those
people who’ve shaped our lives - with their
opinions and traditions and pressures. Family
and friends and community.
To follow God means we must be
willing to leave all that behind to go where God
calls us to go.
To follow God means choosing to leave
behind what others think and to be concerned only
for what God thinks.
Command number three: Leave your father’s
house.
We get stuff from our parents. Our
good looks.
My teeth are falling apart like my dad’s
did. Good
parents provide good resources for life -
genetically - spiritually - financially.
To trust God means leaving behind
our dependence on our own looks and talents and
natural resources.
To trust God means learning to depend on
God to do what we cannot do for ourselves.
The second part of God’s
incredible offer is what God promises Abram. Say that with me, “What God
promises Abram.”
This incredible offer that God
makes Abram is what theologians call the Abrahamic
Covenant. There
are other covenants in Scripture. For
example: The Mosaic Covenant - where God gives His
people the 10 Commandments. Another
incredible offer - God telling His people - live
this way before Me and I’ll take care of the rest.
Here with Abram - God is
initiating a covenant - an agreement. Trust
Me and leave.
Leave and go to the land that I’ll show you
and this is what I’ll do for you.
First promise: Land. A place
to call home. To put down
roots.
To belong. To cease wandering and restlessness. To watch generations grow.
If you’ve ever listened to
country music - anyone willing to admit that? Those
truck drivers are the loneliest people on earth. White
line fever and the good woman waiting at home.
We long for a place that’s ours -
where we feel secure - welcomed - a place of
peace. In
many ways God has designed the church for that. When we
trust God with our lives He puts us into the
Church - His body - this community - the
fellowship of believers.
Even deeper. When
God’s people - trusting God - dwelt in the land -
God dwelt with them. What God is talking about
here - on a spiritual level - is about living
daily in a deeply satisfying - intimate -
relationship with God - and God’s people - where
we know that we are His - that we belong to Him.
Second promise:
I’m going to make you to be a great nation.
There are more than 13 million
Jews living today.
Many more that have some Jewish blood in
them. In
the four thousand years since Abraham - maybe
there’s been a billion Jews. We
don’t know.
But there’s been a lot.
Would you agree that greatness is
not just because of numbers? I read
that 12% of all Nobel prize winners have been
Jews. Every
book of the Bible has been written by a Jew or
under the influence of a Jew. Jesus
the Messiah is a Jew. Think about the impact that
this small people group has made on the world - on
world history - even today. Huge.
The church - this fellowship that
God allows us to belong to - the church in
obedience to God - has a huge impact on this
world. When
we’re willing to trust God with our lives God uses
us in ways that go way beyond what we’re able -
ways that we can’t even begin to imagine.
Third promise:
I’m gonna’ bless you.
The Hebrew word for “bless” is
“barak.” It
has the idea of “bending the knee.” When
the patriarch of a tribe knew that he was going to
die he would pass on to his eldest son his
inheritance.
The son would come and kneel before the
patriarch. The
patriarch would bestow on the son the role of
leadership and the wealth of the family. He was
given twice the inheritance of the others - given
the authority and power of the patriarch - the
responsibility for leading the family.
Behind the word “bless” is this
picture of bestowing wealth and honor - of
well-being - and ultimately happiness. Blessed
has the idea of receiving what makes us feel
peaceful - satisfied - happy.
Looking down the line at Abram’s
life - Abram received great wealth. In
today’s world - Abram’s wealth, prestige, and
influence would blow Bill Gates out of the water. No
comparison.
But let’s be careful. God’s
blessing isn’t about stuff. God’s
blessing is about what really satisfies our
hearts.
God says, “I’m going to bless you and make your
name great.”
Abram’s name has become great -
revered by billions today. Not
because of wealth.
But because of his relationship with God. What
God did in him and through him.
Paul writes in Romans 11:33: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable
His ways!”
God knows what we’re searching
for and how to bless us with it. Only in
Jesus is the answer to what we crave - restoration
- self-worth - self-esteem - the possibility of
being the men and women that we’ve been created to
be.
God says, “I’m going to bless you and
make you a blessing to others.”
Jesus said - John 12:26: “If anyone serves Me, the
Father will honor him.” Life -
greatness - isn’t about being honored by men. Its
about pleasing God - about God’s approval of our
lives.
God bestows His blessing on us -
lifts us up - restores us - so that we can be used
by Him to make a real difference in the lives of
others - and to bring glory to Himself.
That is a blessing. Isn’t
it? God
Himself - the Almighty Holy God - using
us - according to His will - giving to our lives
real purpose and meaning and significance.
Fourth promise:
The blessing of all the families - all the nations
- of the earth.
God identifies with Abram. Those
who bless Abram are going to be blessed. Those
who curse Abram are going to be cursed. The
dividing line is how people treat Abram.
Looking down the line of history
- is the fulfillment of that promise. The
dividing line of blessing and cursing is how
people treat Jesus Christ the descendant of Abram.
Grab this: God is
offering to do something incredible here in the
life of Abram - to do something through Abram that
transcends Abram.
God is calling Abram to become part of a
larger story.
God’s work of buying back mankind from our
sins - His work of restoration - of salvation. God’s
redemptive work in history that flows from Adam -
through Abram - through Jesus Christ descendant of
Abraham - crucified on the cross.
When we put our trust in God -
trusting in Jesus as our Savior - God pours out
His blessing on us - and we become part of that
larger movement of God through history - part of
God’s blessing to others.
That’s huge.
An incredible offer made to Abram. Spiritually
speaking - the same offer God makes to us today.
In the places where we live our
lives - our version of pagan Ur - or maybe the
distractions - the comfort - of Haran. God
calls on us - like Abram - calls us to step out in
faith - to trust Him - to leave behind the stuff
of this world - what we’ve built up around us -
what we’re clinging to for security - to step
forward and trust God.
God promises us the fellowship of
the church - promises to dwell with us - to bless
us - to give significance and purpose and meaning
to our lives - to use us in the lives of others
according to His will and for His glory.
Bottom line: The
incredible offer God makes to Abram - God
asking Abram to step forward in faith.
Verses 4 to 20 record how
Abram responded to God’s offer.
Genesis 12 - verse 4: So Abraham
went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot
went with him.
Now Abram was seventy-five years old when
he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife
and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions
which they had accumulated, and the person which
they had acquired in Haran and they set out for
the land of Canaan; thus - with all of these things
and people - because Abram stepped forward in
faith - thus they came to the land
of Canaan.
Last month we made a family
journey to Armenia.
Some of you have been flying around the
country. Some
of you are getting ready to fly off to different
places. Flying
isn’t what it used to be. Is it? Airlines
are charging money for things that used to be
free. Watch
this.
(Video - No Frills Airline)
Abram’s on a journey. God
tells Abram to go forth and Abram - by faith -
goes forth - just as the Lord had spoken to him. They
leave the country - their relatives - father Terah
- take their own possessions - nephew Lot that
Abram had responsibility for - and head south.
Verse 6: Abram passed through the land as far
as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the
Canaanite was then in the land.
Which brings them to here -
up in the highlands of Canaan. A place
that looks like this today.
Verse 7: The Lord appeared to Abram and said,
“To your descendants I will give this land,” So he
built and altar there to the Lord who had appeared
to him.
Underline that statement. “To your descendants I will give this
land.”
This is it. Your
journey is over.
You’ve arrived. This is the place of
blessing - where I’m going to fulfill my promises
to you.
There are Canaanites here now. But
their days here are numbered.
Shechem is the same place where
Joshua - years later - after Israel’s years of
slavery in Egypt - after their 40 years of
wandering in the wilderness - now a mighty nation
- when Israel first enters the Promised Land -
Joshua brings them to Shechem where they build and
altar - just as Abram did - God’s people - come to
this very place to renew this covenant - this
promise - to consecrate themselves and to praise
God for fulfilling His promises.
Abram builds an altar - leads his household in
worshiping God.
Verse 8: Then he proceeded from
there to the mountain on the east of Bethel - which is near Shechem - and pitched his tent, with Bethel on
the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an
altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the
Lord.
Abram is moving through the
promised land - building altars - spending time
with God. It’s
a beautiful picture of life with God - intimacy -
blessing - faithfully living within the promises
of God. Abram
and his family.
Verse 9: Abram journeyed on,
continuing toward the Negev - towards the great
southern desert.
Verse 10:
Now there was a famine in
the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn
there, for the famine was severe in the land.
Canaan is like California - great
agricultural land - Mediterranean climate -
dependent on rainfall. Like here - after a short
time without rain people start using the “D” word
- drought. Abram
is a man of flocks and herds. He
needs grass.
Food is getting scarce. The
famine is severe.
Abram heads south. We’re
off to Egypt.
Notice - there is no waiting for God’s
instructions.
Abram takes matters in his own hands. After
doing everything right - after experiencing such
an intimate relationship with God - living in
God’s promises - Abe blows it big time.
Can you relate to this guy? Oh
yeah. This
is Abram brought down to where we live our lives. When we
go through times of famine - the hard stuff of
life - when our lives are dry - when we’re weak
and weary of being weary - the temptation to flee
and trust ourselves rather than wait on God.
Maybe we retreat mentally to
Egypt - checking out of our commitment to God -
heading off into old habits of sin - what we think
and involve ourselves with - maybe even drugs and
alcohol - addictions and fantasy. Maybe
we neglect our time in God’s word - or in prayer -
or worship.
Maybe physically we head south -
changing jobs or neighborhoods - taking trips -
changing churches - running home to momma.
Point being that - rather than
hanging in there by faith - patiently seeking
after God - waiting for God’s direction and
movement in our lives - like Abram - way too often
we take matters into our own hands - trusting
ourselves.
Verse 11: It came about when he came
near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife,
“See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman - very romantic - and when the
Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his
wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let
you live. Please
say that you are my sister so that it may go well
with me because of you, and that I may live on
account of you.” - not so
romantic.
In reality Sarai was Abram’s half-sister. Terah’s
wife - Abram’s mother - had died. Terah
had remarried and had Sarai - Abram’s 1/2 sister. So
Abram isn’t exactly lying. But, he
isn’t exactly telling the truth either. He’s
bending the truth just a bit. Its all
a matter of perspective.
Verse 14: It came about when Abram
came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman
was very beautiful.
Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her
to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s
house - think harem
- Therefore he - Pharaoh - treated Abram well for her sake; and
gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and
female servants and female donkeys and camels.
How much for the woman? How
many sheep?
Apparently a lot. Sarai was absolutely
gorgeous. Sarai
gets taken.
Abe gets blessed. Things are going according
to Abram’s plan.
Verse 17: But - God - the Lord
struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues - notice - not just one
plague - but plagues - serious illness - because of
Sarai, Abram’s wife.
Verse 18: Then Pharaoh called Abram and said,
“What is this you have done me? Why did
you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did
you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her
for my wife?
Now then, here is your wife, take her and
go.” Pharaoh
commanded his men concerning him; and they
escorted him away, with his wife and all that
belonged to him.
The whole household gets escorted
to the border and dumped there in disgrace.
The whole experience in Egypt is
recorded here for us to see the contrast - the
incredible offer of God and the utter foolishness
of trusting ourselves.
Abram - rather than being a
channel of God’s blessing to Pharaoh and the
nation of Egypt - because Abram is trusting in
himself and not God - Abram actually becomes a
means of great suffering.
Abram - trusting in himself -
forces his wife into adultery - sin against God -
in order to save his own neck. A
position of danger he wouldn’t have even have been
in if he’d stayed in Canaan.
Because Abram failed to trust God
we’ll never know what would have happened if Abram
had stayed in Canaan. How God would taken care of
the Canaanites - a people that have always since
then been a thorn in the side of Israel. We’ll
never know how God would have provided for Abram’s
needs in the midst of famine.
There are huge opportunities here
- for blessing - for God to be glorified - huge
opportunities that were lost because Abram takes
matters into his own hands and heads off south to
Egypt.
Ray Stedman tells about the
closing days of Hudson Taylor’s life.
Ray Stedman writes: The
Boxer Rebellion had broken out in China. Every
day reports were coming to missionary headquarters
of the death of national pastors, or the
persecution and imprisonment of missionaries. It
seemed that all that Hudson Taylor had given his
life to was crumbling before his eyes.
One black day, after some
particularly distressing news had come, Hudson
Taylor’s associates wondered if it would be too
much for the old man. He spent the morning in his
house, alone, and when they came to see him in the
afternoon, they trembled at what they might find. But as
they approached the house, they heard him singing
to himself:
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness,
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou has bade me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole. (1)
Maybe you're in one of those times
when it seems difficult to step forward in faith. When it
seems easier to head south to Egypt - hoping for
some kind of relief.
But the cost of Egypt is very expensive.
God offers us so much. His
promises are trustworthy. May we
learn to step forward in faith.
_______________
1. Ray Stedman, sermon
on Genesis 12:10-13:4 “The High
Cost Of Letting Down”
