Standing on the Promises of God

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Introduction

Illustration: Breakfast with Mark and Deb Borland

Former missionaries in Columbia

Now work work with Wycliff translating bibles

Dealing with health concerns, Wycliff structure changes, a hurricane...

3 yo granddaughter looks at damage and they’re getting a new roof

She says, “That’s okay. We’ll get used to it.”

That has become the slogan around the Wycliff office

When it comes to change, the attitude is, “That’s okay, we’ll get used to it.”

That’s a good thing (of course, this only counts change that isn’t sinful)

New series: Abraham - in book of Genesis

YouVersion: Standing on the Promises of God

In Genesis 12:1-20

Just to let you know, Abraham begins as Abram

I guarantee I’m going to forget - but I know he starts as Abram

That’s one of many changes he saw during the latter part of his life

Today as we see the start of Abrams story, I encourage you to reflect on change

What do we do when change comes?

How do we respond when we don’t like it?

How can we trust God when plans look like they might fall apart?

Let’s jump in...

Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This chunk sets up everything for Abraham’s story

God sets up a covenant with him that still stands

It has a huge impact on us today

If you were counting, God said, “I will” 5 times

Those things establish God’s promises to Abraham

Abrahamic Covenant:

Land that I will show you

Kinda 2 promises here:

1. God promises Abram some land

2. God promises to guide him there

God could say, you know, over there by the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, take a walk...

But God says He will show him - that’s important

I will make of you a great nation

That means people!

Genesis 22 says, “as numerous as the stars” - hence the background

He will have descendents, that means he must first have children of his own...

Quite a task for a guy in his 70’s

I will bless you and make your name great

This is certainly true

All Jews, Christians and Muslims still honor him to this day

That still makes up more than half the world’s population (55.5%)

Imagine how many people have honored him over the last 4,200 years or so...

Who else even gets mentioned 100 years after, not to mention 4,200!!

I will bless those who bless you

I will curse those who curse you

This promise still stands today and seems to have been true throughout history

Donald Barnhouse: “When the Greeks overran Palestine and desecrated the altar in the Jewish temple, they were soon conquered by Rome. When Rome killed Paul and many others, and destroyed Jerusalem under Titus, Rome soon fell. Spain was reduced to a fifth-rate nation after the Inquisition against the Jews; Poland fell after the pogroms; Hitler’s Germany went down after its orgies of anti-Semitism; Britain lost her empire when she broke her faith with Israel.”

So there you go, 5 promises for Abram

Land, descendents, blessings for Israel, blessings for those who bless Israel, curses for those who curse

But there’s one more promise included in there...

All the families of the earth shall be blessed

This is a hint to God’s ultimate purpose - salvation

This isn’t just a promise to Abram, but for the world

Galatians 3:28–29 (ESV)

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

So don’t think we’re learning about something completely separate from us

So let’s see God fulfill His promises:

Genesis 12:4–6 (ESV)

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

I definitely see myself in Abraham’s story

God says, Abraham, go out away from your land and family

And the first thing Abraham does is bring his nephew...

Lot would be a source of hardship for Abraham the entire time

Lot’s people argue with Abraham’s people

They split and Abraham has to rescue him from captors

Then he lives in Sodom and Abraham has to plead with God...

It’s funny how often we do something similar

Be disobey God, and then when we’re trying to be righteous we wonder why things aren’t going well

I see this a lot with people who have kids before they’re married

Then they break up, one starts going to church, etc...

I’m trying to do the right thing but it’s so hard

I don’t even know what the right thing is!

Of course it’s hard! If you do everything in a way different from God’s design

Once sin enters the picture, the “right thing” can get convoluted quickly

Here’s the thing, just like with Abraham, when we mess up God is still faithful

That doesn’t mean we don’t face consequences, but God can always work through it

We can always turn back to Him after we make mistakes - it’s never too late

God is faithful, even when we make mistakes

For Abraham, he starts off not quite following God’s instructions

Although there are repercussions, God is still faithful to Abraham

Show map

Abraham leaves Ur, traveling north around the desert

Lands in Haran and stays for awhile

Acquires possession and people - whether servants or family

Heads south towards the promised land (Canaan at the time)

Gets to Shechem (she-kem) - an important place

Jacob lived here

Joseph’s bones are buried here

Joshua renewed Israel’s covenant here

Becomes Israel’s capital after kingdom split

Jesus met the woman at the well here...

Then to the Oak of Moreh - Probably a Canaanite holy site

He wasn’t there to worship with the Canaanites, likely just a tourist spot for navigation

So Abraham is actually in the Holy Land - Israel - at this point

But God isn’t fulfilling this promise yet, watch:

Genesis 12:7–9 (ESV)

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel 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. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

God reminds Abraham of His promise, but it’s going to his offspring

In Abraham’s lifetime, he owns only a burial plot for Sarah

We don’t always see God’s promises in our lifetime

Sometimes promises are immediate

God promises the HS will live in us, we see that right away

Sometimes they are ongoing

God promises Noah to never flood the earth - that one still goes on

Sometimes they happen after death

We are still waiting for that eternal kingdom with Christ

Sometimes God fulfills promises when they shouldn’t exist

Jamie Sharpe story:

Matthew 17:1–3 (ESV)

1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

Moses never saw the promised land, but he’s there at Jesus’ transfiguration - in the promised land!

In this case, God’s promise to Abraham won’t be filled until well after he’s gone

Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, 430 years until Moses - and finally with Joshua

What’s important here, is we see God always fulfilling His promises

Never been one that was a failure

Some are not complete, but that’s why we have faith

We trust that God will eventually fill the promises we’re still waiting for

Abraham sets up an altar here, and that’s important

As God is working in us to fulfill His promises, we should be worshipping

He is worthy of our worship even if we haven’t received everything we want

I wonder if this was hard for Abraham: I’m here, this is the promise, but I don’t get to claim it

Kinda sad...

But Abraham chooses to worship

Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of struggles/trials

It’s sad, feels hopeless, not sure if you can push through until the end

Sometimes those are the sweetest moments of worship

“I don’t know how, Lord. I don’t know when. I don’t even know if - but I trust You; I know You are good.”

We have to worship in in those moments, it’s the only thing that makes sense

Show map

So Abraham heads between Bethel and Ai - he pitches his tent and he builds another altar

Sounds like the Christian life to me

This world is not our home, so we bounce from place to place worshipping God...

Waiting until we finally receive our promise to be home

Abraham then heads south towards Negeb or Negev

Today, its the triangle desert in Southern Israel

Biblically, only speaks of the northern part - around Beersheeba

Essentially the southernmost town in Israel

Abraham got the full North to South tour of the Promised Land

Genesis 12:10–13 (ESV)

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. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”

Ladies, I know what you’re thinking:

How romantic! He gets scared so lies about his wife and trades her for some stuff!

Show map

Abraham now heads over to Egypt

Here, it’s not so much about where Abraham went...

It’s more about where he didn’t stay - the promised land!

In all honesty, there’s an important lesson here...

And what Abraham is doing is not all that different from what we do

Abraham clearly knows what God wants him to do

God said, “Go to the land that I will show you.”

He didn’t say anything about Egypt, but here we are!

When God tells us to do something, He knows everything might not go according to our plan!

So, do you back down?

Now a famine is pretty serious… I’m sure Abraham was under a lot of pressure

He might respond, “What else am I supposed to do?” Simple, trust God

We follow God’s word regardless of circumstances

In a way, Abraham is saying, “I trust you Lord, as long as I’m not too hungry.”

How often do we do the same?

I trust you Lord, until my marriage gets hard - then I’m taking over

I trust you Lord, until my boss threatens me - then I’m taking over

I trust you Lord, as long as my kids won’t be angry with me - then I’m taking over

I trust you Lord, as long as I’m not dating a cute guy and I need to do something to keep him interested...

God’s greatest miracles happen when people step out in faith

Specifically, faith in what God says

I’m not talking about the prosperity gospel

Name it and claim it!

You will be rich if you write that check, hallelujah!

Problem with that is, you’re trying to put faith into the things you want!

But you need have faith in the things God says!

Now Abraham is choosing between famine, and what the Egyptians will do to him and his wife

So he tells her to lie and say she’s his sister

Now, this is a half truth - she’s his half sister

I know that’s weird, and it’s not okay

Scripture isn’t saying it’s good to marry your sister

It’s specifically banned when Israel becomes a nation

This is an example of God using something bad for something good

So Abram telling Sarah to say she’s his sister is a half-truth, but it’s a full lie

Abram is abandoning God’s plan and exchanging it for a lie because he doesn’t like the cost - bad idea

Let’s see how this plays out

Genesis 12:14–16 (ESV)

14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Sarah must have been an ancient semitic Elizabeth Hurley

She’s about 65 years old and she’s so hot the Egyptians will kill for her

Then again, she lives to be 127 so this might be the equivalent of her thirties...

Jewish legend says all other women looked like monkeys compared to Sarah, and she was prettier than Eve

So Abraham tells her to lie and they try to play it off, lets see what happens next:

Genesis 12:17–20 (ESV)

17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 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.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

What do you think the Egyptians wanted to do with Sarah?

They like keeping pretty women around just to look at?

No, Abraham literally dealt his wife to become a royal sexual servant

This is a much bigger issue than you probably realize

Clearly this is a sinful way to treat your wife and marriage covenant...

But think about this: God’s promise to Abraham was to have descendents as numerous as the stars!

And Abram offers up that precious womb of promise to a gentile king

God isn’t going to stand for that - He sends some plagues on Pharaoh’s house

Pharaoh knows something ain’t right, probably starts asking around

Someone spills the beans to Pharaoh, thank God - that Sarah is Abram’s wife

Pharoah goes, “Nope, not doing this!” Sends Sarah back to Abram

That seems like a good reason to kill Abram! the very thing he was afraid of in the first place...

Instead, Pharaoh does the right thing - although it might only because of God’s intervention

But here’s the thing - God intervened to protect Abram because He is going to keep His promise

Had Abram done the right thing in the first place, couldn’t God have intervened then too?

If he stayed in the promised land, God could have intervened to feed Abram and his people...

If he went to Egypt and was honest, God could have intervened and kept him alive...

And there are 2 main points to this story:

1. God is faithful and fulfills His promises

We have to trust Him, even when it doesn’t look like His promises can work

And church, that is a hard thing to do!

Let’s be honest, trusting and following God is not easy… but it’s good and it’s right

2. Abraham learned to be a faithful man

When God chose Abraham to start His chosen people, He didn’t choose him because he was worthy

He chose Him for the same reason He chose you!

Because He wanted to develop Abram’s faith

Hebrews 11:8 (ESV)

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

This is the “hall of faith” in Hebrews...

You might be thinking, “How does this guy get into the hall of faith?!

He doesn’t look so hot here at the start...

True, but faith is a process; it’s something God develops in us

Our faith is God’s process in us

And it takes time

Donald Barnhouse: “Faith is not a mushroom that grows overnight in damp soil; it is an oak tree that grows for a thousand years under the blast of the wind and rain.”

As we go through Abraham’s life, we’ll see times of great faith coupled with times of weak faith

I admit it, that’s what my life looks like too!

Because I know God is constantly at work in me

He shows me why I should trust Him

And then He gives me a chance to exercise that trust in Him

Usually, I fail to do it - not because He isn’t trustworthy, but because I’m flawed

And then He shows me His faithfulness again, and then let’s me exercise it

Back and forth we go, sometimes following with faith, sometimes failing miserably

But always getting closer to the goal - a strong faith anchored in the one true God

That’s what He’s doing in you too

Recognize that He is worthy of your trust, and keep moving

Just like God didn’t give up on liar, pants on fire Abraham

He won’t give up on you

God may be changing you, but in the words of a 3 year old:

“It’s okay, we’ll get used to it.”

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