Interlocked Lesson 9 part 2

The Call of Abraham

Great Things

Run to the Father

Faithfulness is what we discussed last week.

Who likes dogs?

Who like cats?

Which is better?

Conclude by saying:

I like dogs. One reason I like dogs is because they are a good example of faithfulness.

You can really get frustrated when you dog pees or poos in the house.

But let me tell you, when a dog loves you, it’ll come to you.

They don’t listen perfectly, but they know their family.

Cats don’t care, but dogs show their faithfulness over time.

Even in our pets, we can see that example of faithfulness and be reminded of God’s faithfulness to us.

Are we faithful to Him?

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Picking up where we left off last week, why did God call Abram away from the land where he lived?

Someone turn to Joshua 24:2 and read that.

Joshua 24:2 “2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.”

In other words, Abram’s dad, worshiped false gods.

Why did God call Abram specifically if his family worshiped false gods?

I don’t know… but what I do know is that Abram responded with faithfulness.

Maybe God called other men.

Men who ignored his call…

For you, do you want to be a man or women in life who rejects God’s call or who answers?

We all want to answer God in faithfulness!

So why Abram was chosen I don’t think is as important as seeing his response.

Someone read Genesis 12:2-4 “2 “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. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.”

In these verses God promises Abram a few things:

Land

Descendants (people/nation)

Blessing to others

So what does Abram do?

Hebrews 11:8-9 “8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.”

He went

Where is God leading you? Where is God calling you to go?

Aren’t these questions we ask ourselves in middle school and high school?

As we discussed last week.

God is calling you to be faithful.

Proverbs 16:3 “3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Does proverbs say, “Be sure you do exactly what the Lord tells you to do and he will establish your plans?”

no.

It says Commit to the Lord whatever you do.

In Abram’s case, God had called him somewhere specific, but what if God hasn’t done that for me yet?

Then friends, let’s be faithful to the Lord in whatever we are doing today.

For Abram, again, God promised he would have people, land, and his family would be a blessing to other nations.

I’d like to focus on that last point for a moment this morning?

How would Abram’s family bless other nations?

Romans 3:2 “2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.”

*SHOW GRAPHIC ON PAGE 8*

A. They would preserve God’s history and truth for the world.

Who is Abram’s descendants?

What people group?

Jews!

These people are Abram’s family and they would carry on the history of much of the old testament.

They would also be the people to bring the truth of the one true God to the nations.

B. The promised Savior would be a descendent of Abram.

Genesis 3:15 “15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.””

John 4:22 “22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

Galatians 3:8-9 “8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

From Genesis to the NT and forevermore, the gospel was first proclaimed by a family (Jews), now it is proclaimed through His universal family (the church).

God used Abram’s faithfulness to spread the early message of the gospel through the ancient world.

How would God show His faithfulness to Abram?

*Show graphic on page 12*

If you remembered after the flood, God made a covenant with Noah.

He promised to never flood the earth again.

He showed this with his signature (the rainbow)

And he promised to destroy Himself if he broke the covenant.

In the same way, God again makes a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15.

This ceremony is wild, but essentially animals are cut in half and God promises Abram…

If I do not give you the people, land, and nation that I am promising you today, then the same will happen to me as has happened to the animals.

Jeremiah 34:18-19 “18 Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. 19 The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf,”

In other words, this ceremony says that whoever breaks the covenant will be as the animals, cut in half.

God is saying this Himself to Abram.

“Abram, if I do not fulfill these promises to you, then I will be cut in half and destroyed.”

Even more crazy, Abram never signs this covenant, neither did Noah.

God is the only one who has the punishment upon himself for failing to keep the covenant.

Why would God do this?

To show His faithfulness.

God doesn’t break his covenants.

He keeps his contracts fully.

God desires us to see vividly that He can be trusted to fulfill every promise He makes.

In Genesis 17:3-5 “3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.”

In Genesis 15, Isaac isn’t born, Abram and Sarai are old and have no children yet.

And yet, God promises to destroy Himself if He doesn’t keep His covenant to make Abram’s family a great nation with many people.

God even changes their names to Abraham which means (Father of nations) even though Abraham doesn’t have children with Sarah yet.

God is reassuring Abraham of His faithfulness.

He will do and fulfill the promises He has made to Abraham.

We will dive a little deeper into Abraham’s story next week, but as we close and apply this today, I want to point us back to another kingdom for a moment.

I want to compare the kingdom of the tower of babel to God’s kingdom.

Genesis 11:4 “4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.””

In Babel, the motivations were opposite of God’s.

Rather than fill the earth, they wanted to stay in the same place.

Rather than elevate and glorify the name of God, they wanted glory for themselves.

Their worldview was based on works.

Man would save himself through His own ideas.

That is the idea of the kingdom of man that will always come to ruin.

God’s kingdom is different.

God’s kingdom is based on grace

Genesis 12:1-3 “1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “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. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.””

Are we going to trust in finite, sinful man.

Or are we going to put all our faith in the infinite, righteous, saving God.

Abraham couldn’t see everything that God was doing, but He still responded in faithfulness.

Even when Abraham failed by having kids with his servant, which we will discuss next week, God still came back and reminded Him of His grace.

What are you being reminded of this week?

In school are you reminded that you need to perform better?

Or

Are you reminded that even in my failures, I need God’s grace?

In my success, I need God’s grace to keep me from arrogance.

In all times and situations, God’s grace is my greatest need.

Are we placing our faithfulness there?