Abraham Week 5

Lessons from Abraham’s Life

Songs:

Graves into Gardens

Living Hope

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On July 11, 2014, my life changed forever.

We were in Albany, NY for a mission trip with the teens.

As you can see on the screen, we had an awesome crew.

Some of these people you guys may know, some of them you might not know.

We had an incredible week serving the folks of Koinonea, a Christian medical facility in a low income part of the city.

Serving a kids camp in a suburb.

Serving with Sean Pierce at River of Life.

It was awesome.

Being our first team trip to Albany, I had scheduled us to go to NYC our last day.

We would drive from Albany 2 hours to NYC.

We would spend the night, get up early on Saturday, tour the city with a friend of mine who lived in the city at the time.

Then we would plan to leave around 4 pm and drive 4 hours to PA and hopefully arrive around 10 to go to sleep and then make the final trek home.

Great plan on paper.

Great plan.

Only one problem…

We had to park our vans at Newark airport in New Jersey.

Again, on paper this is like an hour process. Drop kids off, drive 30 min to park vans. Drive the prius back into the city.

Park it overnight in a garage.

Sleep, tour city, then get vehicles the next day around 3, to pick kids up at 4.

Problem was, everyone was trying to leave the city when we were.

So the afternoon parking the vehicles, turned into the evening, turned into a half the night event because my van broke down.

As I sat on the curb that night, I remember hating the city.

The plan quickly changed from a day of fun, to a day of holy smokes I hope I can get these kids out of this city.

It felt pretty helpless.

By God’s grace, we abandoned the van, were able to rent a minivan and escape the city the next day running on about 3 hours of sleep.

There’s more to this story and you will hear more about it the more your with me, but let me just stop there tonight and say,

In that moment I hated that place.

TBH, I still hate NYC.

If you told me, Congrats Ben! You’ve won an all expenses paid trip to NYC. You can spend a week there with your family and it’s all expenses covered…

I’d have to really think about if I wanted to go or not.

Let me give you some stats about NYC though.

According to pew research, 59% of people in NYC claim to be Christian,

but only 9% of those are evangelicals.

In other words, best case scenario, a little less than 10% of people in NYC are Christians.

And guys, honestly, it’s probably worse than that.

As much as it saddens me, the true reality of my life, is I really don’t like a place where they really need us.

They need Christians who will come and share the gospel with them.

Have you ever considered that question?

How am I sharing the gospel with the lost around me?

Let’s look at just a few lessons from Abraham’s life this morning as we consider that question.

How did God get glory from Abraham’s life?

God’s Presence in Abraham’s life.

Genesis 18:1–8 NIV

1 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.” 7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

8 different times God comes to Abraham.

God was never far.

God has no needs. He doesn’t need us to do anything for Him.

Yet God consistently shows Himself in scripture, lowering himself to our level to show us our calling and remind us of His presence.

We don’t have to ask God to come to us, we just need to remember he’s already here.

2. God reveals his Heart to Abraham

Genesis 18:16–21 NIV

16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

Did God really need to go down to Sodom and Gomorrah?

NO… but God did it I believe to show us that He is not reckless.

He is careful/measured.

God’s heart was for the people of those towns as much as it is for Abraham.

God loves people… all people…even and especially the people we may not like.

They are still made in God’s image.

I think we all have a lot to learn about that. We never stop learning that.

3. God invites Abraham to participate in God’s plan.

Genesis 18:22–26 NIV

22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Prayer, isn’t for God to change to our plans, but for us to align with His.

Prayer is a way God invites us into a relationship with Him.

Abraham eventually asks God for less and less and gets down to 10 people.

And God agrees that if there are 10 righteous people He will spare the city.

But see here that God invites Abraham into his plans.

4. Abraham responded to God’s call, are we? Am I?

Galatians 3:8–9 NIV

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.

Abraham chose to follow Christ and he was justified, declared righteous because of His faith.

The same is offered to us.

The same was offered to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Everyone has a choice.

How are we responding to God’s call?

4. Abraham was righteous by faith and so are we.

Romans 4:22–24 “22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”

This is key to Abraham’s life in my opinion.

We always think there was something different about the way people were saved in the OT. But it’s not true, it was faith, it’s still faith, and it will always be Faith in God to save us.

Abraham didn’t know Jesus, He didn’t know what Jesus would do, but he knew God. He knew above all else, God would sustain and save Him.

That’s the same faith we need.

5. God wants a relationship with you.

Why doesn’t God speak to us like He did to Abraham?

I’m sure Abraham would have loved to have what we have, God’s Word.

Do we treasure this?

Application:

I want to circle back to NYC and read a post from one of my best friends.

“Me and Amber came to NYC for the first time about 10 years ago. Over the course of a weekend, we saw most of the city’s tourist attractions and had so much fun.

As we were flying out of LaGuardia to go back home, I vividly remember looking out the window of the airplane—taking in the city’s skyline one last time—and telling Amber, “Wow! NYC is such an awesome city. But I don’t see how anyone lives here. I could NEVER live here.”

Yet here we are today, officially moved in and almost unpacked in our Manhattan apartment. And truth be told, we can’t imagine living anywhere else!

Our lives have turned out drastically different than the way we thought they would, but there is no greater joy than knowing Jesus and following Him wherever He leads.

If I had a thousand lives to live, I’d live every single one of them for Christ.”

Austin and Amber moved from a 2500 sq. ft home in Duram, NC

To a 500 Sq. ft apartment in Manhattan, NYC a week ago.

They’ve been preparing for this for almost 2 years.

They are my same age, 3 kids…

Dude, they made tough decisions, radically counter cultural decisions.

Yet He has answered God’s call.

What a testimony this is.

I’m not sure there is anyone on earth I’m more proud to call friend.

Anyone I’m more joyful to talk to and hear the great things God is doing.

So let me give you 2 challenges today

one audacious, one mundane.

Don’t be scared of God calling you to radical things.

Run towards those things quickly.

Stay rooted in the word, but don’t ever shut yourself off and saying no to what God wants to do in your life.

The most radical thing you can do, is live for Christ right where you are.

Shining Christ’s light boldly in your school no matter what it costs you.

I sat down with one of our college students and I hope to tell you more about this next year, but he had a real challenging moment last week in school where He stood on His faith

He was firm in His beliefs when everyone else in the classroom was opposed to Him.

BOOM!

That’s what I’m talking about.

Holy smokes,

That’s faith like Abraham. Run hard after that.

May we all live radically in what God has placed in front of us right now.

Amen?

Amen. Let’s head across the street.