Abraham: Faithful Follower

Scripture: Genesis 15:1-6

Genesis 15:1–6 NIV

1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

1/21/2024

Order of Service:

Announcements

Opening Worship

Prayer Requests

Prayer Song

Pastoral Prayer

Kid’s Time

Special Music

Offering (Doxology and Offering Prayer)

Scripture Reading

Sermon

Closing Song

Benediction

Special Notes:

Week 3: Special Music

Rae playing trumpet

Opening Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for calling us to be Your people. As we come together to seek Your presence, help us to know You more and give us faith to follow where You lead us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Children’s Moment:

Abraham: Faithful Follower

Limits

In 1935, Al Twone, based in San Francisco, invented the first audio limiter. General Electric improved this device in the 1950s, creating a more efficient audio limiter. What does an audio limiter do? It takes an input of sound and “limits” the volume allowed to pass through into the transmitter or speaker. Setting the limiter at a low volume also keeps the speakers' sound low. It won’t matter how loud you roar; only a quiet sound will pass through.

In modern times, the brick wall limiter is the most widely used audio limiter. Aside from its everyday use in music production, it is also employed in "Live" situations. Live sound engineers and radio broadcasters often strap a brick wall limiter over their mixes to protect them from sharp, unexpected spikes, like a dropped microphone. No matter how much noise goes into the microphone, our ears are protected by these audio limiters that we never knew were there.

Over the centuries, previous generations have accused the following generations of “watering down” the Word of God. I wonder if sometimes it might be more accurate to say that we are “limiting” our understanding of God’s Word. Let me give you an example.

In about 350 B.C., Aristotle taught, “Knowing thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” He was and is one of the greatest philosophers that ever lived, and he was the teacher of Alexander the Great, one of the world’s greatest conquerors. This teaching, along with many others, led to the unification of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and led to the rise of the Roman Empire. Aristotle focused on knowing your limitations so you don’t bite off more than you can chew. This sounds like common sense to our ears, but Alexander and many others applied it to politics and warfare with profound impact.

Jesus Himself used this teaching to describe the cost of being His follower. He taught that you don’t go to war with an enemy until you have made sure you have enough soldiers and weapons to win. Nor do you start a building project without having a plan and resources to finish it. Therefore, He taught us that we all must count the cost of following Jesus before jumping in on an emotional impulse. Count the cost. Know Yourself. This is worldly wisdom from the time of Jesus.

However, 700 years before Aristotle changed the world with his philosophy, King Solomon wrote and taught something different. Rather than self-knowledge, Solomon taught that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.” Over the years, “the fear of the Lord” must have been limited out of the teaching about Wisdom’s source. But Solomon’s children did not inherit his wisdom, nor did they fear God. While they may have been able to speak this truth, they did not live it.

One thousand years before Solomon and 2,000 years before Jesus, our scripture tells us about a man named Abraham who did not write any words to pass on through the generations or conquer the known world. But Abraham lived out this truth that wisdom begins with the fear of God rather than self-understanding.

Indeed, God calls us to follow Him beyond our understanding.

Family and Security

Family determines life and security in a traditional tribal culture. Indeed, ‘tribal’ may give you the impression of people in the jungle wearing feathers and running around with spears. However, this culture is alive and well today in the communities that center their lives around family farms and trades. There are places today in the Middle East, Across Africa, out West in our own country, and right here in Indiana where families have formed their own small communities, and they work together to protect and promote its growth rather than entrusting their fate to an outside institution.

Abraham was a part of this tribal culture in the Empire of Ur during a time of changes in technology, culture, and political power structures. Suppose you think back to all the changes that took place in 2020. Some people had it easier navigating that year because they had resources and were already prepared for a world relying on increased physical distance in communication and economy, while others struggled to make it through each day. Abraham, the son with no children, could not maintain the family farm. We don’t know all the details of his life before he left home, but there was enough about his situation to indicate that things were not going great for him in the land of Ur. So, when God called him to take his wife and leave his homeland, Abraham was willing to step out in faith and follow God to a new place of his own.

For the past 60 years, the world’s political powers have focused on one-third of God's promises to Abraham: God would give him a land of his own. However, God promised Abraham three things and a unique purpose that draws them together.

1. God promised Abraham land to settle and begin a new tribe, separate from his tribal center in Ur. This came to be known as the “Promised Land.”

2. God promised Abraham many children -- enough to build a new tribal nation.

3. God promised to make Abraham’s name world-famous throughout history.

The story of Abraham and our scripture today centers around his ability to father a child, particularly a son who could inherit the Promised Land. All the other promises hinge on this second promise because if Abraham could not father one child, he certainly could not be the father of many nations. His story would be lost in history without someone to carry on his name. And on a very practical level, without children to help tend and protect the Promised Land, anyone could easily walk in and take it over. Without a child, the other two promises could not be fulfilled.

The major hurdle Abraham and Sarah faced in this incredible call from God to be the parents of many nations was that God came to them about 60 years too late. They were about 80 and 60 years old when God asked them to leave their ancestral homeland, far beyond the age of having children.

Throughout their lives, they had struggled with infertility and thus were unable to have children of their own. How would that differ in their old age, well past child-bearing years? And even if they could have children miraculously, would they have enough time and energy to raise them to adulthood, enough to inherit and protect the Promised Land and live up to the name God called them to carry? These were severe challenges that Abraham and Sarah faced as they struggled to follow God and believe what He was telling them.

Blessing Beyond our Dreams

God’s covenant with Abraham was based on belief — not just agreeing with or understanding an idea, but trusting God whether he understood the promises and commands or not. Like us, Abraham struggled to believe God would do these things that seemed impossible to him. He got into trouble when he tried to take things into his own hands instead of trusting God.

Abraham’s story takes up about one-fourth of the book of Genesis. In some ways, every story of God’s people follows along similar patterns. God calls them to follow Him in faith. They try but usually falter and fail. God forgives them and empowers them to try again. This process repeats over and over until God gets his people where He wants them to be.

Those challenges existed for Abraham and for us as well because we do not and cannot understand all that God does. In fact, we are often tempted to figure out how things work, excluding God from the formula altogether. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs, we cannot understand our world or ourselves if we leave God out of the picture. We have to begin with Him.

So, how does God address those challenges we face in believing Him and what He says to us?

Looking at the example of Abraham, we see that He first addresses those challenges head-on. There are a few exceptions when God sends a prophet to teach His people by telling a parable or beating around the bush a little bit. Most of the time, though, God is pretty straightforward in scripture. God was clear in Eden, to Noah and his family, and to Abraham when He acknowledged the challenges they faced and urged them on in faith anyway. We often talk about how God is mysterious in His ways. He is not mysterious when addressing our challenges. He names them and tells us that He is bigger, and then He asks us to trust Him a little more and take one more step toward Him.

After He addresses those challenges and calls us to follow Him in faith, God then sometimes corrects our view of the situation. I say sometimes because there are many times we are unable to understand why God acts the way He does or why He calls us to do certain things. God’s thoughts and ways are always grander than our own thoughts and ways, and it is an unreal expectation to believe we can understand everything that God does. However, God often surprises us by letting us in on more than we probably would understand on our own when we follow Him in faith.

Often, when we face a situation that is more than we can fully understand, God reframes the challenge as a choice to believe Him or not. Then, He takes care of the rest of the details. “No,” God said to Abraham, “you are not just getting the land. I’m going to make many nations from you to populate that land and carry on your name.”

When we fail to believe in God, He often responds by giving us promises or reiterating the promises He has already made to us. Yes, I know that doesn’t seem like how we do things ourselves or treat one another at times. But God does not seek out non-believers to punish us when we fail to trust Him fully. Instead, Romans 2:4 tells us that His kindness leads us to repentance. Not his threats of punishment.

So, in the face of our sometimes offensive unbelief, God starts by raising the bar on Himself, reminding us, and expanding on His promises. Abraham, I know you struggled to believe that you would be the father of anyone, let alone many nations. Look up and count the stars. You will have more children than that.

God reveals His goodness to us rather than giving us a sales pitch. Rather than asking us to do something in return for His blessing, He tells us He is going to bless us and asks us if we are willing to receive it.

Right Belief that leads to Right Action

Right belief leads to the right action.

Abraham and Sarah walked and acted correctly when they believed God would fulfill His promises. When He doubted God, Abraham and Sarah made choices that led to disastrous consequences. When we believe something that is not true, we too find ourselves getting lost and into trouble. And even if someone tries to lead us out, we won’t move past the edges of our beliefs.

Sometimes, we think about our beliefs as if they are a checklist. Do you believe in God? Check. Do you believe Jesus is the only way to God? Check. Do you believe the Holy Spirit lives in you? Check. But today, I would challenge you to think of your beliefs and your faith like a map.

There are certain areas in your life that you really trust God to handle. Maybe it is your family or your health. Perhaps it is your money and your trust that God will provide for you. These might be things you do not struggle with at all. They are in the center of your faith map.

Then there are other things that you are pretty good at trusting God with most of the time. Occasionally, something crops up that makes you wonder if God really is going to hold true to His promises in that area of your life. These are the things that are on the outside edges of your faith map.

Finally, there are things that you know God says, but you cannot believe yet. There may be many reasons why. These are the places that lie outside the boundaries of your faith map. Those are parts of the Promised Land that you have not yet moved into. More than that, though, those edges of your faith map represent the challenges and hurdles that stand between you and Jesus. Inside that map are the areas where you allow Jesus to be the Lord of your life. The places outside that boundary are the places that you have not given Him authority over yet.

Acknowledging the challenge is the first step to allowing God to come in and help us overcome it. Dig up those reasons for your doubt and confess them to God. You will not surprise or shock Him with something He has never heard before. He already has plans and ways of handling them anyway. He is probably just waiting for you to admit to yourself that this is an area of your life you don’t even want to look at. Whatever the reasons, He will handle those challenges with You. He will remind You of Who He is and what He has promised You.

Closing Prayer

Closing slide