Nothing to Brag About
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Reminder of God’s Promise to Abraham
Reminder of God’s Promise to Abraham
People
Plan
Place
Fear
Fear
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. ”
Identifying fear
Identifying fear
Why here?
Fear and doubt
Fear and doubt
Choose faith not fear
When we have faith are we supposed to be certain?
In this text, Abraham expresses his fear while God provides comfort through demonstrating his character.
3 ways faith deals with fear
We don’t Need to Fear because we Have Faith in God’s Rule
We don’t Need to Fear because we Have Faith in God’s Rule
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.”
The Establishment of the True King
The Establishment of the True King
The issue of royal authority has been present throughout Abraham’s account
He fears Pharaoh
He fights the 5 kings
He tithes to Melchizedek
He rejects Sodom
In this account, God is establishing himself as king granting blessings to his subject
Shield
Reward
Covenant maker
The Sovereignty of God and Faith
The Sovereignty of God and Faith
Consider the word “sovereign”
Genesis 15:2 “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?””
Genesis 15:8 “8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
Only a sovereign God is worthy of faith.
If God is not sovereign, faith is futile
Faith has an object
It’s not an emotional feeling or shorthand for religiosity
It is trust in God’s ability to act consistently with his character as he has revealed it to us
We don’t Need to Fear because we Have Faith in God’s Plan
We don’t Need to Fear because we Have Faith in God’s Plan
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. 7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
God doesn’t explain how Abraham will have an heir but simply reminds him that he will have an heir
Because of God’s royal authority, the fact of his plan is enough because he can bring it to fruition
We don’t Need to Fear because we Have Faith in God’s Covenant
We don’t Need to Fear because we Have Faith in God’s Covenant
8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Cutting a Covenant
Cutting a Covenant
Genesis 15:9–11 (NIV)
9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
Genesis 15:17–21 (NIV)
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
The nature of the covenant causes us to look to God’s character as our security
The Difficult Path Ahead
The Difficult Path Ahead
Slavery
Slavery
Genesis 15:12–14 (NIV)
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
Death
Death
Genesis 15:15 (NIV)
15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.
Peaceful
Left with promises unfulfilled
Deliverance
Deliverance
Genesis 15:16 (NIV)
16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
Genesis 15:18–21 (NIV)
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
The Response of Faith
The Response of Faith
Alex Honhold
Abraham is not “brave” he believes
Genesis 15:6 (NIV)
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Romans 4:1–3 (NIV)
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Galatians 3:5–6 (NIV)
5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Boasting about fearlessness
Faith and Obedience
Faith and Obedience
Hebrews 12:1–3 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Forgetting the goodness of God is at the heart of all disobedience
Examples which call for faith
Closed doors
Unmet desires
Death and suffering
Faith and the Gospel
Faith and the Gospel
This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Communion
Communion
1 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. 3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. 7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
