The Struggle of Faith
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Tonight we are going to look at one of the most crucial passages in Genesis and a passage that informs much of the rest of the Bible. It starts from a position of struggle from Abraham though. Last week we saw that Abraham had great faith and was blessed by Melchizedek, tonight we will see that even great faith can struggle within that faith.
We all at times will struggle. We will wonder what God’s plan is and how whatever we are going through fits into it. The beauty is that like tonight God reassures us through his promises. We have this in his word, and Abraham had this from the words of God as well.
Lets start this evening with reading our passage and seeing Abraham struggling through his faith and God reassuring him. Genesis 15.1-21
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
God comes to Abraham in a vision and tells him that he is his shield, he protects him. He also tells him that his reward will be very great. This is all good stuff but we can see that something is going on with Abraham. Abraham twice in this passage says “O Lord”, this is a heartfelt word to God. You can hear the despair in his voice.
The ending if the passage details a covenant ceremony, it is dark and there is much blood but God is revealing things to Abraham through it. A covenant is the highest form of promise that you could have in this day. There is no greater assurance than God cutting a covenant of blood.
Among all of this is a verse that stands out. It stands out among the entire book of Genesis. When I study books of the Bible I look for key verses that affect and inform much of the book. I found two in Genesis, we have already covered the first one. Any guesses what it is? It was Genesis 3.15. Any guesses on what verse this one is? Genesis 15.6
And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
I want us to look at this verse here before we get into the points of tonight because it informs them all. We have been saying that Abraham is a man of great faith. This verse defines it all, he had faith and that was counted to him as righteousness. His faith in God put him in right standing with God.
Many look at the Old Testament and think that they are saved by the law. Abraham did not have the law yet righteousness was counted to him. You might look and think that it was circumcision since Abraham had that but at this point he does not have it yet he is counted righteous.
It is faith that saves us now and it was faith in the Old Testament and Jesus’s death paid the price for both. Let me read for you Romans 3.21-26
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
We receive salvation through faith and God passed over former sins here in the Old Testament till the time that Jesus died for them as well.
This salvation that Abraham has defines his life and the rest of the book of Genesis.
Let’s look now at the text surrounding this verse.
Abraham Struggles to see Gods Plan
Abraham Struggles to see Gods Plan
But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
Abraham is in the middle of Gods plan and he is struggling to see it. God tells him that his reward shall be great but Abraham just wants to know how.
To some extent we can all sympathize with Abraham. There are times where we all are wondering what is going on and what God is doing. How can he be working through this situation. We have finite minds and God is infinite. We cannot grasp all the intricate workings of him. This is difficult for us though, this can lead us down a dark path.
What is the solution for this though? Well we must keep our mind set on the end. Abraham is in a time of struggle but we can see the end for him and we can know that even he doesn’t know it God is working. The beauty is that we can see the end for us as well, for those of us with faith in Christ our end will be in the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness dwells, eternal worship to the God of the universe.
One thing I personally like to reflect on is the work of God in my life. I like to look back and see all that he has done, how he has answered my prayers, how he has carried me through difficult situations. Then after I look back at those I know one thing, I serve the same God that will do the same thing for me now. I can rest on his past workings in my life and trust in his future workings. I do all this with my eyes fixed on eternity with him. Then those times of struggle become times of worship of God for who he was then and who I know he is now.
Abraham’s relief from his struggles are all tied up in his faith. Without faith you can not be sure that he will fulfill his promises, without faith you can not have that assurance. Abraham does have great faith though so he can trust in Gods assurance. Lets look now at God assuring him of his plan.
God Assures Him of His Plan
God Assures Him of His Plan
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
God begins by assuring him of the promises that he has told him before. He tells him that all of his struggles will be answered. He then cuts a covenant with him. This cutting of a covenant is the deepest assurance that God can give him. Covenants are often defined by blood and here there is much blood. This moment brings about an intense time between Abraham and God but it is a time that God works deeply in the life of Abraham.
This covenant is one that is carried throughout generations of Israelites. We now have a new covenant though that is defined by the blood of Christ. We can look to him and what he did to be assured ourselves. The death of Christ provides full assurance to us of our future with him.
God assured Abraham of his future and he assures us of our future as well. Our future is dependent upon us having faith though. Because of our sin we deserve wrath but because of Christ he made a way for salvation and this is through faith. To be forgiven and to have this assurance of a future then we must have our faith in Jesus.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Abraham was saved by faith, we are saved by faith. This faith gives us the assurance that we need in the toughest of struggles. We can look back and forward and know that God has everything under control and that we can trust him.
Without this faith we can have no assurance because we are not going to be saved from wrath but rather have to endure it. It is this faith that brings forgiveness and that counts us as righteous. If you have not put your faith in Jesus then do so today, do not wait any longer.
