Abraham
Summer in the sand • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 9 viewsAbraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Paul (ship wretch)
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Transcript
Communion:
"Summer in the Sand" series.
Today, we meet the first "desert father" of faith, Abraham.
Pose a question: "Have you ever felt God nudging you towards something new, something unknown, something that felt like a big adventure... or maybe a big risk?"
Core Text:
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.” 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.
Overview of Abraham (Relevant to the Call):
Abraham (originally Abram) was a man living in Ur of the Chaldees, a sophisticated but pagan city. He then moved with his father Terah to Haran. God's call to him was radical: to leave everything familiar – his land, his extended family (clan), and even his immediate father's household. He was called to an unknown destination, armed only with a promise. This was not just a geographical move but a profound spiritual reorientation. With God leading him, he became the founder of the Israelite nation and is revered as a "father of faith" in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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.
The Radical Nature of the Call: Leaving vs. Following
Following God might cost you leaving things that are important to you.
Leaving Comfort & Security: Ur and Haran were established. He was leaving behind social structures, economic stability, and predictability. Leaving the comfort of his fathers wealth.
Leaving Identity: In that culture, identity was tied to land, kin, and ancestral gods. God was asking him to find a new identity in God Himself.
Leaving the Familiar for the Unknown: "To the land I will show you." No map, no itinerary, just a divine promise. This required immense faith and trust.
"The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. Abraham had to come to the end of his own plans." - A.W. Tozer
If you do this Abe, this is my plan for your life.
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.
National Legacy: "I will make you into a great nation." (Consider he was childless and Sarah was barren).
Personal Blessing: "I will bless you; I will make your name great."
Global Impact: "You will be a blessing... and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." This hints at the universal scope of God's plan.
This wasn't just a trip; it was a destiny with world-altering implications.
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.”
Many believe America is blessed because America supports Isreal. I don’t think it is just the support of Isreal the State. I think America is blessed today because of American Christians.
6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 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.
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.
Simple Obedience: No recorded argument, no prolonged negotiation.
Me: If I go, I need you to do this and this.
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.
"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."
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.
His faith wasn't perfect but his initial response to the call was exemplary.
The "Desert" as a Place of Testing and Growing:
Egypt: Famine / Lies about Sarah being his wife / profit from the lie / profit comes back to bit him.
Hagar: Sarah’s Egyptian servant / take her and conceive a child / Muslims believe that Ishmael is a direct ancestor to the Prophet Muhammad through his descendants.
Even when Abraham falters, God remains faithful to His covenant promises. This call is the beginning of that faithful relationship.
The desert journey itself and subsequent events (famine, strife) would have desert-like qualities: stripping away reliance on self, forcing dependence on God.
The "desert" journey isn't always easy, but it's where God shapes us and reveals His faithfulness.
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.
Colonel Sanders became a millionaire when he sold Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1964 for $2 million. He was 74 years old at the time.
My Call to Adventure:
Follow me (where?)
Leave what you know (built reputation and influence)
Leave those you love (Dad’s talk)
Summer in the Sand: What "familiar shores" might God be asking us to follow Him and leave? (Comfort zones, limiting beliefs, unhealthy relationships, fear of failure).
23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
