The Call of Abram

Introduction

introduce the series

we will be learning about people… did not know how I wanted to go about selecting who

going through Matthew… which starts with the genealogy

so it will take us a long time to get through chapter 1

Matthew records the kingship of Jesus

that he is the king that everyone has been waiting for

we see the genealogy in Luke that goes all the way back to Adam, showing his humanity

each name represents a person, and each person has a story

not every name has a story recorded

but we will look at many of them and learn who these people are

if there story is recorded in scripture, God has something in it for us to learn and apply

PRAY!

Matthew 1:1–16 CSB

1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Aram, 4 Aram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse, 6 and Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife, 7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa, 8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah, 9 Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah, 11 and Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12 After the exile to Babylon Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, 14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, 15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob, 16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Today we begin the first of five weeks on Abraham, formally Abram

the father of three of the world’s major religions

Islam, Judaism, and Christianity

Islam from his son Ishmael

Judaism and Christianity from his son Isaac

Matthew 1:1–2 CSB

1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,

To the reader at the time, this would have meant everything

if Jesus did not come from Abraham, there is no way he could have been the king that they were waiting for

they know Abraham, we need to know him as well

Genesis 12:1–9 CSB

1 The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the 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 left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord. 9 Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

The calling of Abram leads to Christ and the salvation that is available for us all.

Abram’s Call

They have repurposed the “can you hear me now” from a wireless telephone company to a hearing aid company

I assume it is the same marketing people, they have simply gotten older and need hearing aids

many say they would be obedient if God would simply appear or make it clear

preachers like me want to guilt you into how you hear from the Lord

Genesis 12:1 CSB

1 The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

A call to leave so much behind for the Lord

we see when he went that he had all that the Lord had blessed him with at this point

many will say that he left everything behind for the Lord

when we moved from KC, we packed everything we owned in a u-haul and the vehicles we had

Larry Frusher - had never seen

he left his safety net

the place you are familiar with

and the people who have always been with you

I believe that God is calling Abram out of his comfort zone for the glory of God

we love our comfort zone…

that is how it gets its name

we feel good there, why would we ever leave

here, God tells Abram to go

to make matters worse, go to a place you have yet seen and that I will show you

are you so comfortable that you cannot hear God’s call on your life

too many of us want to hear from God, but do not want the pain of moving where we can get the reception we desire

a call with a greater plan

we can easily look back with the help of scripture and see what God was doing here

taking Abram to what will be known as the promise land

beginning the process of making a people for himself that will ultimately reconcile humanity to himself

we can look back at this event and say that it was worth it

the truth is, any call God places on your life, your obedience, no matter how great or small is worth it

God is calling you now

maybe to something bigger or smaller each of us has our own

The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes Genesis 12:1

It is far easier to become a monk, or a nun, and shut ourselves up alone than it is to live in the midst of ungodly people and yet to be, ourselves, godly—to trade with the usual followers of commerce and not to fall into their business customs—to mix with the usual host of thinkers, yet not to think as they think but to endeavor to think the thoughts of God and to obey the will of the Most High.

Are we ready to receive a call

Abram lived in a land full of idols and false gods

we live in a land full of idols

are we ready to receive a call from the Lord in the midst of idols and noise of this world

are we ready to move out of our comfort zones to a place that brings him glory

Abram’s Promise

God’s promises are made conditionally; not that the condition on our part deserves anything at God’s hand, but when God hath given the condition he gives the thing promised.

Richard Sibbes

The condition was to go and when he goes he will see the promises of God fulfilled through him

Genesis 12:2–3 CSB

2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Who will complete the promise

God will be the one to do all this… 5 I wills

I will make you a great nation

I will bless you

I will make your name great

I will bless those who bless you

I will curse those who curse

Abram did have to go, but this was not based on him

Abram had not done anything to earn God making this promise

like the promise of John 3:16

whosever believes will have eternal life

what did we do to earn that promise… nothing

but if we believe in a way that leads us to action we will be saved

if Abram moves on from the comforts of his home… God will fulfill these promises

it is based on his grace, his power and his will

in his grace he chose Abram who like us, was a sinner

yes he may have been a hero of the faith, the father of God’s chosen people, but he was not perfect

it was God’s power to do this

the people of the earth had tried to make themselves great at the tower of babel

but they could not do it when it was not allowed by God

it was God’s will to make a people of his own

nothing was going to stop this

Satan has been trying to eliminate God’s people forever

there has always been at least a remnant

a promise to who

God had been dealing with mankind

A change in God’s interaction with humanity, a calling of his people

before this was Noah and the tower of Babel

wiped out mankind except for Noah and his family

separated mankind at the tower of babel

now he is beginning the calling of his people

Abram (Abraham) to us

the nation of Israel would come from his lineage

a nation he would build from this one man

who would be more numerous than the sand on the sea shore

that would be enslaved in Egypt only for God to miraculously free

a people that God would lead to the promise land, only for them to turn their back on him

an exiled people, who God brings back

a people where the messiah would be born in that Bethlehem cave

a people where John the Baptist would warn the religious leaders that those who did not have a heart of repentance would be cut off, chopped down

a people who by faith in Jesus have been grafted into the family of God and as adopted children of Abraham.

Paul writes to the Romans that those who trust in the law have been cut off, pruned from the tree and believing gentiles have been “grafted in.”

Paul writes to the Galatians that all who have faith in Jesus are descendants of Abraham

this is an impossible promise for man to do on their own

it is only by the power of God

Abram’s Obedience

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament Genesis 12:1–9

It took a good deal of faith for Abraham to respond to these promises for he had no children, and he and his wife were getting old .

Abram was 75 and Sarai was 65 at the time of the promise and him leaving. Past child bearing years. That is a great faith.

and God would do all of this, if only Abram would believe.

Genesis 12:4–9 CSB

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord. 9 Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

Abram went…

why

simply he believed

Hebrews 11:8 CSB

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.

it was the faith he had in the promise that caused him to obey

is it really that simple

yes… he believed what God has told him and that belief led him to actions

we have three people today that will do the same thing

their faith in Christ has led them to testify to the church that they believe by being baptized

Abram was not coming back

He took everything he owned

he did not keep a safety net incase this promise of God did not work out

Abram went all the way

He did not stop until he made it all the way through the land of Canaan

started in the northeast and went to the southwest

round trip about 500 miles

God has kept his promise to Abraham

the world has been blessed with a savior!

Joy to the world that Lord has come, let the earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare him room and Heaven and nature sing!

So go and live by faith today knowing God will always keep the promises he has made you.

Memory Verse

Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.”