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*Abraham: Following In the Footsteps of Faith*
*Sermon #1*
\\ *Series Intro: *few men, outside of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself have has such an impact on the history of the world as did the man introduced to us in this passage of scripture.*
*This man is revered by over one-half the world's population.
In our day, Abraham is held in high esteem by Jews, Muslims and Christians.
In ancient times the Jews considered Abraham to be almost worthy of their worship.
In the Bible, Abraham is presented to us as a great example of a man who lived his life by faith, *Heb.
11:8-19*.
*James 2:23* records the fact that Abraham was called the "*/Friend of God/*."
This man's life was a special life and a great portion of the first book of the Bible is devoted to it.
Tonight, we are going to begin a study of the life of this man named Abraham.
Now, some may ask, "*/Why take the time to study a man who lived 4,100 years ago?/*"
My answer to you is that, first, the Bible takes the time to speak about him, so we should take the time to study him.*
*The second is that the life of Abraham teaches us much about the matter of walking with God by faith.
That, after all, is the goal of the Lord for all His children.
God is calling every one of His children to live a life of faith.
This man teaches us how.
*Genesis 11:27-12:3*
*THE CALL TO A LIFE OF FAITH*
\\ *Sermon Intro*: These verses teach us about the early years of Abraham's life.
They show us how the Lord found him, called him and promised to bless him.
On the surface they may seem as though they have little to say to us in our day, however, nothing could be farther from the truth!
The early days and call of this man's life teach us some valuable lessons about God, His ways and about what our response to Him should be.
Since it is true that God has and is calling each of His children to a life of faith, *Rom.
14:23; Rom.
1:17*, and since we have trouble living that kind of life day by day, we need to hear what the Bible teaches us in these verses about Abraham's call to faith.
Let's look in on these events that transpired some 4,100 years ago and see what we can learn tonight about */The Call To A Life Of Faith/*.
I. 11:27-30 *ABRAM'S PAST OBSCURITY: THE WRETCHED YEARS*
(Ill.
There was a time in the distant past when Abraham was a mere nobody.
He was just another nameless face in the crowd of humanity.
His past was one of obscurity.)
A. *The Place Of His Original Home* - Ur of the Chaldees was located in what we call Iraq today.
It was in the southeast corner of Iraq, some 75 miles north of the Kuwaiti border.
Right in the middle of the area where the Gulf War was fought in 1991.
It was, at Abraham's time, located at the place where the Euphrates River emptied into the Persian Gulf.
At that time, it was a bustling seaport, where trade was conducted with India and Africa.
History also says that this city was a center of intellectual activity.
A large public library has been unearthed that contained thousands of ancient texts written in clay.
That region was also well suited for raising flocks and herds.
Which may account for the fact that Abraham was, for the whole of his life, involved with sheep and cattle.
B. *The Problems Of His Original Home* - While the area which spawned Abraham may have been prosperous, it was also perverted.
The people of that area were involved in some of the most wretched forms of idolatry known to mankind.
That city was an important center for astrology and for the worship of the stars and the moon.
The fact of their wickedness is born out by the testimony of the scriptures themselves, *Josh.
24:2*.
Gen. 31:30-34 relate that while Abraham was able to break free of the idolatry of the land, his relatives were not.
There we find that his great-nephew Laban and Jacob's wives Leah and Rachel.
Many years later, Isaiah reminded the nation of Israel to remember where God brought them from, *Isa.
51:1*.
He called their father Abraham out of the most wretched of conditions, spiritually speaking!
C. *The Pain Of His Original Home* - As one reads these verses, the wretchedness and hopelessness of Abraham's years in Ur comes to the surface.
For him, it was a time of */darkness/*, *Josh 24:2*, */death/*,* v. 28*, and */despair/*, *v.
30.*
No matter how you look at it, Abraham's early years were wretched days!
(*Note*: When you get right down to it, you and I were no different what Abraham.
We might not have served stone gods and worshiped the heavenly bodies, but we were all trapped in the same darkness that enveloped the life of Abraham, *Eph.
2:1-3*!
It rejoices my heart to know that we serve a God Who can reach into the blackest heart and turn on the light of His glory and presence.
I praise Him that He can take a life that was so hopeless and barren and can turn it into one of the greatest examples of the power of faith and grace that can be found anywhere!
The whole point is this: regardless of where we came from or of what baggage we carry with us now, God is able to come where we are and change us for His glory.
He can make new creatures of us for the glory of God, *1 Cor.
5:17*!
No one is beyond the touch of the Lord!
Not even a pagan like Abram!)
\\ II.
11:31-32; 12:1 *ABRAM'S PARTIAL OBEDIENCE: THE WASTED YEARS*
A. 12:1 *The Call To Depart* - We are not told how the call came to Abraham, (Notice the word "*/had/*"), but we are told that God spoke to this man in his darkness and called him into the light to follow a new path.
Abram was called to leave behind everything he loved and everything that had shaped his life up to that point.
He was ordered to leave */his Region/*, */his Religion/* and */his Relatives/* behind.
For this man, it would be a difficult task.
He was issued a call */to Follow/*, */to Faith/* and */to a new Future/*.
*/He was to leave his home, not knowing where he was going, or when he would arrive/*.
He was to leave all such matters in the hand of the Lord!
\\ \\ (*Note*: The call of Abram raises some questions that the Bible does not answer.
First, why did the Lord pick this one man, out of all the men of the earth?
Why didn't God choose some of the other inhabitants of the world, or of Ur to call to this new adventure called faith?
The answer to those questions is: I don't know!
I would ask this question: "Why does God call anyone?"
Why did He call you and not your neighbor?
Why did He call you and not you coworker?
The answer to those questions dwell within the cloud of God's sovereign and the answer is not for us to know, *Rom.
9:18-23*!)
\\ (*Note*: Regardless of why God calls who He does, those who have been called by Him should rejoice in the fact that they are saved and secure in the blood of the Lamb!
Thank God for the day the clear call to follow the Lord came to my heart!
I bless His name for the day He turned the light on in my soul and showed me the way to Himself!
Therefore, I will rejoice in what He has done for me, *Luke 10:20*.)
\\ (*Note*: When the call of God does come to a life, it is a call for that person to sever all ties with the past life.
His call is a call to a new life with new priorities and a new Lord.
His call is for total commitment, *Matt.
16:24*.
His call is for the believer to leave the old life behind and to begin a new life of faith, where every moment is lived in utter dependance upon the Lord alone for every need.
That is the nature of the divine call!
God's call is for you to follow without your being concerned about the destination.
His call is for you to leave the details to Him.
His call is for surrender to His call, regardless of what it costs, where it leads or how much it hurts.
His call is still follow me!)
B. 11:31 *The Compromise In Devotion* - The nature of Abram's call was for him to leave.
Note the word "*/thee/*" in *12:1*.
Yet, when they left Ur, notice that it was "*/they/*" who went, *11:31*.
It seems that Abram compromised by not separating from his family as he had been ordered.
He failed to fully submit to the Lord's call!
\\ (*Note*: Some may argue that he just wanted to take his family with him as he began his journey for the Lord.
That is noble, but it should be noted that there is no indication that they were saved at all.
There is no hint that they ever placed their faith in the Lord as did Abram.
The only ones who were saved, it would see, were Abram, Sarai and Lot.
The rest were still pagans, trapped in the darkness of their sins.)
(*Note*: The Bible says that they came Haran and dwelled there.
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