Get a Grip
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Taking Hold of THE Hope Set Before Us.
Taking Hold of THE Hope Set Before Us.
13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14 saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.”
15 And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.
16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.
17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
Vs 18 THE HOPE
1680. ἐλπίς ĕlpis, el-pece´; from a primary ἔλπω ĕlpō (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstr. or concr.) or confidence:— faith, hope.
*Joyful Expectation.
18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
The Hope, the joyful expectation is set before us.
The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words prŏkĕimai πρόκειμαι
πρόκειμαι prŏkĕimai, prok´-i-mahee; from 4253 and 2749; to lie before the view, i.e. (fig.) to be present (to the mind), to stand forth (as an example or reward):— be first, set before (forth).
18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words kratĕō κρατέω
κρατέω kratĕō, krat-eh´-o; from 2904; to use strength, i.e. seize or retain (lit. or fig.):— hold (by, fast), keep, lay hand (hold) on, obtain, retain, take (by).
What Did Abraham Learn?
1 [BUT] IF so, what shall we say about Abraham, our forefather humanly speaking—[what did he] find out? [How does this affect his position, and what was gained by him?]
2 For if Abraham was justified (established as just by acquittal from guilt) by good works [that he did, then] he has grounds for boasting. But not before God!
3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed in (trusted in) God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness (right living and right standing with God).
3 What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.”
What Did Abraham Learn?
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Read: Who has the plan? The Lord.
For me to walk in the plan God has from me, I have to be willing to set down any plan I have for me, that is contrary to God’s plan for me.
Why? My plans are limited to Me. My intellect, my resources.
Look in the New King James,
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
God’s thoughts are released. God’s thoughts contain everything needed to bring His plan to pass. God’s thoughts see in advance, and make provision in advance.
What did Abraham Learn?
1 Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
The Lord Said: The Lord released the What and the How. The Lord Released Wisdom to Abram.
Fade in Get out of your country. ( Get out of your comfort zone.) (Louisville Driving vs Columbus)
Fade in. Get away from your family. ( When we accept Jesus’ invitation, we leave our old family to become part of a new family.)(cancer, sickness, disease.) No longer part of our family.
Fade in, Get away from your father’s house. (Abram was leaving his personal inheritance) (God becomes our provider in every way.)
Fade in, Go where I tell you.
Verses 2-3 show God’s part.
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
God’s promises are always true, but they are dependent on us being where we are supposed to be.
He can not lie, Fade in, they are dependent on us being where we are supposed to be.
Many times, we will receive a word from the Lord, whether through the written word of God, the Preached Word of God, an inner witness, or a Word of Prophecy. We know it was God, yet, it does not come to pass. Have we valued every word enough to follow through?
4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
They Departed from Haran, they took only what belonged to them, not their family inheritance. They Went were God told the to Go, to Canaan Land.
Read, and show the map.
Haran to Canaan 3,291 miles.
Walk from Columbus Ohio to San Diego Ca, Turn Right and Walk to Portland Oregon.
But,
Fade in
4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
They took Lot with them. Lot was Abram’ nephew. He was family. God told Abram to leave his family. Was it a big deal? Is it a big deal when we fine tune God’ release from heaven?
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
Abram is where he is supposed to be.
8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
He is still in the promise land, He’s where he is supposed to be.
But,
To the West is Bethel, to the East is Ai. (Demonstrate)
Bethel
Ai Heap of Ruins
Why does it sometime seem like we just can’t hear from God?
We did not place correct value on the last thing He said?
What happens when we are not hearing from God? We make our own choices.
9 Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
Abram leaves and heads for the Negev. The southern most part of Canaan.
It is as far away from the center of Canaan (God’s will) as Abram can possible be, and still be in Canaan.
What happens when we see how much we can get away with and still be in God’s will?
10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
Now he is out of Canaan. He still has his nephew with him. The enemy has one more foot in the door.
When We Begin to Compromise What God Has Told Us,
the only two voices left, are ours, and the enemies.
Our own thoughts…can be SO STUPID.
11 As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look. We both know that you’re a beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you they’re going to say, ‘Aha! That’s his wife!’ and kill me. But they’ll let you live. 13 Do me a favor: tell them you’re my sister. Because of you, they’ll welcome me and let me live.”
I want you to tell them you are my sister. They might take you from me. You might have to sleep with the Pharaoh. We may never see each other again. Would you do this for me?
Our hero.
14 When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.
16 Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. 17 But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram’s wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.
The plan is working, until.. Verse 17
What is happening? God is keeping his part of the deal. Gen 12:3
I will curse him who curses you.
18 Pharaoh called for Abram, “What’s this that you’ve done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister’ so that I’d take her as my wife? Here’s your wife back—take her and get out!”
20 Pharaoh ordered his men to get Abram out of the country. They sent him and his wife and everything he owned on their way.
Camel Ride Back Home.
Abram did not know it at the time, but he drove a wedge between he and his wife, that would hold them back for 25 years.
1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.
They re-enter the promise land, but Lot is still with him. Life is good, vs 2 says they are very rich. They escaped from possible death at the hands of Pharaoh and maybe Sara thanks to the mercy of God.
What happens when we begin to think of the goodness and mercy of God in our lives?
4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
There is a calling from heaven wanting us completely.
Continue:
3 He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Abram comes right back to the place where he lost the voice of God.
He comes to a place of Repentance. He calls out for the wisdom of God.
No matter how far off you are. No matter how badly you have messed up.
God Knows How to Get There From Here.
How do you know Abram repented?
Keep reading.
5 Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.
Remember the 3 ways tests, temptations, trials troubles all come. Fall into it. Abram certainly has fallen in an Abram dug hole.
vs7 . The Canaanites and the Perizzites are waiting to see how this strife plays out. They are ready to swoop in and destroy if compromise continues.
Vs 8.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. 9 “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” 10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.
Of course, Lot chose for himself the best.
But now, Abram is out of his country.
He is away from his family.
He is away from his worldly inheritance.
He is in the land the Lord Sent him to.
So,
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16 “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. 17 “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”