What Will Stop You from Following God?

Sunday a.m. 1/7/07

Gen. 11:26-32/ Acts 7:2/ Heb. 11:8-10

I. Names defined:

Abram--exalted father

Abraham--father of many nations

Sarai--my lady

Sarah--Princess of many nations

Haran--Mountaineer or Sanctuary:

Haran--as a city: Main Road

Nahor--one who snores (named after his grandfather)

Terah--delay

II. Some beginning facts:

vs. 28 Haran dies first, possibly the 1st born

Dies in Ur

vs. 29 Abram’s wife: Sarai

Nahor’s wife: Milcah

vs. 30 Sarai was barren, unable to have children; main point!

vs. 31 All move to Haran except for Nahor

Their original destination however was Canaan! main point!

They settled however for Haran

(As a main city on the main road, a trading route, and high in population. Money, possessions and popularity are the reason they remained. cf 12:5)

4 major reasons we will forsake the calling of God;

1. Money;

2. Power;

3. Position;

4. Possessions.

vs. 32 Terah dies in Haran

Now that the “delay” is removed, there are no more excuses for Abram to not complete his call from God.

B.I. Only God knows the multitudes of Christians that have left Ur, bound for Cannan, only to get bogged down in Haran.

Do You Really Believe God?

Sunday 1/14/07 a.m.

Genesis 12:1-7

A person with faith will stay focused on obeying God’s will;
A person of faith will believe God’s promises;

I. We Must Pull Away In Order to Hear God Clearly, 12:1

Abram, IF you will separate yourself from those things which tempt and try you to be separated from Me. If you get out (imperative), then you’ll get blessed!

This is usually the 1st sign that we are committed to God, we leave our “things”.

Abram was told to leave several things:

his “country,” his people, and his father’s household (Gen. 12:1).

But he was told nothing about the land to which he must go.

His departure required an unparalleled act of faith.

II. We Must Hear God in Order to be Blessed Collectively

When we believe that’s it all about Him, He proves to us in His love, that it is really all about us!

When we believe God, we become the benefactors of His promises!

God did not just make one promise to Abram, but a collection of promises;

The 7-fold Promise to Abraham, 12:2-3

1. I will make of you a great nation;

2. I will bless you;

3. I will make your name great;

4. you will be a blessing to others;

5. I will bless those who bless you;

6. I will curse those who curse you;

7. Through you will all of the families of the world be blessed.

III. We Must Remove the Excuses in Order to Bring God’s Blessing Corporately, 12:4-5

The blessing of God was not only upon Abram in his obedience, but on Sarai, Lot and the “souls” or servants who were with him.

A. Location is not an excuse (So Abram left his comfort zone);

B. Responsibilities are not an excuse (Lot went with him);

C. Age is not an excuse (Abram was 75);

D. Your “anchoring ornaments” (time, money, possessions, career, family, friends, acquaintances);

E. Sometimes God will prosper you today in order to use that prosperity for His glory and your calling later! (all that they had gotten in Haran)

F. Why would we want seek an excuse from obeying God?

1. We believe,

2. we commit,

3. we decide to obey,

4. God is blessing our obedience,

5. God is proving His love.

IV. We Must Trust That God Is Faithful to Fulfill His Will, and Promises, in Order to Bless His Children, 12:6

A. Shechem – Back or shoulder; God has got your back covered, 12:6a; God will protect you in order to fulfill His will in you.

B. God intends to use your life experiences in order to teach you, 12:6b;

Moreh – Teacher (the oak tree at Shechem where Abram stopped when he first entered Canaan; close to the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim.); God will teach you as He fulfills His will in you.

C. Canaanite – Israel’s future enemy; Do not let your obstacles cause you to fear and quit, 12:6c God will give you courage in order to fulfill His will in you.

V. We Must Celebrate Obedience, In Order to See God Correctly, 12:7

A. The Lord did not appear until Abram had completely obeyed and was in the land!

B. In Worship Abram built an altar to God;

C. In sacrificial respect he offered a sacrifice to God on the altar;

D. As a memorial to remember this moment he left the altar for others to see!

· In order for me to hear God clearly I must pull away from the noise of life;

· Hearing God and believing Him results in His blessing;

· But in order for me to see the blessing corporately, I must remove the excuses;

· In God’s timing, He will bring about the blessing and fulfillment of His promises;

· A heart of gratitude proceeds out of a heart of love, and ends in celebration.

Living Life in the In-between

Sunday 1/21/07 a.m.

Genesis 12:8-20

Does the beginning stages of Abraham’s life teach us anything important about the life of Faith?

A person with faith will stay focused on obeying God’s will;
A person of faith will believe God’s promises.
A Person of faith will not succumb to compromise their obedience.

I. It Begins With An Act of Obedience, 12:8-9

A. When Abram arrives two things he immediately practices:

B. Worship;

C. Proclaiming God!

II. We settle In the In-between Place, 12:8

A. Abram moves into the “in-between place”;

B. He left the place in which God appeared;

C. Bethel on one side, Hai or the “heap of ruins” on the other;

III. Our Journey Away from God Leads Us Toward Ruin and Worldliness, 12:9

Does his journey further south insinuate that he was moving further away from God?

IV. The Tests and Trials Come, 12:10-13

We Are Tempted By Fear, and Selfishness 12:11-13

V. We Trust Our Sight Instead of Our Faith, 12:14-20

A. A Jeopardized Promise, 12:14-15

B. Worldly gain instead of spiritual strength, 12:16

C. A Ruined Witness, 12:17-20

One cannot miss the deliberate parallelism between this sojourn of Abram in Egypt and the later event in the life of the nation in bondage in Egypt. The motifs are remarkably similar:

the famine in the land (12:10; 47:13),

the descent to Egypt to sojourn (12:10; 47:27),

the attempt to kill the males but save the females (12:12; Ex. 1:22),

the plagues on Egypt (Gen. 12:17; Ex. 7:14-11:10),

the spoiling of Egypt (Gen. 12:16; Ex. 12:35-36),

the deliverance (Gen. 12:19; Ex. 15),

and the ascent to the Negev (Gen. 13:1; Num. 13:17, 22).

The great deliverance out of bondage that Israel experienced was thus already accomplished in her ancestor, and probably was a source of comfort and encouragement to them. God was doing more than promise deliverance for the future nation; it was as if in anticipation He acted out their deliverance in Abram.

Faith takes God at His word and obeys Him, without compromise.

FDA – “Fleshly Decisions Anonymous”

The 5 Step Recovery Program from the Works of the Flesh

Sunday 1/28/07 a.m.

Genesis 13

First a review:

Bethel and Hai asks the Christian whether they are feeding their Flesh or their Faith.
Which of these do you turn to when you make your decisions? See Gal. 5:16-18
How do I know which I am strengthening? See Galatians 5:19-26

The 20 works of the flesh are:

1. Adultery,

2. fornication,

3. uncleanness (lust filled),

4. lasciviousness (unbridled shameless lust),

5. Idolatry,

6. witchcraft pharmakeia (drug induced living),

7. hatred,

8. variance (always arguing and debating),

9. emulations (an envious and contentious rivalry, jealousy),

10. wrath (heated anger),

11. strife,

12. seditions (divisive),

13. heresies,

14. Envyings,

15. murders,

16. drunkenness,

17. revellings (generally of feasts and drinking parties that are protracted till late at night and indulge in revelry),

18. desirous of vain glory,

19. provoking (challenging another to combat) one another,

20. envying one another.

“They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The 9 fruits of the Spirit are

1. love,

2. joy,

3. peace,

4. longsuffering,

5. gentleness,

6. goodness,

7. faith,

8. Meekness,

9. temperance

The walk of Faith has three enemies (1 John 2:16):

1. The Lust of the flesh

2. The Lust of the eyes

3. Pride of life

Abram faced this decision making process when he had to decide how he was going to react to the famine.
In his choice, he left the “place of God” and went down into the world to have his needs met. In the end, this decision resulted in ruin.
Abram gave in to his three enemies, fear of man (eyes) which resulted in lying and deceit (flesh), to save his own neck (pride).

The 5 Step Recovery Program from the Works of the Flesh:

I. First step: confess that I am following My Flesh

Now in Ch. 13 he is seen returning back to God. 13:1-4

II. Second, Repent of the Works of My Flesh

This is a true picture of repentance!

Acts 26:20 – turn from sin, turn towards God, works always follow repentance!

III. Third Step, Recognize the Works of the Flesh! 13:5-8

Which work of the flesh is mentioned here in 13:5-8 twice?

IV. Forth Step, Do Not Be Tricked By Your Three Enemies! 13:9-13

K.V.: 13:10“And Lot lifted up his eyes,”

V. Fifth Step, Be Satisfied With Faith! 13:14-18

Get used to this battle; You will have to fight it until the day you die, or you are raptured!

A Look at Two Kings

Sunday 2/4/07 a.m.

Genesis 14

The Who’s:

Team 1 – The “Cheds”

1And it came to pass in the days of

Amraphel king of Shinar,

Arioch king of Ellasar,

Chedorlaomer king of Elam,

and Tidal king of nations;

Team 2 – The “Gomorrah’s”

2That these made war with

Bera king of Sodom,

and with Birsha king of Gomorrah,

Shinab king of Admah,

and Shemeber king of Zeboiim,

and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

The Location:

3All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

The Why:

4Twelve years Team 2 had served Team 1, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Note: Anytime that you put people into bondage, somewhere, sometime, it is inevitable, they will rebel! (Are you in bondage to your sin? Then don’t you think its time to rebel against your flesh?) God does not place us into bondage, but calls us to serve Him voluntarily!

The Results:

5And in the fourteenth year came Team 1, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. 7And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.

8And there went out Team 2 and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

Team 1 Consisted of 9With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and Team 2 fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11And Team 1 took all the goods of team 2 and all their victuals, and went their way. 12And Team 1 also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Team 3 – The “Hebrews”

13Abram the Hebrew;

the Amorite, brother of Eshcol,

and brother of Aner:

and these were confederate with Abram.

14And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

The battle plan:

15And Team 3 divided themselves against Team 1, he and his servants, by night, and smote Team 1, and pursued Team 1 unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16And Team 3 was victorious and brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Summary; God’s people do it better because God fights alongside of them! (Do not forget the covenant God has made with Abram either!)

How Should I Respond to Prosperity?

I. Receive the Right King, 14:18a

A. Commune with the Lord, 14:18b;

B. Praise to the Lord, 14:20a;

C. Give to the Lord, 14:20b

Is there a better place where I can commune with God and His people, Praise Him, and give financially to Him than the church?

II. Reject the Temptation of Compromise, 14:21

III. Refuse to Take Any Glory Upon Yourself,

14:22b-23

IV. Remember to Care for Those That Helped to Get You There! 14:24

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

The Beauty of Believing God

Genesis 15

Sunday 2/11/07 a.m.

I. Believing God Is A Journey Filled With Peaks and Valleys, 15:1

A. Warning; Great victories are usually followed by depression and valley’s.

B. Why is this so? We put all of our energies into accomplishing a task.

1. When it is completed and we are successful, we have no energy left.

2. Solution – start a new task! Reset your goals.

3. Times of reflection and meditation with the Lord will re-energize His vision and will for your life.

II. Believing God Gives Us the Freedom to Reason With Him, 15:2-6

A. Is it ever OK to Doubt and Question God? That depends on how you do it.

B. Abram is not calling the plan into question.

C. Abram is realistically looking at the facts.

1. He is old

2. Sarai is old

3. They have no children

D. God has promised him children

E. Abram is reminding God that He cannot lie.

When God are you going to accomplish this?

F. These low points in our life are designed to bring us closer to God, not further away.

III. Believing God Gives Us Access to Innumerable Promises, 15:7-21

A. God Reaffirms His Promise, and Character

B. Abram, did I not tell you…..

C. The 7 promises revealed to Abram:

1. You will have a blood heir

2. Your descendants will serve someone else for 400 years (stars of the sky)

3. I will afflict this nation that enslaves your descendants

4. They will leave as if they plundered the nation

5. You will go to heaven when you die

6. You will live to an old age

7. Your descendants will return here after 4 generations

D. Let me prove that I will keep my promise

1. Lest us enter into a blood covenant

2. I will be the only One who can break this promise

3. Unilateral - Therefore it is all totally dependent on me

Settling for Second Best, Or Doing God’s Will, MY WAY

The Catastrophic Consequences of Compromise

Sunday 2/18/07 a.m.

Text: Genesis 16

I. What Leads to Compromise? 16:1-3

A. Our unwillingness to wait on God to accomplish His will. 16:2a

1. Society of instant gratification.

2. Telling God what to do, instead of relying upon God.

(God knows what to do, and when is the best time to do it)

B. Out of impatience, and unbelief we take it upon ourselves to “help” God accomplish His will. 16:2b

C. We agree with the solution, knowing it is contrary to the word of God. 16:2c

1. Out of fear of embarrassment, we agree to an unbiblical solution.

(Ex. Abortion, sex, peer pressure, lying, etc.)

Situational Ethics sets in and suddenly IT interprets the Bible!

2. Out of a fear of being wrong, we stubbornly stick to a bad decision.

3. Out of a fear of change we will stubbornly hold to tradition!

II. The Sickening Results of Compromise; 16:4-6

A. Deep down, we never get over the guilt of settling for second best. It haunts us, 16:4

B. Misunderstandings; People interpret things the wrong way when they sin, it is called justification. 16:5a

C. Inner guilt breeds shame, anger, and bitterness. 16:5b

D. Abraham refuses to do the right thing, and properly deal with the sin. 16:6

III. The Innocent Victims of Compromise; 16:7-12

A. A tendency to run from conflict, and trust in God. 16:7-8

B. Hagar’s sin exposed: she was refusing to submit to Sarah’s authority! 16:9

1. A lack of submission is rebellion in the heart.

2. Hagar used her position of “favor” with Abram, to frustrate Sarah’s position as her leader. Sarah interpreted it as being despised by Hagar.

C. The victim list grows:

1. They who will descend from this child will be to great to number; 16:10

2. Ishmael, “God hears” 16:11

3. He will be wild as a wild donkey, stubborn, uncontrolled, unwilling to submit to authority. 16:12

4. He will be against EVERYONE! 16:12

5. EVERYONE will be against him! 16:12

6. These people will be independent of the rest of the world. To the East of Israel are the Arab nations! 16:12

IV. God knows your situation! 16:13-14

A. God sees your situation; “El-Roi” 16:13

1. He may see it differently than you!

2. We need to ask HIM!

B. We need to return to the well! 16:14

1. Beer (the well)- lahai (of the living one)- roi (who is continually seeing me).

2. The well is the place where the Spirit is, “a spring of living water”

3. Instead of trusting in ourselves, we need to submit to the leadership of God’s Spirit, who is always at one with God’s will!!!

V. The Sickness Does not go Away Overnight, 16:15-17:1

A. Abraham was 86 at the birth of Ishmael, an everlasting reminder of his compromise!

B. 17:1 it was 13 years before God spoke to Abraham again!

What Happens When A Righteous Person Walks With God

3/4/07 a.m.

Genesis 17:1-18:15

This works only for the righteous, see 15:6.

I. What Is A Righteous Man? 17:1-4

7 characteristics in the lifestyle of a righteous man (not in order with the text):

1. Is in a covenantal relationship with God

2. Intimate fellowship with God

3. Trusts in God to meet His needs, “El-Shaddai”

4. Walks with God

5. Is maturing in their faith

6. Is actively believing that God through them is multiplying His kingdom

7. Worships God

II. Results in Changes of Direction, 17:4-6

III. Receives God’s Promises

God’s Promises Are Only As Eternal As He Is, 17:7-22

A. Everlasting Covenant, 17:7 (is only good as long as the One who made it is alive, 15:17-18)

(The New Covenant is in force only as long as Jesus is alive)

B. Everlasting Possession, 17:8-9 (heaven for the believer, cf. Heb. 11:10)

C. Everlasting Separation, 17:10-14 (the sign or mark, possibly a ritual; baptism in the NT?)

D. Everlasting in His Faithfulness, 17:15-22, 18:9-15

1) When God fulfills His promises, they are exact, and in His wise timing!

2) Interesting how God names both sons after events in their lives:

3) Ishmael – “God hears”

4) Issac – “laughter”

5) With Abraham it was confirmation of the true spiritual heir.

(notice in 17:19 that it is God who gives the name of Issac to Abraham)

6) With Sarah, 18:14 – “Is anything to hard for the LORD?”

7) Can we ever think that we can lie to God? 18:15

Boldness With God

3/11/07 a.m.

Genesis 18:16-33

I. What Does God Say About You Behind Your Back? 18:16-19

A. What does He say about your future? 18:18

B. What does He say about the consistency of your daily walk with Him? 18:19

1. Your family (your actions to those you see daily)

2. Your personal walk (your actions that only God sees daily)

3. What you say (do you live before the world what you say with your mouth)

II. Sin Must Be Punished, 18:20-22

A. Their sin was grieving God, 18:20

(kā∙ḇēḏ): vb. Here is a full meaning:

“Their sin had become heavy to God, because they were glorying in the high intensity of their degradation; they were proud of themselves and had become haughty and arrogant in the multiplied high quantity of their sinfulness. They had become unresponsive, hardened their hearts towards righteousness and become morally stubborn regarding a change of action or attitude; their senses had become dull, their ears heavy as if they were plugging the ears so that they cannot hear and so respond.”

In the Hebrew Perfect tense their actions were of a frequent occurrence, an action that was begun in the past, continuing in the present, and was going to continue into the future. This is the use of the “eth” ending in the old KJV.

B. So God Came to visit them! 18:21

1. I will go down NOW

2. And see for myself if it is as bad as the cry of distress of their soul

3. And then I WILL KNOW!

God visited them to find out just how bad it was. Of course, God being omniscience already knew, but as an act of justice to Abraham, God was testing Abraham, as well as letting him know that He was not being quick to judge. Sodom and Gommorah were now on trial before God!

III. The 6 Steps to Being Bold[1] With God, Hebrews 10:19

1. Boldness begins with a burden, 18:22

“But Abraham, stood before God”

2. We must draw near to God, crawl up in His lap, 18:23a

3. We reason with God by knowing His character, 18:23b-26

“Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?”

“wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?”

“That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

4. We must be honest and humble, 18:27

“And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:”

5. We must become true intercessors without provoking God’s anger, or taking advantage of His long suffering and patience, 18: 28-32

6. We do not leave until we are convinced that God is finished with us, 18:33

Sliding Into the Pit of the Lost Face[2]

(Taken From the Story of Lot and God’s Dealings With Sodom and Gomorrah)

3/18 & 4/1 a.m.

Genesis 19

He is called righteous, 2 Peter 2:1-8
Let us, The righteous, take heed and warning from this Biblical account of a backslidden righteous man!
What can we learn from Lot’s Final epitaph? The steps to the downward slide into the pit of the lost face!

I. The Backslider Is W/O Excuse;

The Backslider Realizes Their Backslidden State! 19:1-3

A. Just how far had Lot fallen into the sins of the city? Friends with the world

Fact 1: 19:7 Lot refers to these people as his brothers!

a. Tight close friendships?

b. Other Christians who are into the same sins?

c. Whatever it was, the citizens of Sodom were regarded as friends by Lot!

B. Just how bad was the sin? Stained with the filthiness of sin.

Fact 2: 19:4-6 The whole city was given over to the sin!

a. 19:4, The use of all, and young and old

b. 19:5, They (the men of the city) desired to have sex with Lot’s visitors.[3]

C. The backslider is ashamed of what they have become, in the face of the righteous.

Fact 3: 19:6 Shutting the door behind him showed some sense of shame;

The ungodly and the backsliders do this when they hide their beercans, talk and withhold their cussing, justify immorality, or suddenly talk about being in church before.

II. A Loss of Morals, and Biblical right and Wrong, 19:8

19:8 “Here, take my virgin daughters”; The Carnal Sin of Compromise!

Fact #1: Lot knew that the 2 visitors were from God;

Fact #2: Lot should have turned to the visitors for help;

(When people turn from God, their pride turns them away from God’s people.)

Fact #3: Lot offers a carnal solution. Why? All that he knows is a carnal lifestyle.

III. Loss of True Friendships; The Trap is Set! 19:9-10

The People Whom The Backslider Thought Were their Friends, Turn Against Them When They “Waffle” in Their Beliefs:

Fact #1: They challenge his authority, “stand aside”

Fact #2: They accuse and threaten, Who made you our judge, we’ll come get you next”

Fact #3: They physically try to overpower him.

19:11 God intervenes to protect the righteous, even when they do not deserve it!

IV. God is Faithful to Have Someone Praying for You!

Abraham’s Bargaining Remembered; cf. 18:32 & 19:12-14

Fact #1: “Whom else do you have here?”

God allows for sons (other children), son-in-laws, friends who he has influenced.

Fact #2: Notice that the backslider has lost their “influence”

He lost influence in his marriage;

He lost influence as a father;

He lost his witness to those within his realm of influencibility.

If his two married daughters are still virgins, then it is obvious that his son-in-laws were homosexual!

V. Divided Loyalty’s; It is Hard to Leave a Life of Sin, 19:15-26.

A. 19:15 God’s messengers (the angels) urged him to obey.

We are God’s messengers, therefore we should be confronting and pulling the backslider back into obedience.

B. 19:16 “But he hesitated” (notice that God’s favor was on him and not his family)

C. 19:18-22 Lack of faith; backslidden Lot should have obeyed and trusted the Lord! But he tried to work out a deal. Surely you are not going to destroy my friends?

D. 19:23-26 Looking back once you have decided to obey reveals disobedience in the core of the heart!

God keeps His promises! 19:27-29

VI. A Lack of True Repentance, Leads to a Debased Lifestyle, 19:30-35

Where did Lot’s daughters learn this perverted lifestyle?

1. A life of no reliance and faith in God;

2. An occasional drink now and then and drunkenness;

3. Sexual lifestyle that included perverted incest and immorality;

FROM THEIR PARENTS!!!

VII. Bad Examples Curse the Generations That Follow, 19:36-38

Moabites

Ammonites

Both of these nations of peoples become 2 of the greatest enemies of Israel!

Is this story relevant to us today?

Read Luke 17:26-36 days of Noah, AND the days of Lot!

How do I fix this vicious cycle before it is too late?

1. Realize That on Your Own, It is Hard to Leave a Life of Sin

2. Divided Loyalty’s Will Turn You Away From God

3. You must Repent!

4. Bad Examples Must be Confessed!

“Three Important Lessons About God and His Promises”

Sunday 4/8/07 a.m.

I. God Remembers and Fulfills His Promises, Gen. 20, & 21

A. It has been 25 years since God promised Abraham that he would Bless him physically, 12:4.

B. God restated His promise a year earlier to Abraham, 17:15-17.

C. God Remembers His Promises even when we forget, Gen. 20.

1. Abraham commits the same sin of lying and deception again!

2. In order to assure that Sarah does become pregnant by another man, God shuts the wombs of all the women in the nation! 20:17-18.

D. Within a year from 17:21 Sarah bears Abraham a son, 21:1

E. The child is named “laughter”, after God’s command 21:3 and 17:19

F. Notice the change in Sarah, from laughing at God, to rejoicing with Him! 21:6-8

G. While Abraham and Sarah are rejoicing at God’s goodness, Ishmael begins to mock God’s promise by laughing AT him, 21:9

Lesson #1: God fulfills His Promises on HIS timing not ours!

Lesson #2: Others can be jealous of God blessing you, i.e. Hagar and Ishmael, 21:8-21

II. God Uses Our Faith to Test Us, Gen. 22:1-14.

1. 22:2 The Sacrifice was on top of Mt. Moriah;

2. 22:6 The wood was laid on the back of the Son;

3. 22:6 The two, Father and Son walked up the hill together;

4. 22:8 God said that He would provide either the sacrifice, or provide Himself as the sacrifice!

(This is the key to faith, Abraham believed so much in God’s promise of Isaac, that even if he killed Issac, God would resurrect him! Hebrews 11:17-19)

5. 22:9 The Son was the sacrificial Lamb.

6. 22:9 The Son offered no resistance to the sacrifice.

7. 22:9 The Father laid the Son on the wood, and bound Him to it.

8. 22:13 God’s provision was an adult Lamb (a ram) whose head was hung in thorns.

9. 22:13 God’s sacrificial replacement was in place for the son.

Lesson #3: God desires not what we own, He just wants people who are willing!

A Bride for Jesus

Sunday p.m. 4/18/99

Text: Gen. 24

This story is called a “type”; it is an OT story that can be interpreted into a NT reality.

Last week we did this with the story of Abraham offering up his son Isaac and related it to the cross.

I. God desires a bride for His Son

II. 12 Characteristics of the Bride

1. She must not be an idolater, 24:3

2. She must be related to Me, 24:4

3. The Bride must come to the Son, 24:5;

a. First an angel will go and find the bride, 24:7a; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev.4:1

b. You will take the wife from the land, 24:7b.

C. The Son will not return back to the land, 24:8 (he does not have to die again)

4. She must be a hard worker, 24:12-14. (To refuel 10 camels with water alone!)

5. She must be willing to serve, 24:12-14

6. She must be a vessel who pours out the Spirit, 24:12-14

(Water is symbolic of the Spirit)

7. She is Beautiful to look at, 24:16.

8. She must not have had divided loyalties (virgin) 24:16

9. She must be in a hurry to go meet her Groom, 24:56-58

10. She must desire to be fruitful and multiply, 24:60

11. She must be covered in prayer, 24:65

(this veil was a shawl; symbolic of the prayer shawl of the Hebrews)

12. She must be submitted to the Lordship of the Son, 24:67

III. How do You Measure Up?

Are You:

1. Pure from an idols?

2. Saved and related to God?

3. In the “Land” (of blessing surrendered to the Lord)?

4. Working hard for the Lord?

5. Filled with the Spirit?

6. Serving the Lord by serving God’s people?

7. Clothed in beauty? (Spiritually clean and prepared to see the savior)

8. Not divided in your loyalties?

9. Expecting the Lord’s return at any moment?

10. Bearing much fruit and multiplying the church?

11. Living a life of prayer, covered in prayer?

12. Submitted fully to the Lordship of Jesus?

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[1] 1 freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech. 1a openly, frankly, i.e without concealment.

2 free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance.

[3] They thought that Lot would share the visitors with them in a sexual orgy when Lot was finished.

Abraham Series for 2007

I. What Leads to Compromise? 16:1-3