1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000
Good morning everybody, how you doing?

2
00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:12,040
We like to say welcome to anybody that's here in our sanctuary for the first time or if you're joining us online

3
00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,320
Welcome, we're so glad you're here to worship with us today. I

4
00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,840
Am pastor Nathan and today we begin the study of the life of Abraham

5
00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:27,120
The man known as the great patriarch of Israel and the father of our faith

6
00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:29,920
Abraham is

7
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:31,480
such a

8
00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:36,360
Epiphytal character in the story of God and salvation, you know aside from Moses

9
00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,240
There is no other Old Testament character that is mentioned in the New Testament

10
00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,200
more than Abraham

11
00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:49,460
James in his letter called him God's friend, which is a title. Nobody else in Scripture has

12
00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:58,320
Galatians 3 7 said believers in all generations are called the children of Abraham and that includes every single one of us that know Jesus

13
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:00,320
Christ is our Lord and Savior

14
00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,000
Now what's really fun about the life of Abraham is many of the well-known

15
00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:10,000
Stories that we have in Scripture and the well-known truths come from the life of Abraham

16
00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:16,840
You have the promise that all nations will on the earth will be blessed. All people will be blessed. That's in the life of Abraham

17
00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,140
What is it that makes a person righteous in the eyes of God? We learned that in the life of Abraham

18
00:01:22,140 --> 00:01:29,620
The story of Abraham and Isaac as he goes up to sacrifice the the promised son. We learn about faith there in such an amazing way

19
00:01:30,300 --> 00:01:34,820
We learned the origin of the animosity between the Jewish people and the Arab peoples

20
00:01:35,540 --> 00:01:40,980
We learn about Sodom and Gomorrah and the story of Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt

21
00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:48,380
We learned about Melchizedek. We learned about the origin of circumcision and what that means as a covenant between God and his people

22
00:01:48,380 --> 00:01:51,900
We also learned that saving faith is not hereditary

23
00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:57,900
That it's about an individual choice to follow God. You don't get saved just because your parents were and

24
00:01:58,380 --> 00:02:04,620
We learned how obedience demonstrates faith so much that affects our lives. We see in the life of Abraham

25
00:02:05,340 --> 00:02:09,820
But we also see that Abraham had struggles, right? He had issues

26
00:02:09,820 --> 00:02:17,340
He made mistakes more than anything Abraham's life teaches us about living a life of faith here on this planet

27
00:02:17,340 --> 00:02:22,140
We see from Abraham what it looks like to have an active relationship with God Almighty

28
00:02:22,860 --> 00:02:29,660
The blessing of simple obedience and and how God deals with our doubt and our worry and our questions

29
00:02:30,460 --> 00:02:37,180
We see very plainly his failures his stumbles and how to navigate all of that because I don't know about you

30
00:02:37,660 --> 00:02:39,660
But we all stumble, right?

31
00:02:39,660 --> 00:02:42,300
Even as Christians, we still have our moments of uh

32
00:02:42,300 --> 00:02:46,620
We're not so happy about and so how do we navigate that as God's children?

33
00:02:46,620 --> 00:02:51,020
We learn what happens when we impatiently take matters into our own hands instead of trusting God

34
00:02:51,660 --> 00:02:53,180
and so

35
00:02:53,180 --> 00:02:58,460
Abraham's life is just so full of wonderful lessons despite all his many failures

36
00:02:58,940 --> 00:03:03,740
It's his faith that scripture remembers in hebrews 11 the great hall of faith

37
00:03:03,740 --> 00:03:09,980
It doesn't tell us there that Abraham lied and Abraham lied again and Abraham doubted God what it tells us

38
00:03:09,980 --> 00:03:12,460
Is that it was his faith?

39
00:03:12,780 --> 00:03:19,020
That did everything it was his faith that allowed him to follow God's call. It was his faith and trust in his God

40
00:03:20,140 --> 00:03:23,260
That saw him step into the promises that his God had for him

41
00:03:23,260 --> 00:03:26,460
But the story of this great man Abraham it all started somewhere

42
00:03:26,460 --> 00:03:31,900
It all started sometime and this is what we're going to be looking at today in Genesis chapter 12

43
00:03:32,460 --> 00:03:36,220
We're going to see Abraham's initial call by God to leave everything he knew

44
00:03:36,220 --> 00:03:39,500
To follow an unseen God into an unknown place

45
00:03:39,900 --> 00:03:45,740
And there where he would be used as a conduit of God's saving grace to all the nations of the earth for all time

46
00:03:46,300 --> 00:03:49,020
But first we're going to worship God because uh, he's God

47
00:03:49,820 --> 00:03:53,820
He deserves our worship. He's worthy of our worship. I don't know about you, but I am so thankful

48
00:03:54,780 --> 00:03:56,060
For God Almighty

49
00:03:56,060 --> 00:03:59,580
That he died for me that he loves me that he saved me

50
00:04:00,140 --> 00:04:03,900
And that he even uses me every day because man, I know what it means to be a Christian

51
00:04:03,900 --> 00:04:08,620
I'm so grateful for the grace of God. Amen. Let's pray father. We love you so much

52
00:04:09,420 --> 00:04:12,860
We're so grateful God to to to know you Lord

53
00:04:14,380 --> 00:04:17,420
God from the very beginning you put a plan into place to to

54
00:04:18,140 --> 00:04:21,820
Save us from our sin Lord to save us from the penalty of our sin

55
00:04:22,940 --> 00:04:26,140
God over and over in your scripture you teach us that it's not about what we do

56
00:04:26,860 --> 00:04:30,460
It's not about our acts. It's not about how good we are. It's not about earning

57
00:04:30,460 --> 00:04:33,980
Your favor lord, but it's about trusting in you believing in you

58
00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:39,660
God be in people that that that believe when you say something will come to pass

59
00:04:40,380 --> 00:04:43,580
It will come to pass no matter what circumstances look like

60
00:04:44,540 --> 00:04:48,300
And so God as we begin the study of the life of Abraham may we be encouraged

61
00:04:49,340 --> 00:04:54,300
Lord to to walk to live the life of faith that Abraham evidenced for us

62
00:04:55,740 --> 00:04:58,220
Not ever thinking that we're going to be able to live the life of faith

63
00:04:58,220 --> 00:05:04,460
Not ever thinking that we're going to be perfect people lord, but that we're going to be saved people redeemed people

64
00:05:04,940 --> 00:05:06,940
People who receive grace and mercy

65
00:05:07,260 --> 00:05:13,420
And people through which you continue to shine the light of the gospel that those who don't know you would come to know you

66
00:05:14,140 --> 00:05:17,180
But God we want to praise your name because Lord we're saved

67
00:05:18,380 --> 00:05:20,780
God we are citizens of heaven today

68
00:05:21,100 --> 00:05:26,140
We look forward to that city that that was built by you that will be built by you lord

69
00:05:26,140 --> 00:05:28,540
We live today holding those promises

70
00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:31,500
Because they are as real now as they will be then

71
00:05:33,420 --> 00:05:35,420
God we love you so much

72
00:05:35,420 --> 00:05:37,980
We thank you it's in Jesus name we pray amen

73
00:05:37,980 --> 00:05:43,020
We are in Genesis chapter 12 we're going to be looking into the first nine verses this morning

74
00:05:43,740 --> 00:05:48,140
But back in the 1920s and 1930s a man named sir Leonard Woolley

75
00:05:48,860 --> 00:05:53,340
Excavated the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur

76
00:05:53,340 --> 00:05:59,740
The work that he did lasted about 13 years and he dug up all kinds of things in this place and actually

77
00:06:00,140 --> 00:06:07,260
Gave us a map of what Ur looked like at the time of um at the time of Abraham and back in ancient Mesopotamia

78
00:06:07,980 --> 00:06:11,260
He dug up places like the great palace of Ur-Nammu

79
00:06:11,820 --> 00:06:16,540
He dug up a royal cemetery that was packed full of gold and silver and ivory treasures

80
00:06:17,180 --> 00:06:21,980
Actually in that royal cemetery they found the um burial place

81
00:06:21,980 --> 00:06:28,460
Um burial place of a queen Puabi which was apparently a very uh famous queen

82
00:06:29,020 --> 00:06:32,860
At the time and what they found is in her burial place. It was her

83
00:06:33,420 --> 00:06:40,780
Coffin and then there were 73 skeletons of servants that were ritually sacrificed as a part of her burial fun place, right?

84
00:06:41,580 --> 00:06:45,420
There was temples discovered to a god named Ningal and Enki

85
00:06:45,900 --> 00:06:51,740
The city itself had walls surrounding it and at the time the Euphrates river actually was right up alongside of the city of Ur

86
00:06:51,740 --> 00:06:53,420
So there was two harbors

87
00:06:53,420 --> 00:06:59,980
Uh there in that city and then of course there was the great ziggurat of Ur which we have talked about a couple times

88
00:07:00,060 --> 00:07:03,340
That is an actual real picture of it. That's not a drawing

89
00:07:03,740 --> 00:07:06,780
That is what they have done to restore most of that

90
00:07:06,860 --> 00:07:10,060
You can actually go visit that today if you're so inclined

91
00:07:10,060 --> 00:07:15,900
But at the top of that ziggurat in that city of Ur was where they worshiped Nana the moon god

92
00:07:15,900 --> 00:07:23,100
And you know all of this background and stuff I share that with you because this gives us the context of abraham's life

93
00:07:23,820 --> 00:07:27,340
This gives us an idea of what he grew up with the culture

94
00:07:27,420 --> 00:07:33,100
He was surrounded by it tells us about his social context his religious context

95
00:07:33,420 --> 00:07:37,280
And really Ur wasn't just some backwater village. It was a very sophisticated

96
00:07:38,700 --> 00:07:41,180
pagan place of spiritual darkness

97
00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:46,540
And that picture of Ur represents the dominating condition of man at that time

98
00:07:47,100 --> 00:07:53,100
You know we came off of the tower of babel where mankind was united in its thought that we don't need god

99
00:07:53,100 --> 00:07:58,540
We will become gods ourselves and then we read how god scattered them by confusing their languages

100
00:07:59,100 --> 00:08:05,100
But unfortunately the sin nature that is still with man today was with them then and caused people to

101
00:08:05,100 --> 00:08:10,380
Seek other ways to satisfy their spiritual need to make up false gods and false pantheons

102
00:08:10,700 --> 00:08:13,100
And that was alive and well in abraham's time

103
00:08:14,060 --> 00:08:20,860
So the condition of mankind then was much like the condition of mankind now and the condition of mankind through all of history

104
00:08:21,420 --> 00:08:23,420
hopelessly lost

105
00:08:23,420 --> 00:08:25,900
hopelessly lost stumbling in the darkness

106
00:08:26,700 --> 00:08:31,340
All except for a distant long forgotten promise to a guy named shem

107
00:08:31,340 --> 00:08:36,620
Who was one of the sons of a man named noah a promise that blessing would come through his line

108
00:08:37,260 --> 00:08:42,220
And so here in chapter 12 begins a story of how god would be faithful

109
00:08:42,540 --> 00:08:46,860
To the promise he made all the way back in the beginning to adam and eve the promise

110
00:08:47,340 --> 00:08:52,780
That an offspring from the their line the line of humanity going all the way down to a certain individual

111
00:08:53,260 --> 00:08:58,540
Would one day be born the messiah to crush the head of the serpent and deal with sin once and for all

112
00:08:58,540 --> 00:09:05,500
And this would come through abraham a man who had come to be known as abraham later on a descendant himself of shem

113
00:09:06,220 --> 00:09:12,940
Living his pagan life in er and that all was just taking place up until the day that the one true living god

114
00:09:13,500 --> 00:09:14,860
spoke

115
00:09:14,860 --> 00:09:16,860
Read with me in genesis 12 verse 1

116
00:09:17,740 --> 00:09:19,740
The lord said to abraham

117
00:09:20,300 --> 00:09:24,540
Go from your land your relatives and your father's house to the land that i will show you

118
00:09:24,540 --> 00:09:30,140
I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing

119
00:09:30,700 --> 00:09:34,460
I will bless those who bless you and I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt

120
00:09:35,260 --> 00:09:37,900
And all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you

121
00:09:38,780 --> 00:09:40,780
So abraham went

122
00:09:41,020 --> 00:09:43,020
Now we'll stop there

123
00:09:43,580 --> 00:09:46,300
You know here in genesis. We're not told

124
00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,780
Specifically what made abraham believe in god

125
00:09:50,780 --> 00:09:54,060
It doesn't say this happened and thus abraham believed

126
00:09:54,620 --> 00:10:00,380
What we do know is that his whole life had been lived up into this point in the false pagan

127
00:10:00,700 --> 00:10:07,180
Religions of his time his whole culture his well-being his reputation was all wrapped up

128
00:10:07,740 --> 00:10:14,540
In in er the city of er the place that had this moon god and these other temples to gods and would ritually

129
00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:16,760
Sacrifice people as a part of their worship

130
00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,040
And yet he left all of it

131
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,160
He left his well-being

132
00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:29,560
He left the place he's lived for who knows how long left all the people he knew

133
00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:33,160
And he risked everything that would come from that

134
00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,880
From not only leaving but then saying hey i'm not going to worship nana anymore

135
00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,600
I'm going to worship the one true and living god

136
00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,160
And all the people that were there

137
00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:48,280
I'm going to worship the one true and living god and all the pressure that would come from that

138
00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:53,720
He he risked all of that to come and follow god and the question naturally is why?

139
00:10:54,840 --> 00:11:01,100
Why would he do that? Why would a man who grew up in a pagan culture an idolatrous culture of polytheism?

140
00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:08,280
What was it about what god did that caused him to believe? Well the clue is in the phrase the lord said

141
00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:13,720
That word said there in the hebrew is a very special word. It's amar or amar in hebrew

142
00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,200
And it is a verb that refers to verbal communication

143
00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,600
It refers to a verbal communication the contents of which

144
00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:28,920
Is assumed to be both heard by the ear and then understood by the hearer in terms of what it meant

145
00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:31,560
And who spoke it

146
00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,560
What that all means is that

147
00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:35,960
god spoke to abraham

148
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,000
And abraham heard god speaking to him

149
00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:40,920
verbally

150
00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:42,920
He heard it with his ear

151
00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:49,240
And not just heard it but as he heard it he knew who was speaking in that moment

152
00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:55,480
And this is the clue we get here in these first three verses that in the face of this pagan

153
00:11:55,800 --> 00:12:02,920
Spirituality that abraham grew up in in the face of this pagan spirit spirituality where none of the gods ever responded

154
00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:08,360
Because they weren't real despite sacrifices and prayers and all of this

155
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:15,160
In this culture where people said these are the gods and they never said a word to anybody because they didn't exist

156
00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:18,440
Abraham heard the audible voice of god

157
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:24,520
Now it doesn't say he saw god here. That's something that comes later in the story, but he

158
00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:30,360
Heard god speaking to him and in that moment he understood what was being said and by implication

159
00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,400
Who was saying it a pretty special moment?

160
00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:40,440
And you know for a lot of us we go man if god just spoke to me well that that would do it right i'd be saved immediately

161
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:47,480
When I was in a young adult I was working with a friend who would preach the gospel to me every day

162
00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:52,280
And it was honestly it was really annoying right because i'm just like bro. Let's just work

163
00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:56,760
You know and he'd always talk to me about god and talk to me about revelation and stuff

164
00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,480
And I told him one day I said look dude

165
00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:04,520
If god poked his head out of heaven and just went boogie boogie boogie. I'm god. I'm in

166
00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:06,920
Sign me up

167
00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:08,680
Jesus for life

168
00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:10,840
I said but god hasn't done that

169
00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:13,960
And that's because he's not real

170
00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:18,200
And he was like whoa you be careful saying stuff like that and

171
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,280
That was the attitude I carried up until god spoke

172
00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:29,640
Now in abram's time they didn't have the word of god today we do and god is still speaking through his word to his people

173
00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:35,560
Now i've had a couple instances in my life where where I believe god verbally spoke to me

174
00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:41,560
And it wasn't that he was standing there. I just heard that voice and if you've ever had that experience

175
00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,440
You probably know that it's in that moment when you hear that voice

176
00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,080
You know who it is

177
00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,640
Speaking it's a pretty interesting moment

178
00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,360
But we don't need that today

179
00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:00,680
We don't need that we have the word of god that is god's words spoken to us

180
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,080
However, that doesn't mean god doesn't speak to people per se but in abram's story

181
00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:09,320
I believe what it was that made him go. Oh, this is real. This is god

182
00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:17,000
Is because the lord said to him the lord spoke to him in that place where no god had ever spoken to him

183
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,120
in that place where no god had ever spoken to them

184
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:22,200
now

185
00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,720
The next question that I ask is why did god call abram and not somebody else?

186
00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:31,800
What what is it about this man that that caused god to say you i'm gonna i'm gonna select you

187
00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:34,840
Was it just because he was in the line of shem?

188
00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:40,520
Well, there was other people in the line of shem his his line had gone out. So why abram?

189
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:42,760
Why did god call him?

190
00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,520
Well, we aren't told

191
00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:46,420
and any theory about

192
00:14:46,420 --> 00:14:52,440
Specifically why is purely conjecture the reality is only god knows why he chose abram

193
00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,480
But really I believe that that that's the wrong question

194
00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:00,440
The question we should be asking is not why did call abram, but why doesn't god tell us?

195
00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,840
Why doesn't god tell us exactly and I believe that's so we learn

196
00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,040
Some very important things about god

197
00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:10,760
Mainly that god is sovereign

198
00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:16,520
God is god what that means is he owes us no explanation for the things he chooses to do

199
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:21,080
He owes us no explanation for the things he chooses to allow or why?

200
00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:27,000
You see the arrogance of humanity is to man to demand god answer me

201
00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,280
God you tell me why you now. It's okay to ask god

202
00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:37,240
Can you please share with me why I would love to but as we're going to see through abraham's life

203
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:42,600
That is all predicated with god. I trust you. I believe in you. My faith is in you first

204
00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:49,800
But for people who demand to say god, i'm not going to follow you until you tell me what I want to know god

205
00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:54,840
I'm not going to listen to you. I'm not going to do anything you want me to do unless you explain to me why?

206
00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:58,680
It's those people that

207
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:00,680
Quite honestly never come to the lord

208
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:07,720
You know if if if god's sovereignty isn't enough for us and we demand to to have him tell us exactly

209
00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:12,520
Why he does this or why he does that well imagine if that's what we had here in scripture

210
00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,400
God called abraham because he had a cool beard and he did the hokey pokey

211
00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:20,360
If that's what was in scripture guess what?

212
00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:23,720
We'd have the church of the bearded hokey pokey all over the world

213
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:28,920
Because we would be like that's how you come to know god. That's the people that god selects

214
00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:34,120
That's the people that chooses and we'd be praying for all the people like myself who can't grow a beard to save their life

215
00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,920
Because they're so lost and there's no way they could come to christ

216
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,040
But that's not what we have

217
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,840
And so really if you want to try and answer the question why did he choose abraham?

218
00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,160
God chose abraham because god chose to choose abraham

219
00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:54,280
That's the answer to the question

220
00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,080
Abraham didn't deserve it

221
00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,080
He didn't earn it right?

222
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:04,840
We're not told that you know, he did all these wonderful things and god was like wow. There's a special human. I'm gonna use him

223
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,600
He definitely wasn't worth it because he was a sinner

224
00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,040
Yet he was chosen

225
00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:17,000
Now I think the new testament sheds more light on this when we ask this question. Why does god choose me?

226
00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,400
Why does god choose anybody?

227
00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:24,280
Why does god say you i'm gonna let you be my child i'm gonna adopt you into my family

228
00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:29,320
I'm gonna give you a free ticket to heaven that when you get out of this place, you're gonna go to paradise

229
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:31,400
Why does god do that?

230
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,200
Well, the new testament is very clear. It says that because god loves us

231
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,920
God loves you god loves me. I'm so grateful for that

232
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,080
Every day, you know, you I get up and i'm like god, why do you love me?

233
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:49,400
He's like because I choose to and i'll make yeah, but right and we all will but I did this or I thought this

234
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:54,600
Or I stumbled in this and god's like yeah, you think I didn't know that?

235
00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:56,360
But lord why?

236
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,200
Because I love you

237
00:17:58,200 --> 00:17:59,960
Because you're my creation

238
00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:05,160
That is why I came to the first and died so that you could have faith in in the work that I did for you

239
00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:10,680
And say okay because of that work because jesus died on the cross god in the flesh

240
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,360
He shed his blood all the penalty is paid for and if you just believe

241
00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:16,840
You're forgiven

242
00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:18,840
You're my child

243
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,080
And and that's just mind-boggling

244
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,320
When we think of what god did and why he did it

245
00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:30,840
But he doesn't choose any of us and he didn't choose abram because of anything about abram

246
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,960
It was simply because god loved him and that was the one he chose

247
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:41,960
Now the point of all that is abram's story as we get through his story and we'll be studying it for a number of weeks

248
00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,680
His story is not about

249
00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:49,000
What type of person do we have to be so that god will choose us?

250
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:54,520
That's not what the story is about abram's story is look at what god does in the life of a wretched sinner

251
00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:57,160
Who has faith in him?

252
00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,160
That's what the story of abram is all about

253
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:05,720
And I love that because if it was about this is the type of person you have to be many of us would be disqualified

254
00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:07,720
well, i'm not

255
00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:09,960
Of the line of shem i'm not

256
00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:16,360
Blessed to grow a beard whatever right it's like no this is look at what god does in the whoever

257
00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,200
Or as john 3 16 puts it whosoever

258
00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:25,480
Would believe in him that's what the story is all about and so as we get into it

259
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,600
We see the impossible magnitude of god's call in abram's life and it's really a command of god

260
00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:32,840
Which god has the authority to do but

261
00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,200
It's an incredibly difficult thing he said in verse one

262
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:41,000
He essentially tells abram leave your country leave your people

263
00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:46,680
And leave your relatives and that's what it says and leave your father's house right abram's

264
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:53,560
Immediate family was going to go with him, but the but the extended family the relatives god said leave all of that

265
00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:59,240
And that would be difficult enough to leave your country to leave your people to leave your relatives

266
00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:01,800
but then he says

267
00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,200
Go to a land that i will show you

268
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,600
Go to a land that i will show you

269
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,800
How vague is that?

270
00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,760
Have you ever been frustrated at god saying something to you that's vague?

271
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,960
God can you just give me the d i'll do it details lord i'm in

272
00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:23,480
He just says trust me great i'm trusting you what do you want me to do

273
00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:27,720
Pray, okay i'm praying but what do you want me to do?

274
00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,800
And sometimes god will call like that and he does this with abram just look

275
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:33,320
Trust me

276
00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:39,400
Go to a land i will show you he doesn't tell him where and i believe that just forced him to trust god's word more right

277
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:46,120
If we're able to say god you are god you are almighty you are completely trustworthy you cannot lie you do not lie

278
00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,320
When you say jump i don't even have to ask how high

279
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:55,240
Because if you want me to jump 30 feet guess what's gonna happen when i jump i'll go 30 feet

280
00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,680
Right the idea is is god i trust you i have faith in you

281
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,680
I have faith in you

282
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,680
I don't need to know why

283
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:09,640
Sometimes it would be cool to know why but i don't need to know why before i follow you

284
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:12,200
As if god said go

285
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,200
Don't ask are we there yet?

286
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,920
Just go and trust that i will tell you you're there when you're there

287
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,760
And this call of abraham it really is a picture

288
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:30,040
Of the gospel this call to leave everything behind and trust god and move forward and say i don't know what the future is going to hold

289
00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:35,400
But i trust god with it it is a picture of the gospel you see in matthew 1037 it says this

290
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,880
The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me

291
00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:43,560
The one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me

292
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,080
Now sometimes we reverse like that and we go wow god's a meanie

293
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,840
You know he's not saying hate your family

294
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:56,840
What he is saying is when we leave everything in this world and say god i'm gonna follow you

295
00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:00,760
He said that love you have for god that drives you to obedience and following of him

296
00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:07,000
In comparison to how you love your family it's gonna be completely the opposite he's like look you love your family that's great

297
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,880
But i am the priority i am god almighty i am your creator

298
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,680
You gotta love me first

299
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:21,000
And then everything else will fall after that in mark 835 he says whoever wants to save his life will lose it

300
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,160
But whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it

301
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:29,080
The idea is the gospel calls us to leave everything

302
00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,680
To rest our hope for everything

303
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:38,760
Our hope for our family our hope for our future our hope for our business our hope for our workplace

304
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:41,800
Whatever it may be to rest all of that on christ

305
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:48,440
He says stop trying to lean on your own ideas and your own understanding and trust him

306
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,760
And for some people that's been a situation where they had the greatest job in the world

307
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,600
And one day god says hey i want you to quit your job and they're like whoa what

308
00:22:57,880 --> 00:22:59,880
Well, this is a great job god

309
00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,680
You know and i didn't ask you if it was a great job i told you to quit

310
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:08,520
Yeah, but god in your infinite sovereignty you you need to have my input

311
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,800
No, i don't

312
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,280
That's what the lord says and i've had

313
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:19,720
Countless stories and testimonies told to me of people who made these really crazy decisions

314
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,840
Walked away from businesses walked away from jobs

315
00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,600
And and god then gave them something better

316
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,640
Now for those of you that made a connection i did not intend here that does not apply to your marriage, okay

317
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,480
You're married for life, all right

318
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:42,680
But it's the idea of god i will follow you and i will i will put you as the priority you're the you're

319
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,160
You're the priority over even my family

320
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,680
Because i know if i follow you my family will be taken care of

321
00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:53,480
If i follow you i know you're gonna work in my life so that i'm a good husband and a good father and so

322
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,200
That's the idea here the gospel says look

323
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:03,000
Give up everything put god as the priority without having any of the answers about your future told to you

324
00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:09,240
When jesus calls us calls us he doesn't guarantee the future

325
00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,120
He doesn't guarantee the future

326
00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:15,960
He doesn't call us and say well from now on your future is going to be completely stress-free

327
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,480
You'll never be in debt and you're gonna get a new car

328
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:26,360
And you know honestly if that was what jesus said for salvation i think everybody would get saved

329
00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:31,000
So many people look at god as a cosmic vending machine

330
00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:33,960
Beep boop give me what i want

331
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:39,960
And they approach god with that unless you promise me what i want i'm not gonna give you anything

332
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,240
If you promise me what i want i'm not gonna commit to you

333
00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:46,840
Now jesus does promise that he will be with us

334
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,200
He promises us that he's gonna take us to be with him

335
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:58,200
He promises us a whole lot of stuff he promises forgiveness he promises grace and mercy he promises inner peace

336
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:08,760
He promises our ultimate good, but he never promises the exact details of your future outside of your going to heaven

337
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,440
And some of us will approach jesus and go you know

338
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,720
Unless you tell me that i'm getting married in seven years. I'm not gonna i'm not gonna follow you

339
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,520
He's like i'm not gonna tell you that

340
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,680
Unless you tell me this, you know if if you're looking for

341
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:32,620
Upfront promises of an effortless and stress free life stress free life before you put your faith in jesus you're never gonna get them

342
00:25:33,740 --> 00:25:35,740
You're never gonna get them because

343
00:25:36,140 --> 00:25:38,140
God says believe in me because i'm god

344
00:25:39,900 --> 00:25:43,500
Believe in me because you're a sinner and i've told you i came to save you

345
00:25:44,700 --> 00:25:49,820
That's why we believe in god. He tells us that ultimately yeah all of our problems will be solved

346
00:25:49,820 --> 00:25:56,140
But if you insist on clinging to your own requirements before committing to christ you're never gonna come to christ

347
00:25:57,660 --> 00:26:02,460
Because if god said okay i'm gonna meet one of your requirements you're gonna be like oh well guess what i have another one

348
00:26:04,060 --> 00:26:11,980
And that's not how it works and if you never come to christ you're gonna find yourself one day standing before god almighty the creator of the universe your creator

349
00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:15,100
And you're gonna give account for your life

350
00:26:15,100 --> 00:26:23,100
And if the account of your life is hey i lived selfishly i denied you you never answered my requirements and therefore i'm not obligated and god's gonna be like

351
00:26:25,260 --> 00:26:27,260
It's hell

352
00:26:27,260 --> 00:26:29,260
Because you're still a sinner if you die without christ

353
00:26:31,100 --> 00:26:36,700
And so we're called to trust in his word and what he says simply because he said it it's hard

354
00:26:38,380 --> 00:26:40,380
But we can do it

355
00:26:40,380 --> 00:26:42,380
As a believer when we say okay god i'm yours

356
00:26:42,380 --> 00:26:44,620
He sends the holy spirit to dwell within us

357
00:26:45,740 --> 00:26:48,540
Empowering us to be able to do what he's calling us to do

358
00:26:49,500 --> 00:26:55,740
i've been able to find myself through the power of the holy spirit many times in my life to believe the impossible thing and for some reason i'm like

359
00:26:55,740 --> 00:26:57,740
No, it's it's a sure thing

360
00:26:58,700 --> 00:27:04,780
Now my pre-christian days would be like oh no that's impossible i don't understand this i don't understand this i don't see how this could happen

361
00:27:07,180 --> 00:27:11,260
But the holy spirit allows us to trust in god and he's telling us to trust in him

362
00:27:11,260 --> 00:27:13,900
And he allows us to trust in god in a way we couldn't do without him

363
00:27:14,460 --> 00:27:16,460
And so we're called to follow him in faith

364
00:27:17,020 --> 00:27:20,780
We're called to follow him based simply on who he is

365
00:27:22,060 --> 00:27:25,260
He is god he is trustworthy he is faithful

366
00:27:27,180 --> 00:27:29,180
He is true

367
00:27:29,660 --> 00:27:31,660
And that should be enough for us

368
00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:35,580
Now what does he promise to abraham we read that in verses two and three

369
00:27:35,980 --> 00:27:40,700
I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing

370
00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:42,220
I will bless those who bless you

371
00:27:42,220 --> 00:27:47,180
I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt and all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you

372
00:27:48,220 --> 00:27:49,420
so

373
00:27:49,420 --> 00:27:55,660
This was both promises that abraham himself would experience and promises that he personally wouldn't experience

374
00:27:55,660 --> 00:28:00,780
But his descendants would experience verse two is the personal blessings, right?

375
00:28:01,980 --> 00:28:05,100
You're going to be a great nation. I'm going to make your name great

376
00:28:05,180 --> 00:28:08,380
You're going to be blessed and you're going to be a blessing to people

377
00:28:08,380 --> 00:28:14,300
Verse three it's kind of the the global ones right that he wasn't necessarily himself going to experience but they were prophetic

378
00:28:15,340 --> 00:28:20,780
Bless those who bless you that was in his lifetime curse those that curse you or curse those who treat you with contempt

379
00:28:20,780 --> 00:28:23,900
That was both in his lifetime, but it would also apply to his offspring

380
00:28:25,420 --> 00:28:31,100
Now when you read verses two and three and you go, okay, maybe blessing is a big part of the promise, right?

381
00:28:31,660 --> 00:28:36,940
I'm going to bless you. You're going to be a blessing blessing blessing blessing. Maybe that's a big part of the promise to abraham and it is

382
00:28:36,940 --> 00:28:40,460
Now if you've ever asked the question, what does it mean to be blessed or what is a blessing?

383
00:28:41,500 --> 00:28:44,860
Right. That was one I struggled with as a christian or before I was a christian

384
00:28:45,500 --> 00:28:48,220
I'd hear christians go i'm so blessed. I'm like, what does that even mean?

385
00:28:49,020 --> 00:28:51,020
That's one of those weird christian words, right?

386
00:28:52,140 --> 00:28:54,140
Brother be blessed what?

387
00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:57,100
Use real words

388
00:28:57,180 --> 00:29:01,340
But once I got saved all of a sudden I was like, oh, i'm blessed

389
00:29:01,900 --> 00:29:04,140
I get it. I get it now, right?

390
00:29:04,140 --> 00:29:13,660
So what is it? To to bless someone to pronounce a blessing on them simply means a proclamation of goodwill happiness and god's favor on them

391
00:29:14,620 --> 00:29:17,660
So what you're doing is is literally proclaiming

392
00:29:19,660 --> 00:29:26,540
And follow me here before you go. Oh, here we go into the prosperity gospel. It's proclaiming goodwill saying I am I am saying god

393
00:29:27,420 --> 00:29:28,780
bless you

394
00:29:28,780 --> 00:29:32,060
In a sense, you're praying you're saying god bless this world

395
00:29:32,060 --> 00:29:37,580
According to your promises. It's not an if because if you're doing that according to god's promises, it's true already

396
00:29:37,900 --> 00:29:41,420
God bless them according to your word bless them according to your character

397
00:29:42,300 --> 00:29:44,300
Being blessed is being in the condition

398
00:29:45,580 --> 00:29:47,900
Where a blessing could be fulfilled, right?

399
00:29:49,180 --> 00:29:55,100
I'm in a condition where where god's truth his promises is is is coming true in my life. I'm blessed

400
00:29:55,980 --> 00:29:59,980
God's favor is upon my life. I'm blessed, right? That's what it means to be blessed

401
00:29:59,980 --> 00:30:04,780
Now the personal blessings that abram is given here had to be really difficult to imagine

402
00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:09,900
Because in chapter 11, we are already told that abraham's wife was barren. She can't have kids

403
00:30:11,020 --> 00:30:13,740
And then god's like hey bro, you're gonna be a great nation

404
00:30:15,420 --> 00:30:17,420
serious

405
00:30:17,420 --> 00:30:22,700
Right. We don't have all the you know in vitro fertilization and stuff in these times. You know, how's this gonna happen?

406
00:30:23,420 --> 00:30:25,100
a great nation

407
00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:31,020
Now what's interesting is the word nation there is the hebrew word goi? singular plural. It's going

408
00:30:32,060 --> 00:30:37,900
These two words we see found used throughout scripture to refer to gentile nations

409
00:30:40,060 --> 00:30:44,780
Abraham i'm gonna make you a nation among nations

410
00:30:46,220 --> 00:30:51,500
But you go why is he using this word for gentile nations? Well think about it. There's no jewish people yet

411
00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:58,060
They're all gentile nations at this point and the idea here is god is saying i'm not just gonna bless one people group

412
00:30:58,860 --> 00:31:04,380
I'm gonna bless all people through you. You're gonna be a nation among nations. That word also carries the idea of

413
00:31:04,940 --> 00:31:06,940
of being a political power

414
00:31:07,820 --> 00:31:12,940
That you're not just gonna be a group of people but but you're gonna be a a powerful political entity

415
00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:15,660
With a land and a language and a government

416
00:31:16,140 --> 00:31:18,380
That's that's what you're gonna be able to do

417
00:31:18,380 --> 00:31:25,660
Your offspring are gonna be a a population that is ongoing with its own identity and that's what we have in israel today

418
00:31:26,460 --> 00:31:31,740
Then he says a great name that word name really it means reputation. You're gonna have a great reputation

419
00:31:32,300 --> 00:31:36,060
When people think of abram, they're gonna say oh man, he's he's he's a solid dude, right?

420
00:31:38,220 --> 00:31:43,980
Here's what's interesting back in chapter 11 when we looked at the tower of babel chapter 11 verse 4

421
00:31:43,980 --> 00:31:49,900
We read there that the thing that they wanted they said let us make a name for ourselves

422
00:31:51,900 --> 00:31:57,900
That's exactly what they were trying to do we want to be famous without you god we want to be well known without you

423
00:31:59,820 --> 00:32:03,020
And here abram not asking god's like i'm gonna make you

424
00:32:03,980 --> 00:32:05,980
A person with a great name

425
00:32:06,300 --> 00:32:08,300
I'm gonna make you well known and why?

426
00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:10,940
It's because he was god's name

427
00:32:10,940 --> 00:32:14,700
He's a faithful man and today his name is great because we still look at him today and go

428
00:32:15,500 --> 00:32:18,300
What a fantastic example of the life of faith

429
00:32:20,300 --> 00:32:21,660
Now

430
00:32:21,660 --> 00:32:24,940
Abram was given this blessing. He didn't seek it himself

431
00:32:26,380 --> 00:32:29,820
And anytime we try and seek a great name for ourselves through our own efforts

432
00:32:30,220 --> 00:32:32,220
Well, just like the tower of babel. It doesn't get done

433
00:32:32,700 --> 00:32:34,700
But he's a faithful man and he's a faithful man

434
00:32:35,260 --> 00:32:37,260
And he's a faithful man and he's a faithful man

435
00:32:37,260 --> 00:32:41,980
And we have to prove ourselves through our own efforts. Well, just like the tower of babel. It doesn't get done

436
00:32:43,100 --> 00:32:45,100
But if god raises you up

437
00:32:45,740 --> 00:32:47,820
Then praise god, but be humble in that right?

438
00:32:47,820 --> 00:32:53,020
It's god who did the work some people god raises up to have positions of influence or

439
00:32:53,100 --> 00:32:54,220
Or authority, right?

440
00:32:54,220 --> 00:33:00,060
Sometimes god raises up people to have have massive influence over the culture and and if god does that praise god

441
00:33:00,060 --> 00:33:02,040
It's not wrong to have a great name

442
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:03,840
It's wrong to say I have a great name

443
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:05,340
because of what I've done.

444
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,240
But those who have a great name and say glory to God,

445
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,800
God uses them to affect mighty things in our world.

446
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,400
Then verse three, he goes from the personal blessings

447
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,320
to Abram onto what I would call the global blessings.

448
00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,000
He says, I will bless those who bless you

449
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,000
and curse anyone who treats you with contempt.

450
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:24,800
Now this applies to Abraham specifically,

451
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,840
but it also applies to his offspring.

452
00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:30,320
And today we know there's a lot of anti-Israel rhetoric

453
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,040
all over the place with the war that's been going on

454
00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,240
between Israel and the Gaza Strip there

455
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:38,640
between them and the Palestinians.

456
00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:42,440
There's people all over our country and all over the world.

457
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,360
They're like, we hate Israel, burn them down.

458
00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:46,520
How dare they defend themselves?

459
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,440
And I know there's a lot of layers to this,

460
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,940
so I'm not trying to get into all the political layers

461
00:33:51,940 --> 00:33:55,060
of that, but the idea is around the world,

462
00:33:55,060 --> 00:33:58,980
there's this renewed vigorous anti-Israel talk.

463
00:33:58,980 --> 00:34:00,620
We hate them, we hate them.

464
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:05,440
It's been that way for a long time.

465
00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,480
We know back in during the Holocaust,

466
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:10,960
very anti-Israel in Germany specifically.

467
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:14,800
But when we look at here what he says,

468
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,560
I'm gonna bless those who bless you.

469
00:34:17,940 --> 00:34:20,760
I'll curse those who hold you with contempt.

470
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,040
If we think of all the nations throughout history

471
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:25,960
who turned against Israel,

472
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:26,960
where are they today?

473
00:34:28,540 --> 00:34:33,120
Babylon, Assyria, Rome, Egypt, where are they today?

474
00:34:34,580 --> 00:34:36,780
Those empires are either gone or they're second

475
00:34:36,780 --> 00:34:38,340
and third rate nations today.

476
00:34:39,620 --> 00:34:40,740
Why?

477
00:34:40,740 --> 00:34:42,500
I believe it was mainly and largely

478
00:34:42,500 --> 00:34:44,260
because they turned against Israel.

479
00:34:45,100 --> 00:34:48,000
God said those who curse you, those that hold you,

480
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,500
your people, my people with contempt, I will curse them.

481
00:34:52,500 --> 00:34:54,960
And curse incidentally is the opposite of blessing.

482
00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,100
God's favor be upon you.

483
00:34:57,100 --> 00:35:00,300
God's disfavor be upon you, that's a curse.

484
00:35:01,300 --> 00:35:04,100
May God not work on your behalf, that's a curse.

485
00:35:04,100 --> 00:35:05,980
And we see that happening and that's why today

486
00:35:05,980 --> 00:35:07,660
in our country it's such an important thing

487
00:35:07,660 --> 00:35:09,900
when we start getting involved in the political thing

488
00:35:09,900 --> 00:35:12,540
and voting for people that you'll hear pastors,

489
00:35:12,540 --> 00:35:13,980
myself included, always talk about,

490
00:35:13,980 --> 00:35:16,380
hey, the people that support Israel,

491
00:35:16,380 --> 00:35:18,660
those are the ones we wanna look at.

492
00:35:18,660 --> 00:35:21,720
The people who say, no, down with Israel, we hate them.

493
00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:23,300
I don't want them leading our country

494
00:35:23,300 --> 00:35:25,700
because if they lead our country, our country's gonna end up

495
00:35:25,700 --> 00:35:29,140
like these other nations that are nothing anymore.

496
00:35:30,060 --> 00:35:32,300
And so it's a very, very important thing.

497
00:35:32,300 --> 00:35:33,780
But this is a global blessing, it's like,

498
00:35:33,780 --> 00:35:36,140
look, the people around you, if they bless you,

499
00:35:36,140 --> 00:35:37,180
I will bless them.

500
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:39,740
They will get to partake of some of the fruit

501
00:35:39,740 --> 00:35:41,380
of the blessing in your life.

502
00:35:41,380 --> 00:35:43,820
And then the last thing I want us to notice

503
00:35:43,820 --> 00:35:46,500
about this promise is how many times God said, I will.

504
00:35:47,940 --> 00:35:48,860
Did you notice that?

505
00:35:48,860 --> 00:35:51,340
I will make you a great nation.

506
00:35:51,340 --> 00:35:53,620
I will bless you.

507
00:35:53,620 --> 00:35:55,460
I will make your name great.

508
00:35:55,460 --> 00:35:57,420
Five times he says, I will through this.

509
00:35:57,420 --> 00:36:00,780
It's like he's going, Abram, look,

510
00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:03,260
I understand you're a pagan idolater.

511
00:36:04,420 --> 00:36:07,380
I understand you're raised in this culture.

512
00:36:08,420 --> 00:36:10,380
I get it, you're probably, and I believe he was,

513
00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:12,620
polytheistic, I understand that, Abram,

514
00:36:12,620 --> 00:36:13,860
that's who you are right now.

515
00:36:13,860 --> 00:36:15,980
I get you can't have kids.

516
00:36:15,980 --> 00:36:18,980
But trust me, believe in me,

517
00:36:20,340 --> 00:36:22,340
and then I'm gonna do all these things in your life.

518
00:36:23,940 --> 00:36:26,060
Now what I do find interesting here

519
00:36:26,060 --> 00:36:31,060
is it doesn't say, if you follow me,

520
00:36:32,580 --> 00:36:34,900
then I will make you a great nation.

521
00:36:36,020 --> 00:36:37,420
Now there's a lot of those in our scripture,

522
00:36:37,420 --> 00:36:38,980
they're called conditional promises, right,

523
00:36:38,980 --> 00:36:41,340
where God says, look, if you do this, this will happen.

524
00:36:41,340 --> 00:36:43,780
He tells us it's the cause and effect of the promise.

525
00:36:43,780 --> 00:36:46,180
If you do this, this will happen.

526
00:36:46,180 --> 00:36:47,220
He tells us it's the cause and effect thing.

527
00:36:48,140 --> 00:36:49,580
But again, God is sovereign.

528
00:36:51,260 --> 00:36:53,900
And so God is saying, here's my instruction to you,

529
00:36:53,900 --> 00:36:57,780
follow me, here's my promise, I'm gonna do these things.

530
00:36:58,820 --> 00:37:00,100
Now some people look at that and they go,

531
00:37:00,100 --> 00:37:01,300
oh, it's a conditional thing,

532
00:37:01,300 --> 00:37:02,540
but it's not there in the language,

533
00:37:02,540 --> 00:37:04,900
and I just find that interesting.

534
00:37:04,900 --> 00:37:06,980
Back to why does God work in people's lives?

535
00:37:06,980 --> 00:37:08,180
Because he wants to.

536
00:37:08,180 --> 00:37:09,940
Why does God use certain people and bless them?

537
00:37:09,940 --> 00:37:11,100
Because he wants to.

538
00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:12,940
Why does God do anything he does?

539
00:37:12,940 --> 00:37:14,700
Because he wants to, he's sovereign,

540
00:37:14,700 --> 00:37:16,300
and it's not for us to question.

541
00:37:18,780 --> 00:37:20,780
What do you do with God's promises today?

542
00:37:22,700 --> 00:37:23,980
What do you do with God's promises?

543
00:37:23,980 --> 00:37:25,500
He says, look, those who follow me,

544
00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:27,060
this is what I do in their life.

545
00:37:29,300 --> 00:37:32,060
He doesn't say that I'm gonna react to you

546
00:37:32,060 --> 00:37:32,900
and you're gonna react to me.

547
00:37:32,900 --> 00:37:34,460
He's like, no, I've chosen you as my partner.

548
00:37:34,460 --> 00:37:36,420
You put faith in me, but I've chosen you as my kid.

549
00:37:36,420 --> 00:37:38,060
This is what I'm gonna do in your life.

550
00:37:38,060 --> 00:37:39,300
Just follow me.

551
00:37:39,300 --> 00:37:40,140
Just trust me.

552
00:37:41,460 --> 00:37:42,660
What do you do with them?

553
00:37:42,660 --> 00:37:44,180
Do you believe God's promises?

554
00:37:45,980 --> 00:37:47,340
Really?

555
00:37:47,340 --> 00:37:48,860
That's the question that always comes to my mind

556
00:37:48,860 --> 00:37:50,100
when I'm like, God, I believe you,

557
00:37:50,100 --> 00:37:51,660
and my brain goes, really?

558
00:37:52,540 --> 00:37:54,660
And I'm like, hmm, I gotta think about that.

559
00:37:55,580 --> 00:37:58,620
Do I really stand on God's promises?

560
00:37:59,540 --> 00:38:02,900
Do I live my life going, he said this,

561
00:38:02,900 --> 00:38:05,420
it's as good as true, and so I'm gonna live like it?

562
00:38:05,420 --> 00:38:07,900
I'm a citizen of heaven, so I'm gonna live in this world

563
00:38:07,900 --> 00:38:12,900
like I'm just passing through, if you do,

564
00:38:14,700 --> 00:38:16,180
then live according to his promises.

565
00:38:16,180 --> 00:38:17,420
Stand on his promises.

566
00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:18,620
Practice them.

567
00:38:18,620 --> 00:38:20,980
Too many believers, I think, in the church today,

568
00:38:20,980 --> 00:38:24,340
just in a general sense, they're just sitting in the pew

569
00:38:24,340 --> 00:38:26,980
instead of standing on God's promises.

570
00:38:28,020 --> 00:38:30,620
They just wanna show up to church and get fed,

571
00:38:30,620 --> 00:38:33,700
and that's great, but then they wanna leave here,

572
00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:36,220
and throughout their week go,

573
00:38:36,220 --> 00:38:37,300
I don't know if God is true,

574
00:38:37,300 --> 00:38:38,220
and I don't know if that's real,

575
00:38:38,220 --> 00:38:41,060
and I know God said this word, but I'm not sure.

576
00:38:43,060 --> 00:38:44,980
And God's like, I want you to stand on my promises

577
00:38:44,980 --> 00:38:47,220
every day, not just sit in a pew once a week.

578
00:38:48,140 --> 00:38:50,980
Now, we come here together to learn,

579
00:38:50,980 --> 00:38:52,740
so that then we go live,

580
00:38:53,660 --> 00:38:55,380
and that's why our church's mission statement writes,

581
00:38:55,380 --> 00:38:58,860
know the truth, live the truth, and then share the truth.

582
00:38:58,860 --> 00:39:05,860
Now, when God says, believe me, trust me, do what I ask,

583
00:39:06,380 --> 00:39:09,500
he then says, watch what I will do in your life.

584
00:39:11,020 --> 00:39:13,300
When God says, look, I want you to be generous

585
00:39:13,300 --> 00:39:15,580
and give the way I'm calling you to give,

586
00:39:15,580 --> 00:39:19,140
do it, and watch what I will do in your life.

587
00:39:19,140 --> 00:39:22,500
When he says, serve the way I'm telling you to serve,

588
00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:25,180
sacrificially, give of yourself and your time and your gifts,

589
00:39:25,180 --> 00:39:27,700
and watch what I will do in your life,

590
00:39:27,700 --> 00:39:31,300
love the way I'm telling you to love,

591
00:39:31,300 --> 00:39:34,300
and watch what I will do in your life.

592
00:39:35,500 --> 00:39:37,740
And that is what we see in the life of Abraham.

593
00:39:38,980 --> 00:39:41,220
God said, go, he went, okay, and God's like,

594
00:39:41,220 --> 00:39:44,100
hey, by the way, watch what I'm gonna do in your life.

595
00:39:44,100 --> 00:39:48,620
He's like, cool, but the what I'm gonna do in your life

596
00:39:48,620 --> 00:39:51,180
didn't affect his obedience to God,

597
00:39:51,180 --> 00:39:52,980
he just said, you're God, I'm gonna go.

598
00:39:52,980 --> 00:39:56,820
So Abraham, he here alone is blessed by God, right?

599
00:39:56,820 --> 00:40:00,580
Him, the person, you, Abraham, I'm gonna bless you.

600
00:40:00,580 --> 00:40:02,660
My favor is on you.

601
00:40:02,660 --> 00:40:04,780
I'm gonna cause you to be well known.

602
00:40:04,780 --> 00:40:07,940
I'm gonna cause others to experience this goodwill,

603
00:40:07,940 --> 00:40:09,500
this favor through you.

604
00:40:09,500 --> 00:40:11,980
If they bless you, I'm gonna bless them.

605
00:40:11,980 --> 00:40:13,420
And all the people on the earth,

606
00:40:13,420 --> 00:40:15,620
ultimately, will be blessed through you.

607
00:40:16,380 --> 00:40:18,980
And that is his offspring, and that which takes us down

608
00:40:18,980 --> 00:40:22,780
through Isaac and Peter, and all the people on the earth,

609
00:40:22,780 --> 00:40:25,660
Isaac and Jacob, and then all the way down to the 12 tribes,

610
00:40:25,660 --> 00:40:29,020
but sadly, Israel never fully rose up to the task

611
00:40:29,020 --> 00:40:31,340
of being a blessing to the whole world.

612
00:40:31,340 --> 00:40:33,500
And that's what we see as we go through the Old Testament.

613
00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:36,620
They would have good times, they would have bad times.

614
00:40:36,620 --> 00:40:40,100
But through Christ, who is the ultimate offspring of Abraham,

615
00:40:40,100 --> 00:40:41,020
blessing came.

616
00:40:42,220 --> 00:40:44,380
And it wasn't just to Jewish people,

617
00:40:44,380 --> 00:40:45,860
it was to the whole world.

618
00:40:47,140 --> 00:40:49,180
That those who had put their faith in Jesus Christ

619
00:40:49,180 --> 00:40:50,580
would receive salvation.

620
00:40:50,580 --> 00:40:53,260
They would receive the promise of heaven.

621
00:40:53,260 --> 00:40:55,260
Not only that, they would be given a new heart.

622
00:40:55,260 --> 00:40:56,780
They would be filled with the Holy Spirit,

623
00:40:56,780 --> 00:40:58,900
able to live a life that glorifies God,

624
00:40:58,900 --> 00:41:00,940
and in the process, just be able to walk day to day,

625
00:41:00,940 --> 00:41:04,100
seeing God's glory in everything that happens.

626
00:41:04,100 --> 00:41:04,940
What a blessing.

627
00:41:06,300 --> 00:41:09,140
Galatians 3, 8, 9 says this.

628
00:41:09,140 --> 00:41:11,020
Now the Scriptures saw in advance

629
00:41:11,020 --> 00:41:13,900
that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,

630
00:41:13,900 --> 00:41:17,620
and proclaim the gospel ahead of time to Abraham,

631
00:41:17,620 --> 00:41:20,420
saying, all the nations will be blessed through you.

632
00:41:20,420 --> 00:41:23,260
Consequently, those who have faith are blessed with Abraham,

633
00:41:23,260 --> 00:41:25,660
who had himself had faith.

634
00:41:26,940 --> 00:41:28,740
So what we see here in Genesis 12,

635
00:41:28,740 --> 00:41:31,780
according to Galatians 3, is the gospel.

636
00:41:32,740 --> 00:41:36,740
It's the good news announced in advance to Abraham.

637
00:41:36,740 --> 00:41:39,260
And that good news is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

638
00:41:39,260 --> 00:41:42,500
It really is saying, Abraham, because you believed,

639
00:41:43,460 --> 00:41:45,060
others get to believe.

640
00:41:45,980 --> 00:41:48,860
Because of your belief, you experience the blessing

641
00:41:48,860 --> 00:41:50,060
of God working in your life,

642
00:41:50,060 --> 00:41:51,940
and because of that faithfulness,

643
00:41:51,940 --> 00:41:54,140
other people, all the people of the world,

644
00:41:54,140 --> 00:41:55,900
get the same opportunity.

645
00:41:55,900 --> 00:41:57,060
Think about it.

646
00:41:57,060 --> 00:41:58,460
What if Abraham said no?

647
00:42:00,900 --> 00:42:02,060
I mean, some of you are gonna go like,

648
00:42:02,060 --> 00:42:03,540
well, God woulda did it.

649
00:42:03,540 --> 00:42:04,700
Sure, that could happen.

650
00:42:05,580 --> 00:42:08,660
But if Abraham said no, I'm not gonna follow you, God.

651
00:42:10,180 --> 00:42:13,620
In one line of that, we don't have the nation of Israel.

652
00:42:13,620 --> 00:42:15,140
We don't have the Messiah.

653
00:42:16,020 --> 00:42:17,700
But it's because he had faith, he believed.

654
00:42:17,700 --> 00:42:19,060
God said, cool, I'm gonna use you.

655
00:42:19,060 --> 00:42:20,300
I'm gonna work through this line

656
00:42:20,300 --> 00:42:22,500
and bless the entire planet.

657
00:42:23,860 --> 00:42:25,780
And then that is the responsibility we have today

658
00:42:25,780 --> 00:42:29,100
as the church, is to keep proclaiming that truth, right?

659
00:42:29,100 --> 00:42:31,940
So after this amazing promise, what do we see him do?

660
00:42:33,180 --> 00:42:35,100
Go to a land, I'm gonna do all these things.

661
00:42:35,100 --> 00:42:37,740
It says, so Abraham went as the Lord had told him.

662
00:42:39,300 --> 00:42:43,020
And that's one of the biggest lessons here.

663
00:42:44,540 --> 00:42:47,900
When we read God's word and he says, do this this way,

664
00:42:47,900 --> 00:42:50,020
you know what that means?

665
00:42:50,020 --> 00:42:51,900
Do that that way.

666
00:42:54,500 --> 00:42:57,180
Right, you go, oh, well, that's simple, duh.

667
00:42:57,180 --> 00:42:59,100
But how many of us go, oh, God said do it this way,

668
00:42:59,100 --> 00:43:00,740
I'm gonna do it a little different.

669
00:43:01,660 --> 00:43:05,220
You know, he said, he said be generous,

670
00:43:05,220 --> 00:43:07,500
I'm gonna be halfway generous.

671
00:43:08,340 --> 00:43:10,740
He said, serve one another with your gifts,

672
00:43:10,740 --> 00:43:12,660
but I never get involved.

673
00:43:12,660 --> 00:43:16,180
Or, you know, you know, he went.

674
00:43:16,180 --> 00:43:18,140
God said go, he went.

675
00:43:18,140 --> 00:43:19,660
You know, James tells us that,

676
00:43:20,580 --> 00:43:22,900
he goes, don't just say you have faith.

677
00:43:24,020 --> 00:43:28,100
He goes, let me see your faith in your obedience.

678
00:43:28,100 --> 00:43:29,500
Let me see your faith in your works.

679
00:43:29,500 --> 00:43:30,820
That's what James talks about.

680
00:43:30,820 --> 00:43:33,300
You say you believe God, you say you believe his promises,

681
00:43:33,300 --> 00:43:35,780
I should see that evidenced in your life.

682
00:43:35,780 --> 00:43:38,980
Doesn't mean you're gonna be a perfect sinless person, no.

683
00:43:38,980 --> 00:43:40,380
Because you still have the sin nature with you,

684
00:43:40,380 --> 00:43:43,020
but are you a person whose goal, whose desire,

685
00:43:43,020 --> 00:43:45,100
to say God, I wanna obey you, God, I wanna glorify you,

686
00:43:45,100 --> 00:43:48,060
God, I want my life to be whatever you want, I'm yours.

687
00:43:48,060 --> 00:43:49,180
Use me, God.

688
00:43:50,300 --> 00:43:51,980
And then God says, great, I want you to do this.

689
00:43:51,980 --> 00:43:53,320
Awesome, no question.

690
00:43:54,260 --> 00:43:56,060
I want you to serve this way.

691
00:43:56,060 --> 00:43:56,880
Got it.

692
00:43:58,140 --> 00:43:59,620
And that's what God is talking about here.

693
00:43:59,620 --> 00:44:03,420
He wants us to be people who just go when he says go.

694
00:44:03,420 --> 00:44:05,780
Now, verse four says, so Abram went,

695
00:44:05,780 --> 00:44:08,320
as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him.

696
00:44:09,220 --> 00:44:11,860
Lot's gonna be a major player in the story of Abram,

697
00:44:11,860 --> 00:44:16,860
and so we're told here that Lot's a part of his leaving Ur.

698
00:44:17,340 --> 00:44:19,620
Genesis 11 tells us that when they left Ur,

699
00:44:19,620 --> 00:44:21,780
it was actually Abram's dad, Terah,

700
00:44:21,780 --> 00:44:23,620
that led the entire family out.

701
00:44:23,620 --> 00:44:26,620
We're also told in Genesis 11 that Abraham's brother,

702
00:44:26,620 --> 00:44:28,660
named Haran, had already died.

703
00:44:28,660 --> 00:44:31,000
So what we see here is Abram stepping in

704
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:34,540
to look after his brother's kid, Lot.

705
00:44:34,540 --> 00:44:39,020
Now, we're not told how old Abram was when he left Ur.

706
00:44:39,020 --> 00:44:42,180
We're not told how old he was when he settled in Haran,

707
00:44:42,180 --> 00:44:46,140
but we are told how old he was when he left Haran.

708
00:44:46,140 --> 00:44:49,680
Now, between the first part of verse four,

709
00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:51,300
so Abram went, just as the Lord told him,

710
00:44:51,300 --> 00:44:53,620
and Lot went with him, and then the space

711
00:44:53,620 --> 00:44:57,020
between the start of Abram was 75 years old,

712
00:44:57,020 --> 00:44:58,360
there's a gap there.

713
00:44:59,260 --> 00:45:01,020
Right, this is a new gap theory.

714
00:45:01,020 --> 00:45:02,940
There's a gap right there.

715
00:45:02,940 --> 00:45:05,420
And what that gap is is this.

716
00:45:05,420 --> 00:45:07,960
When you read it, it looks like God spoke to him,

717
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:09,460
gave him this promise in Haran,

718
00:45:09,460 --> 00:45:11,980
and then he left Haran, right?

719
00:45:11,980 --> 00:45:14,420
But Acts chapter seven, verse two,

720
00:45:14,420 --> 00:45:16,820
very specifically tells us that God gave him

721
00:45:16,820 --> 00:45:19,040
this promise before he left Ur.

722
00:45:20,220 --> 00:45:22,860
And so when you look at the chronology, he was in Ur.

723
00:45:22,860 --> 00:45:25,340
He got told, hey, go, leave your people,

724
00:45:25,340 --> 00:45:27,820
leave your country, leave your family.

725
00:45:27,820 --> 00:45:29,740
And then verse four here, the first part, it says,

726
00:45:29,740 --> 00:45:32,100
so Abram went, right?

727
00:45:32,100 --> 00:45:33,300
And then there's a gap.

728
00:45:34,220 --> 00:45:37,020
Because Genesis 11, 31 says, when they came to Haran,

729
00:45:37,020 --> 00:45:38,300
they settled there.

730
00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:42,500
And then after that gap, we then see Abraham

731
00:45:42,500 --> 00:45:45,340
was 75 years old when he left Haran, okay?

732
00:45:46,780 --> 00:45:49,660
So he left Haran, his dad was dead,

733
00:45:49,660 --> 00:45:51,980
tells us that in Acts seven, four.

734
00:45:51,980 --> 00:45:53,940
He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot,

735
00:45:53,940 --> 00:45:55,560
all the possessions they had accumulated,

736
00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:57,300
and all the people they had acquired in Haran,

737
00:45:57,300 --> 00:45:59,760
and they set out for the land of Canaan.

738
00:46:01,100 --> 00:46:06,100
So after 75, or at the age of 75, after his dad had died,

739
00:46:06,100 --> 00:46:08,700
after they had been spending time in Haran,

740
00:46:08,700 --> 00:46:13,100
he finally sets out, not knowing where God was leading him.

741
00:46:13,100 --> 00:46:15,380
Now, there are a lot of people who look at this,

742
00:46:15,380 --> 00:46:17,340
look at the fact they settled in Haran,

743
00:46:17,340 --> 00:46:20,980
look at the fact that it was his dad that led him out of Ur,

744
00:46:20,980 --> 00:46:24,660
as Abraham partially obeying God's call, right?

745
00:46:24,660 --> 00:46:26,020
What did God tell him to do initially?

746
00:46:26,020 --> 00:46:30,160
Leave your country, leave your people, leave your relatives.

747
00:46:32,240 --> 00:46:35,540
But when they left Ur, it wasn't Abraham

748
00:46:35,540 --> 00:46:36,980
leaving his relatives, he was actually

749
00:46:36,980 --> 00:46:38,300
still with his relatives.

750
00:46:38,300 --> 00:46:41,660
Speculatively, Abraham hears God, oh my gosh, God,

751
00:46:41,660 --> 00:46:46,020
you're real, goes up, hey dad, God talked to me.

752
00:46:47,020 --> 00:46:48,260
And then they probably had a conversation,

753
00:46:48,260 --> 00:46:49,540
you're crazy, da-da-da, back and forth,

754
00:46:49,540 --> 00:46:52,060
no, it's real, speculative, right?

755
00:46:52,060 --> 00:46:53,820
But then he said, hey, I gotta go.

756
00:46:54,820 --> 00:46:57,740
And then his dad leads the family out.

757
00:46:57,740 --> 00:47:00,040
So people go, that's a partial obedience by Abraham,

758
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:02,940
he didn't leave his relatives at that point.

759
00:47:02,940 --> 00:47:07,420
We also see that when they got to Haran,

760
00:47:07,420 --> 00:47:10,580
the scripture doesn't tell us, God said, and here we are.

761
00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:14,540
It just says they settled in Haran,

762
00:47:14,540 --> 00:47:16,140
and then later it says he left Haran.

763
00:47:16,140 --> 00:47:19,380
So we know that this stop was a delay of some kind.

764
00:47:19,380 --> 00:47:22,460
It was them stopping and not fully following through

765
00:47:22,460 --> 00:47:23,860
on God's promise.

766
00:47:23,860 --> 00:47:26,420
You know what Haran means, incidentally?

767
00:47:26,420 --> 00:47:27,240
Delayed.

768
00:47:28,740 --> 00:47:31,780
They left Ur and went to the town of Delayed.

769
00:47:31,780 --> 00:47:35,260
Then after his dad died, he finally left to the land, right?

770
00:47:35,260 --> 00:47:37,740
It's very interesting, because that's exactly what happened.

771
00:47:37,740 --> 00:47:40,820
God made some amazing promises to Abraham,

772
00:47:40,820 --> 00:47:43,020
said hey, this is what I'm gonna do,

773
00:47:43,020 --> 00:47:46,400
but because Abraham didn't completely follow through

774
00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:48,640
on everything God told him to do,

775
00:47:48,640 --> 00:47:50,820
the promises that God was gonna work in his life

776
00:47:50,820 --> 00:47:51,860
were delayed.

777
00:47:53,700 --> 00:47:55,380
You guys understand that?

778
00:47:55,380 --> 00:47:57,920
When God says to go or to do something,

779
00:47:59,300 --> 00:48:01,020
and we're going and saying, yeah, God promised,

780
00:48:01,020 --> 00:48:03,140
he's gonna do this, and I'm being obedient to him,

781
00:48:03,140 --> 00:48:06,420
and I wanna see God work, and we kinda obey.

782
00:48:07,380 --> 00:48:11,220
We maybe do most of it, or we go part of the way.

783
00:48:11,220 --> 00:48:14,860
All we're doing is delaying the blessing God has for us.

784
00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:18,300
God says go, and we're like, okay,

785
00:48:18,300 --> 00:48:20,900
and he goes go until, and whoa, I'm gonna do it this way,

786
00:48:20,900 --> 00:48:22,080
and God, you don't understand,

787
00:48:22,080 --> 00:48:23,940
and I need to add this to my obedience,

788
00:48:23,940 --> 00:48:27,380
and then we go, where's the blessing God promised me?

789
00:48:27,380 --> 00:48:31,700
God, I'm doing what you called me to do.

790
00:48:31,700 --> 00:48:33,740
And he's like, no, you're not.

791
00:48:33,740 --> 00:48:34,820
You're kinda doing it,

792
00:48:36,140 --> 00:48:39,080
but you're delaying the blessing I have in your life.

793
00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:40,620
Now, of course, in God's great mercy,

794
00:48:40,620 --> 00:48:42,660
we aren't disowned when we do this.

795
00:48:42,660 --> 00:48:45,620
He doesn't cast us out for our partial obedience,

796
00:48:45,620 --> 00:48:47,500
but we could delay the blessing in our lives

797
00:48:47,500 --> 00:48:49,780
when we aren't fully doing what God calls us to do

798
00:48:49,780 --> 00:48:51,980
and be an obedient in that way.

799
00:48:51,980 --> 00:48:55,320
So, verse five, when they came to the land of Canaan,

800
00:48:55,320 --> 00:48:58,180
Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem

801
00:48:58,180 --> 00:48:59,940
at the Oak of Morah.

802
00:48:59,940 --> 00:49:02,460
At that time, the Canaanites were in the land.

803
00:49:02,460 --> 00:49:03,860
The Lord appeared to Abram and said,

804
00:49:03,860 --> 00:49:05,900
to your offspring I will give this land,

805
00:49:05,900 --> 00:49:07,900
so he built an altar there to the Lord

806
00:49:07,900 --> 00:49:09,700
who had appeared to him.

807
00:49:09,700 --> 00:49:11,500
So, this little aside here, remember,

808
00:49:11,500 --> 00:49:14,020
Moses is writing this whole account

809
00:49:14,020 --> 00:49:15,460
while Israel's in the wilderness,

810
00:49:15,460 --> 00:49:17,020
they're out of Egypt, they're wandering,

811
00:49:17,020 --> 00:49:18,500
they're gonna go into the promised land

812
00:49:18,500 --> 00:49:20,440
and guess who they're gonna run into there?

813
00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:21,540
Canaanites.

814
00:49:21,540 --> 00:49:24,060
And so, Abraham has been spending a lot of time saying,

815
00:49:24,060 --> 00:49:25,740
where did these people come from

816
00:49:25,740 --> 00:49:27,980
and why is God telling us to conquer them

817
00:49:27,980 --> 00:49:29,540
and why should we be obedient to that?

818
00:49:29,540 --> 00:49:31,180
So, here we have this aside again,

819
00:49:31,180 --> 00:49:34,700
hey, the Canaanites, they were there when Abraham got there.

820
00:49:34,700 --> 00:49:37,460
And that simply indicates that there's gonna be opposition

821
00:49:38,780 --> 00:49:40,540
when he gets to the promised land.

822
00:49:41,500 --> 00:49:43,140
That it's not gonna be smooth sailing,

823
00:49:43,140 --> 00:49:44,100
that even though God is saying,

824
00:49:44,100 --> 00:49:46,380
I'm giving you this land and it belongs to your descendants,

825
00:49:46,380 --> 00:49:48,340
that there's gonna be opposition.

826
00:49:48,340 --> 00:49:49,740
But what's interesting to me is,

827
00:49:49,740 --> 00:49:50,860
is if you look at the map,

828
00:49:50,860 --> 00:49:53,140
Haran's right up there at the top, right?

829
00:49:53,140 --> 00:49:55,340
And so, he went down from, or up from Ur,

830
00:49:55,340 --> 00:49:57,140
hit Haran, hung out for a while,

831
00:49:57,140 --> 00:49:59,100
and then God said, okay, your dad's dead, go.

832
00:49:59,100 --> 00:50:00,700
Boom, and so he goes south

833
00:50:00,700 --> 00:50:03,100
and he enters into the promised land.

834
00:50:03,100 --> 00:50:04,460
Now, there's so many cities,

835
00:50:04,460 --> 00:50:07,380
even cities that were major population centers of that day,

836
00:50:07,380 --> 00:50:09,020
but it doesn't tell us any of those details.

837
00:50:09,020 --> 00:50:11,660
All it says is, he passed through the land

838
00:50:11,660 --> 00:50:13,380
to the site of Shechem at the Oak of Morah.

839
00:50:13,380 --> 00:50:14,620
Why that detail?

840
00:50:15,580 --> 00:50:17,840
Like, who cares about a tree, right?

841
00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:19,380
What does that have to do with anything?

842
00:50:19,380 --> 00:50:24,380
Well, morah means teacher or oracle giver.

843
00:50:25,580 --> 00:50:26,700
And so, what it's telling us is,

844
00:50:26,700 --> 00:50:29,340
he came to this place where the Oak of Morah

845
00:50:29,340 --> 00:50:30,700
is understood to be a place

846
00:50:30,700 --> 00:50:34,800
where the Canaanites would gather together to hear oracles.

847
00:50:34,800 --> 00:50:36,660
There was soothsayers that would like,

848
00:50:36,660 --> 00:50:38,340
look at the rustling of the leaves and go,

849
00:50:38,340 --> 00:50:41,540
oh, the gods are saying, do this.

850
00:50:41,540 --> 00:50:42,540
Pretty silly, huh?

851
00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:45,940
People go, who would do that type of thing?

852
00:50:45,940 --> 00:50:47,660
Oh, let me drop my tea leaves in the water

853
00:50:47,660 --> 00:50:49,560
and get my future out of it.

854
00:50:51,060 --> 00:50:53,620
And so, there was this place that what we're being told

855
00:50:53,620 --> 00:50:55,140
is when Abraham gets to the land

856
00:50:55,140 --> 00:50:56,580
and starts traveling through the land,

857
00:50:56,580 --> 00:50:58,280
right there in the middle of the promised land

858
00:50:58,280 --> 00:50:59,920
is guess what, idolatry.

859
00:51:01,200 --> 00:51:02,700
False gods.

860
00:51:02,700 --> 00:51:06,220
Abraham had come all the way from pagan idolatrous Ur

861
00:51:06,220 --> 00:51:08,820
to end up in pagan idolatrous Canaan.

862
00:51:12,720 --> 00:51:13,560
What's the point?

863
00:51:14,900 --> 00:51:15,740
Why?

864
00:51:15,740 --> 00:51:19,300
Because again, God doesn't say follow me

865
00:51:19,300 --> 00:51:23,860
because I'm gonna make everything perfect here on earth.

866
00:51:23,860 --> 00:51:25,580
He doesn't say follow me because I'm gonna take away

867
00:51:25,580 --> 00:51:27,700
all the problems here on earth.

868
00:51:27,700 --> 00:51:31,860
He says follow me in the midst of this pagan place.

869
00:51:31,860 --> 00:51:33,180
Follow me in the midst of this.

870
00:51:33,180 --> 00:51:35,580
You can hold my promises as true,

871
00:51:35,580 --> 00:51:38,860
you can hold my promises as real as if they're in effect

872
00:51:38,860 --> 00:51:41,720
right now in the midst of this pagan place.

873
00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:45,900
Now you notice earlier it said the Lord spoke to Abraham

874
00:51:45,900 --> 00:51:48,940
here and now says the Lord appeared to Abraham.

875
00:51:48,940 --> 00:51:52,260
That word appeared, it's not an allegory,

876
00:51:52,260 --> 00:51:53,080
it means he appeared.

877
00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:54,980
It means he visibly appeared to him.

878
00:51:54,980 --> 00:51:58,480
This is what we call a theophany in the Old Testament.

879
00:51:58,480 --> 00:52:02,140
A physical representation or appearance by God,

880
00:52:02,140 --> 00:52:03,100
it's a theophany.

881
00:52:03,100 --> 00:52:06,440
And so again, we see Abraham who had followed

882
00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:08,960
an unseen God to an unknown land

883
00:52:08,960 --> 00:52:12,540
is now granted an audience with God.

884
00:52:12,540 --> 00:52:15,980
And really in our lives, I mean the application of this

885
00:52:15,980 --> 00:52:19,340
is when we just follow God,

886
00:52:19,340 --> 00:52:22,240
we're gonna see more and more of God in our life.

887
00:52:23,660 --> 00:52:26,300
The closer you stay with God and the longer you walk

888
00:52:26,300 --> 00:52:28,700
with him, man, the Holy Spirit just does this work in you

889
00:52:28,700 --> 00:52:29,980
and you start getting really aware of,

890
00:52:29,980 --> 00:52:31,460
oh that was the Lord.

891
00:52:31,460 --> 00:52:32,900
And God answered the prayer.

892
00:52:32,900 --> 00:52:34,620
And you just start seeing this.

893
00:52:34,620 --> 00:52:37,080
He's appearing to you in more ways.

894
00:52:37,080 --> 00:52:40,100
I know right here it's a physical appearance,

895
00:52:40,100 --> 00:52:42,820
but the idea is that through our obedience,

896
00:52:42,820 --> 00:52:43,980
we see God work.

897
00:52:45,020 --> 00:52:46,420
And sometimes I'll talk to people and they go,

898
00:52:46,420 --> 00:52:47,660
I never see God do anything.

899
00:52:47,660 --> 00:52:49,760
I'm like, all right, do you do anything to serve the Lord?

900
00:52:49,760 --> 00:52:50,600
No.

901
00:52:50,600 --> 00:52:51,420
Do you read your Bible?

902
00:52:51,420 --> 00:52:52,260
Not really.

903
00:52:52,260 --> 00:52:53,080
Do you pray?

904
00:52:53,080 --> 00:52:53,920
Well, never.

905
00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:54,760
Do you worship?

906
00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:55,760
No, I listen to death metal.

907
00:52:58,380 --> 00:53:00,380
I like death metal by the way, but anyways.

908
00:53:02,900 --> 00:53:03,960
You're not walking with the Lord.

909
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:08,140
Why do you expect to see him?

910
00:53:08,140 --> 00:53:11,020
And so in obedience, we see the Lord working.

911
00:53:11,020 --> 00:53:13,580
But we learn here that when we leave it all,

912
00:53:13,580 --> 00:53:15,380
when God calls us to leave it all,

913
00:53:15,380 --> 00:53:18,180
and we just follow God in faith,

914
00:53:19,300 --> 00:53:20,700
he guides us, he directs us,

915
00:53:20,700 --> 00:53:22,940
he gets us to where he wants us to go.

916
00:53:22,940 --> 00:53:24,060
Now again, my question is,

917
00:53:24,060 --> 00:53:26,380
why didn't God tell him up front back in Ur?

918
00:53:26,380 --> 00:53:28,960
Hey, you're gonna go to Canaan,

919
00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:30,820
and that's gonna be a land I'm gonna give

920
00:53:30,820 --> 00:53:32,700
to your descendants, so go.

921
00:53:32,700 --> 00:53:34,220
Why didn't he say that to him?

922
00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:36,480
Now some might look at it and he goes,

923
00:53:36,480 --> 00:53:38,540
well, he said, go to a land that I will show you

924
00:53:38,540 --> 00:53:39,860
and I'll make you a great nation.

925
00:53:39,860 --> 00:53:42,660
So possibly Abram just inferred,

926
00:53:42,660 --> 00:53:44,860
oh, hey, this is gonna be where my people grow.

927
00:53:46,100 --> 00:53:48,180
But I think it's more than that.

928
00:53:48,180 --> 00:53:50,080
In Proverbs three, verses five and six,

929
00:53:50,080 --> 00:53:51,900
it says, trust in the Lord with all your heart

930
00:53:51,900 --> 00:53:54,160
and do not rely on your own understanding.

931
00:53:54,160 --> 00:53:55,420
In all your ways, know him

932
00:53:55,420 --> 00:53:57,420
and he will make your path straight.

933
00:53:58,300 --> 00:54:00,300
The idea there is trust God,

934
00:54:00,300 --> 00:54:02,420
accept that you're not gonna fully understand

935
00:54:02,420 --> 00:54:04,260
everything God is leading you to do

936
00:54:04,260 --> 00:54:07,180
and even in that situation, take a step of faith

937
00:54:08,100 --> 00:54:10,700
and he's gonna make your path straight.

938
00:54:10,700 --> 00:54:13,020
So God says, hey, I want you to take a step

939
00:54:13,020 --> 00:54:14,540
and you go, well, where are we going?

940
00:54:14,540 --> 00:54:17,180
He goes, nah, I'll tell you when we get there.

941
00:54:17,180 --> 00:54:18,980
But take the step of faith and you take the step

942
00:54:18,980 --> 00:54:21,620
and he goes, cool, okay, now here's the next step.

943
00:54:22,560 --> 00:54:24,500
But God, I don't know where we're going.

944
00:54:24,500 --> 00:54:25,700
You don't need to know.

945
00:54:25,700 --> 00:54:27,700
You just need to take a step and trust me

946
00:54:27,700 --> 00:54:29,160
and on and on and on.

947
00:54:29,160 --> 00:54:31,680
God doesn't always or even often show us

948
00:54:31,680 --> 00:54:33,920
the final destination of what he's calling us to do.

949
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:36,160
Sometimes he does, but a lot of times

950
00:54:36,160 --> 00:54:38,800
he just calls us to step out in faith, why?

951
00:54:38,800 --> 00:54:42,840
Because I believe that largely what God has in store for us

952
00:54:42,840 --> 00:54:46,080
is something impossible for us to fathom.

953
00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:49,560
Like if God said, hey, this is what I'm gonna do for you

954
00:54:49,560 --> 00:54:52,240
and you're like, I'm in, let's go.

955
00:54:52,240 --> 00:54:53,680
And he goes, yeah, but here's the difficulties

956
00:54:53,680 --> 00:54:54,880
you're gonna go through to get there.

957
00:54:54,880 --> 00:54:56,640
Never mind God, I'm good in error.

958
00:54:56,640 --> 00:54:57,640
I'm good in error.

959
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:01,280
Look, I won't worship Nana anymore, but I'm good.

960
00:55:01,280 --> 00:55:03,120
No, no, no, no, no.

961
00:55:03,120 --> 00:55:04,960
No, I'm gonna do this wonderful thing.

962
00:55:04,960 --> 00:55:06,800
Oh my gosh, I can't even imagine doing that,

963
00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:09,400
but here's the things you're gonna go through to get there.

964
00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:12,580
And God knows us, we're weak.

965
00:55:13,520 --> 00:55:15,840
We want our own comfort.

966
00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:17,640
And so what he says is take a step.

967
00:55:19,320 --> 00:55:20,680
And then we take the step.

968
00:55:20,680 --> 00:55:23,280
And then take the next one and on and on.

969
00:55:23,280 --> 00:55:26,960
So what's Abraham's response to God's faithfulness?

970
00:55:26,960 --> 00:55:28,200
What does he do?

971
00:55:28,200 --> 00:55:29,320
He worships.

972
00:55:30,560 --> 00:55:32,120
He builds an altar.

973
00:55:32,120 --> 00:55:33,440
That's the indication of worship

974
00:55:33,440 --> 00:55:36,280
where they would do their offerings and praise God.

975
00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:40,080
Abram's life is marked by the altars he made for God.

976
00:55:40,080 --> 00:55:41,320
It's just really beautiful, right?

977
00:55:41,320 --> 00:55:43,740
He didn't build towers, he didn't build cities.

978
00:55:43,740 --> 00:55:46,600
When Abraham left the earth, what was left behind

979
00:55:46,600 --> 00:55:48,980
to tell you that Abraham was there?

980
00:55:48,980 --> 00:55:50,840
Architecturally, altars.

981
00:55:50,840 --> 00:55:53,520
Altars, he would go to a place, build an altar.

982
00:55:53,520 --> 00:55:54,520
Go to a place, build an altar.

983
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:56,280
Go to a place, build an altar.

984
00:55:56,280 --> 00:55:58,980
Hebrews 11, nine says, by faith he stayed as a foreigner

985
00:55:58,980 --> 00:56:00,640
in the land of promise.

986
00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:02,680
Living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob,

987
00:56:02,680 --> 00:56:04,820
coheirs of the same promise.

988
00:56:04,820 --> 00:56:07,180
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations

989
00:56:07,180 --> 00:56:09,320
whose architect and builder is God.

990
00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:13,640
Abraham knew the promise, he believed in the promise.

991
00:56:13,640 --> 00:56:16,880
He said, my offspring is gonna bless the whole world.

992
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:19,000
This land is for my people.

993
00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:20,440
And so he shows up in this land,

994
00:56:20,440 --> 00:56:21,720
he's like, there's the Canaanites,

995
00:56:21,720 --> 00:56:23,320
and there's the tree of Mora,

996
00:56:23,320 --> 00:56:24,720
and there's all this pagan adultery,

997
00:56:24,720 --> 00:56:26,400
and he goes, I don't care about that.

998
00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:29,340
God said, so boom, build an altar, praise the Lord.

999
00:56:30,960 --> 00:56:34,000
God, I trust you, I believe in you, praise God.

1000
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:37,060
But he's like, I'm going, we're going to heaven.

1001
00:56:37,060 --> 00:56:38,960
This isn't permanent, this is a gift from God,

1002
00:56:38,960 --> 00:56:40,640
but this isn't permanent.

1003
00:56:40,640 --> 00:56:42,800
So he lived his life as a pilgrim,

1004
00:56:42,800 --> 00:56:44,740
lived his life as a sojourner.

1005
00:56:46,200 --> 00:56:49,320
He knew that, no, I'll settle down when I get to heaven.

1006
00:56:49,320 --> 00:56:51,200
But in this life, we got work to do.

1007
00:56:51,200 --> 00:56:52,720
In this life, we're gonna be doing

1008
00:56:52,720 --> 00:56:53,920
what God's calling us to do.

1009
00:56:53,920 --> 00:56:55,860
It's not time for me to just stop.

1010
00:56:56,800 --> 00:56:59,160
I'll stop, I'll rest when we get to heaven.

1011
00:56:59,160 --> 00:57:00,160
And then verse eight and nine,

1012
00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:02,960
from there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel

1013
00:57:02,960 --> 00:57:06,440
and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west

1014
00:57:06,440 --> 00:57:07,920
and Ai on the east.

1015
00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:09,320
He built an altar to the Lord there,

1016
00:57:09,320 --> 00:57:10,880
and he called on the name of the Lord.

1017
00:57:10,880 --> 00:57:14,640
Then Abraham journeyed by stages to the Negev.

1018
00:57:15,800 --> 00:57:18,920
Now Bethel here was very similar to Shechem, right?

1019
00:57:18,920 --> 00:57:21,200
Bethel, it's known that during this time,

1020
00:57:21,200 --> 00:57:25,540
it was a very important Canaanite pagan center.

1021
00:57:25,540 --> 00:57:28,020
It's where they had a temple to the god El,

1022
00:57:28,020 --> 00:57:32,320
which was like the Zeus of the Canaanite pantheon.

1023
00:57:32,320 --> 00:57:33,600
And so right here at Bethel,

1024
00:57:33,600 --> 00:57:35,600
there's this major idolatrous worship,

1025
00:57:35,600 --> 00:57:37,480
and then Ai's on the other side,

1026
00:57:37,480 --> 00:57:40,360
and it says here he built another altar.

1027
00:57:40,360 --> 00:57:41,520
I don't care about that false god,

1028
00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:44,640
I don't care about that, I'm gonna worship the Lord.

1029
00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:46,060
And then it says something very interesting,

1030
00:57:46,060 --> 00:57:48,560
he called on the name of the Lord.

1031
00:57:48,560 --> 00:57:50,560
You know what that word called means?

1032
00:57:50,560 --> 00:57:52,560
He proclaimed.

1033
00:57:52,560 --> 00:57:55,800
He proclaimed, that means he was proclaiming God

1034
00:57:55,800 --> 00:57:57,440
while he was there in the land.

1035
00:57:57,440 --> 00:58:01,040
Oh, Canaanites, Canaanites, spooky tree, so what?

1036
00:58:01,040 --> 00:58:05,160
God is the one true God, and I will worship him.

1037
00:58:05,160 --> 00:58:07,280
And you guys need to know him, that's the implication

1038
00:58:07,280 --> 00:58:09,900
that he was proclaiming the name of the Lord.

1039
00:58:10,960 --> 00:58:12,200
And I find it very interesting

1040
00:58:12,200 --> 00:58:14,500
that as he's proclaiming the name of the Lord,

1041
00:58:15,720 --> 00:58:18,320
God originally said, I will make your name great

1042
00:58:18,320 --> 00:58:20,720
in Abram's response, is I'm gonna praise your name, God,

1043
00:58:20,720 --> 00:58:22,120
I'm gonna lift up your name.

1044
00:58:23,360 --> 00:58:25,800
And so then, he ends up down in the Negev,

1045
00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:28,560
and that's just at the very bottom of that map there,

1046
00:58:28,560 --> 00:58:31,200
underneath Israel, it's called the Desert of Negev.

1047
00:58:31,200 --> 00:58:33,720
It was basically the southern border to the promised land.

1048
00:58:33,720 --> 00:58:37,560
So here we see that Abraham's journey has taken him

1049
00:58:37,560 --> 00:58:38,960
from the northern part of Israel

1050
00:58:38,960 --> 00:58:41,320
down through to the southern border.

1051
00:58:41,320 --> 00:58:44,000
Not only did he physically see the land

1052
00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:45,600
that God had promised to his descendants,

1053
00:58:45,600 --> 00:58:48,640
God said, this is the land I'm giving to your people,

1054
00:58:48,640 --> 00:58:50,500
but he walked through it.

1055
00:58:50,500 --> 00:58:52,200
And as we read, as he went through the land,

1056
00:58:52,200 --> 00:58:54,000
he worshiped through the land.

1057
00:58:55,520 --> 00:58:59,200
What that is is symbolically, it was him taking possession.

1058
00:59:00,360 --> 00:59:02,760
Was it his right now, was his people there right now?

1059
00:59:02,760 --> 00:59:05,880
No, but this land is as good as mine, why?

1060
00:59:05,880 --> 00:59:07,060
Because God said so.

1061
00:59:08,320 --> 00:59:10,700
But idolatry, so what, God said so.

1062
00:59:10,700 --> 00:59:12,840
I will have victory here.

1063
00:59:12,840 --> 00:59:16,200
He trusted the Lord, and that's the big thing

1064
00:59:16,200 --> 00:59:18,760
about his life of faith.

1065
00:59:18,760 --> 00:59:20,720
It was so beautiful.

1066
00:59:22,080 --> 00:59:24,920
The Lord had made promises, he rested on those promises,

1067
00:59:24,920 --> 00:59:27,480
and that's really what faith is.

1068
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:30,460
Faith is we hear God's word, we hear his promises,

1069
00:59:30,460 --> 00:59:32,980
we place our trust, we place our faith in him

1070
00:59:32,980 --> 00:59:37,400
and what he said, and then our belief is evidenced

1071
00:59:37,400 --> 00:59:39,680
by us living according to those promises.

1072
00:59:39,680 --> 00:59:41,320
Well, if God said this, it has to be true,

1073
00:59:41,320 --> 00:59:43,020
therefore I should live this way.

1074
00:59:44,600 --> 00:59:48,240
We do what his word says, and we do all that knowing

1075
00:59:48,240 --> 00:59:51,000
and expecting his promises to be true.

1076
00:59:51,000 --> 00:59:52,100
Because they are true, why?

1077
00:59:52,100 --> 00:59:53,360
Because he's God.

1078
00:59:55,520 --> 00:59:57,920
And that allows us to live today

1079
00:59:57,920 --> 01:00:00,360
as people who possess the promise.

1080
01:00:02,040 --> 01:00:04,800
We are citizens of heaven, the Bible tells us.

1081
01:00:04,800 --> 01:00:06,680
This is not our home.

1082
01:00:06,680 --> 01:00:08,300
Today we are citizens of heaven,

1083
01:00:08,300 --> 01:00:10,600
not we will be citizens of heaven.

1084
01:00:10,600 --> 01:00:13,480
Yeah, we will be citizens in the New Jerusalem one day,

1085
01:00:13,480 --> 01:00:17,080
but today we are pilgrims, we are sojourners,

1086
01:00:17,080 --> 01:00:20,400
we are citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world now.

1087
01:00:22,160 --> 01:00:24,280
And so God says, cool, you believe that?

1088
01:00:24,280 --> 01:00:25,240
Live like it.

1089
01:00:26,480 --> 01:00:28,420
Stop caring about the things the world cares about,

1090
01:00:28,420 --> 01:00:29,800
stop living the way the world lives,

1091
01:00:29,800 --> 01:00:32,480
stop prioritizing what the world prioritizes,

1092
01:00:32,480 --> 01:00:34,600
because this isn't your home.

1093
01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:39,600
And so the gospel that was declared in advance in Abraham,

1094
01:00:41,040 --> 01:00:43,020
it's true today just as it was then,

1095
01:00:43,020 --> 01:00:46,160
that all the people of the world are blessed

1096
01:00:46,160 --> 01:00:48,920
through Abraham's offspring, through his faith.

1097
01:00:48,920 --> 01:00:51,680
Abraham believed, because he believed he went,

1098
01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:54,400
eventually got there, right?

1099
01:00:54,400 --> 01:00:58,320
But as he went, he worshiped, and as he worshiped,

1100
01:00:58,320 --> 01:01:00,360
he proclaimed the name of the Lord.

1101
01:01:00,360 --> 01:01:03,340
You want a pattern for your life, there's a great one.

1102
01:01:03,340 --> 01:01:04,180
Go.

1103
01:01:05,140 --> 01:01:07,860
And while you're going, worship.

1104
01:01:07,860 --> 01:01:11,460
And while you're worshiping, proclaim the name of Jesus.

1105
01:01:11,460 --> 01:01:13,900
It's kind of similar to what Jesus said at the end of Matthew,

1106
01:01:13,900 --> 01:01:16,980
go therefore into all the world, preaching the name,

1107
01:01:16,980 --> 01:01:18,660
teaching all the things I've shown you,

1108
01:01:18,660 --> 01:01:20,380
baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son,

1109
01:01:20,380 --> 01:01:21,220
and the Holy Spirit.

1110
01:01:22,100 --> 01:01:24,340
And lo, I will be with you until the end of the age.

1111
01:01:27,220 --> 01:01:29,220
It didn't matter what the world was,

1112
01:01:29,220 --> 01:01:31,940
what the world was in front of him.

1113
01:01:31,940 --> 01:01:35,020
His God was as real as real can be.

1114
01:01:35,020 --> 01:01:37,300
It didn't matter what the situations were.

1115
01:01:37,300 --> 01:01:40,140
God had made promises, so he lived like those promises

1116
01:01:40,140 --> 01:01:42,500
are true, because they are true.

1117
01:01:42,500 --> 01:01:45,440
What God had said would be was as good as done in his life.

1118
01:01:45,440 --> 01:01:48,340
The land belonged to his people, so he set up shop,

1119
01:01:48,340 --> 01:01:51,100
he put down the altars, he said, this is for the Lord.

1120
01:01:52,140 --> 01:01:53,220
That's true faith.

1121
01:01:54,680 --> 01:01:57,180
That's a great example of how to live a life of faith today.

1122
01:01:57,180 --> 01:01:59,860
That's the example for us.

1123
01:01:59,860 --> 01:02:01,980
So if you've been living a life and you're just like,

1124
01:02:01,980 --> 01:02:04,060
I know the Lord, I'm a Christian,

1125
01:02:04,060 --> 01:02:07,540
but I'm kind of halfway being obedient, fix it.

1126
01:02:09,740 --> 01:02:11,260
I believe God has blessings in your life

1127
01:02:11,260 --> 01:02:12,660
that he wants to do, and you're going,

1128
01:02:12,660 --> 01:02:13,780
why aren't the blessings coming?

1129
01:02:13,780 --> 01:02:17,180
And God's like, hey, why are you stopping in Haran?

1130
01:02:19,740 --> 01:02:21,660
There's things that God has been leading you to do,

1131
01:02:21,660 --> 01:02:25,180
calling you to do, and you're like, well, kind of, sorta.

1132
01:02:25,180 --> 01:02:28,140
And then you're going, see, this is a terrible situation.

1133
01:02:28,140 --> 01:02:29,940
This isn't the blessing God told me I would have,

1134
01:02:29,940 --> 01:02:31,940
because you haven't gone all the way yet.

1135
01:02:33,580 --> 01:02:35,220
But then again, it's not that God's going,

1136
01:02:35,220 --> 01:02:36,500
well, you're not my child anymore,

1137
01:02:36,500 --> 01:02:38,180
you didn't obey perfectly, you're done.

1138
01:02:38,180 --> 01:02:40,980
No, he goes, come on, I got something for you.

1139
01:02:40,980 --> 01:02:44,980
Trust me, have faith, believe, walk the walk of faith.

1140
01:02:44,980 --> 01:02:46,300
Do what I'm telling you to do,

1141
01:02:46,300 --> 01:02:49,260
and watch what I will do in your life.

1142
01:02:49,260 --> 01:02:50,620
Let's pray.

1143
01:02:50,620 --> 01:02:51,460
Father God,

1144
01:02:51,460 --> 01:02:56,460
we trust you so much, Lord, and yet we don't trust you.

1145
01:02:59,140 --> 01:03:01,660
God, we struggle with this sinful life,

1146
01:03:01,660 --> 01:03:04,140
this flesh that we still have with us, Lord.

1147
01:03:05,340 --> 01:03:06,660
We know that Abraham dealt with it,

1148
01:03:06,660 --> 01:03:09,660
we're gonna see this as we go through his story.

1149
01:03:09,660 --> 01:03:12,220
We know that Paul dealt with it in the New Testament.

1150
01:03:13,540 --> 01:03:15,180
Lord, we know Paul even taught on that and said,

1151
01:03:15,180 --> 01:03:16,500
why am I doing things I don't wanna do,

1152
01:03:16,500 --> 01:03:18,500
and I'm not doing the things I wanna do?

1153
01:03:18,500 --> 01:03:23,500
But Lord, those aren't the things that make us saved.

1154
01:03:23,500 --> 01:03:26,500
They do evidence our salvation, however.

1155
01:03:26,500 --> 01:03:28,100
But Lord, we're saved because we trust you,

1156
01:03:28,100 --> 01:03:29,700
we believe that you are real.

1157
01:03:31,700 --> 01:03:36,700
And God, in the face of our stumbles and our falls,

1158
01:03:36,940 --> 01:03:39,940
Lord, you still want us to know that you love us,

1159
01:03:41,300 --> 01:03:43,020
that you died to save us,

1160
01:03:44,780 --> 01:03:46,620
that you want to live in the world

1161
01:03:46,620 --> 01:03:50,060
that you want to bless us and work on our behalf.

1162
01:03:50,060 --> 01:03:51,660
And God, we get to experience that

1163
01:03:51,660 --> 01:03:53,380
because Abraham experienced it.

1164
01:03:54,260 --> 01:03:56,580
We are blessed through Abraham.

1165
01:03:56,580 --> 01:03:58,100
As he had faith, we have faith,

1166
01:03:58,100 --> 01:04:01,540
and we get to experience, Lord, that relationship with you.

1167
01:04:01,540 --> 01:04:03,500
To be able to be people who walk through this life

1168
01:04:03,500 --> 01:04:05,620
despite the fact that there's idolatry everywhere

1169
01:04:05,620 --> 01:04:07,940
and paganism everywhere, that we would be people

1170
01:04:07,940 --> 01:04:10,700
who set up altars and just praise your name.

1171
01:04:12,060 --> 01:04:13,820
That God, it wouldn't be only when we're

1172
01:04:13,820 --> 01:04:15,500
within the walls of our church, Lord,

1173
01:04:15,500 --> 01:04:17,380
where, okay, it's safe for us to worship here,

1174
01:04:17,380 --> 01:04:19,300
that we'd be people worshiping everywhere,

1175
01:04:19,300 --> 01:04:22,340
praying everywhere, lifting up holy hands everywhere.

1176
01:04:23,660 --> 01:04:25,460
God, people filled with your spirit,

1177
01:04:25,460 --> 01:04:27,660
shining the light of the gospel,

1178
01:04:27,660 --> 01:04:29,860
because Lord, the gospel is for them too.

1179
01:04:31,980 --> 01:04:33,580
So Lord, I pray that you would help us, God,

1180
01:04:33,580 --> 01:04:37,060
to be people of faith, to live a life of faith,

1181
01:04:37,060 --> 01:04:39,180
to follow after Abraham's example,

1182
01:04:40,340 --> 01:04:42,340
to be obedient, Lord, and to go and to do

1183
01:04:42,340 --> 01:04:44,460
when you call us to go and do.

1184
01:04:44,460 --> 01:04:45,580
And while we're doing it, Lord,

1185
01:04:45,580 --> 01:04:48,340
that we would just worship you in every place,

1186
01:04:48,340 --> 01:04:49,500
and that through all of that, Lord,

1187
01:04:49,500 --> 01:04:51,700
we would proclaim the name of the Lord,

1188
01:04:51,700 --> 01:04:53,940
the truth of who you are and what you've done,

1189
01:04:53,940 --> 01:04:56,100
that others would come to know you as well.

1190
01:04:57,780 --> 01:05:02,780
God, I don't understand how and why you love us,

1191
01:05:04,100 --> 01:05:06,100
and how and why you chose us,

1192
01:05:07,180 --> 01:05:08,820
but I do understand that you love us.

1193
01:05:08,820 --> 01:05:09,860
You love me, Lord.

1194
01:05:11,260 --> 01:05:13,060
And every person in here can say that,

1195
01:05:13,060 --> 01:05:14,940
that knows you, you love them.

1196
01:05:14,940 --> 01:05:17,700
If they don't know you, they can believe that you love them,

1197
01:05:17,700 --> 01:05:18,700
you died for them.

1198
01:05:20,380 --> 01:05:22,260
And Lord, for those that don't know you today,

1199
01:05:22,260 --> 01:05:24,540
God, just impress upon their heart right now

1200
01:05:24,540 --> 01:05:28,300
that all they need to do is believe,

1201
01:05:28,300 --> 01:05:30,260
to put their faith in you for their salvation,

1202
01:05:30,260 --> 01:05:31,900
for their future, for everything,

1203
01:05:33,420 --> 01:05:36,660
and that when they do that, Lord, they will be saved.

1204
01:05:36,660 --> 01:05:40,860
For us that know you, God, help us increase our faith

1205
01:05:40,860 --> 01:05:44,260
that we would walk boldly, confidently,

1206
01:05:45,500 --> 01:05:48,420
fully committed to what you're calling us to do, Lord,

1207
01:05:48,420 --> 01:05:51,140
that we would see the blessing of you in our own lives,

1208
01:05:51,140 --> 01:05:52,580
and that blessing would flow out

1209
01:05:52,580 --> 01:05:54,620
to touch the lives of others.

1210
01:05:54,620 --> 01:05:56,060
We love you so much, we thank you.

1211
01:05:56,060 --> 01:06:15,060
It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.