Can We Chat Series

Introduction:

A. Years ago Dr. Seuss published a children’s book entitled “Horton Hears a Who.” It was recently turned into a movie.

1. How many of you have read the book or seen the movie?

2. It’s a story about an elephant named Horton who hears voices coming from a little speck of dust.

3. Horton places the speck of dust on a clover bloom and then does his best to protect the tiny residents inside that speck of dust from the other animals who could not hear the voices rising from the dust particle.

4. As the story develops, Horton learns that the race living inside that speck of dust are the “Who’s.”

a. They lived in a town called Whoville and needed a protector to prevent them from being blown about by the wind, or destroyed by other means.

5. Of course, the other animals in the jungle do not believe Horton and give him a hard time about his belief that a tiny race inhabits a particle of dust.

a. They try to destroy the speck of dust and they even try to tie Horton up.

6. Eventually, all the Who’s in Whoville join their voices and shout in unison so that they might be heard by the animals who have tormented Horton about his strange beliefs.

a. They are finally heard when the tiniest Who of them all, a tiny, yo-yo throwing tike by the name of “Jo Jo” lifts his voice and says “Yupp.”

7. To make a long story short, there are two great moral lessons taught in “Horton Hears a Who.” a. The first is that we should be kind to all people, even when others refuse to be.

b. The second is that even the smallest of the small is an important person.

B. You may be wondering what this has to do with our sermon series on Abraham, but the answer lies in the fact that Horton heard a voice one day that forever changed his life.

1. In today’s segment from the life of Abraham, we will learn that Abraham heard the “Word of the LORD” and this word from God changed his life.

2. In line with the title “Horton Hears a Who,” I could have titled this sermon, “Abraham Hears the Lord.”

3. Abraham needed to have a conversation with the Lord and God came close and they chatted.

C. Compared to the action-packed events of the last sermon on chapter 14, this sermon on chapter 15 could appear boring.

1. In today’s chapter there are no invading armies or villainous kidnappings or daring rescues with nighttime ambushes.

2. Rather, in our chapter for today, we read about a quiet conversation between two close friends.

3. It might be dull reading except for the fact that the two close friends were the Almighty Creator of the universe and an aging patriarch with no children.

4. Direct interchanges between God and individuals don’t occur often in Scripture, nor in life.

5. But here in Genesis 15, this interchange takes the form of a true dialogue, a back-and-forth conversation between friends.

6. Yet, even though Abraham shared this remarkably free exchange with the Lord, Abraham never lost respect for the Lord’s position as the holy, all-powerful, all-knowing God He is.

D. So what did Abraham receive from his conversation with the Lord?

1. God shared with Abraham some vital words concerning his fear, his future and his faith.

2. What Abraham heard that day changed his life forever.

3. And that is the power and importance of the Word of God.

4. Today, each one of us need to learn to listen for God’s voice and hear the Word of God and allow it to revolutionize our lives.

I. The Story

A. Let’s look at the opening verse of chapter 15: After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

1. The first two words, “After this” are like a speed bump in the narrative.

a. We dare not drive over them too quickly; the author placed them here for a reason.

b. These words indicate that what happens next is linked to previous events.

c. What were the previous things that are indicated by “After this”?

2. Consider what had been going on in Abraham’s life.

a. He had left his previous home in Ur and in Haran, and had followed God to Canaan.

b. When the famine struck, he wrongly headed to Egypt, but got deported back to Canaan.

c. Then Abraham and Lot separated, but the city Lot moved to got attacked and he was taken captive.

d. So, Abraham rallied the 318 men at his disposal and traveled 100 miles and attacked Lot’s captors and returned victorious having recovered Lot and all the people and possessions that the raiding kings from the north and east had taken captive.