Abraham Obtained What God Promised Him

I. EXORDIUM:

Are you enjoying waiting for the LORD's return? Are you claiming and enjoying every GOD's Promises in the Bible?

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believers

III. OBJECTIVES:

To display correct attitude of patience and endurance while waiting for the LORD's return.

IV. TEXT:

Hebrews 6:15 (Amplified Bible)

6:15 And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him.

V. THESIS:

I enjoy every second of GOD's WORD and GOD's Promises and claiming them in my life, as I wait eagerly, enduring and patiently for the LORD's return.

VI. TITLE:

Abraham obtained what GOD promised him

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Date of writing: Before AD. 70

B. Style of writing: Best Greek style

C. Authorship: Not specific, but generally attributed to Apostle Paul. Can be also ascribed to Barnabas, Luke, Apollos

D. Audience: Hebrew Christians

E. Theme: Christ is superior to the prophets; Christ is superior to angels—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible

F. Purpose: The chief doctrinal purpose of the writer was to show the transcendent glory of the Christian dispensation, as compared with that of the Old Testament.—Thompson Chain - Bible Book Outlines

G. Keyword: better

VIII. MAIN BODY:

A. Abraham waited long and endured patiently

"And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently,"

Abraham is our example of waiting long and enduring patiently. We can substitute the name "Abraham" here and make it our own name.

James 5:7-8 (Amplified Bible)

5:7 So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.

5:8 So you also must be patient. Establish your hearts [strengthen and confirm them in the final certainty], for the coming of the Lord is very near.

While waiting and enduring patiently, let's enjoy watching the movie "SON of GOD", showing this February 28, 2014.

2 Peter 3:9 (Amplified Bible)

3:9 The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.

Being patient means "being long spirited", patiently enduring and waiting, and it's applied in the patient endurance and waiting upon the LORD's return.

Illustration:

A man's car stalled in the heavy traffic as the light turned green. All his efforts to start the engine failed, and a chorus of honking behind him made matters worse. He finally got out of his car and walked back to the first driver and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't seem to get my car started. If you'll go up there and give it a try, I'll stay here and blow your horn for you."

—Illustrations Unlimited

The secret of patience is doing something else in the meanwhile.

—Illustrations Unlimited

Then there was the woman who prayed for patience and God sent her a poor cook. Henry Ward Beecher

—Illustrations Unlimited

Lack of pep [liveliness] is often mistaken for patience. —Frank McKinney Hubbard

Beware the fury of a patient man. —John Dryden

—Phillips' Treasury of Humorous Quotations

B. Abraham obtained what GOD promised him

"realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him"

Genesis 21:2-7 (Amplified Bible)

21:2 For Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time God had told him.

21:3 Abraham named his son whom Sarah bore to him Isaac [laughter].

21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

21:5 Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born.

21:6 And Sarah said, God has made me to laugh; all who hear will laugh with me.

21:7 And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children at the breast? For I have borne him a son in his old age!

Romans 4:17-25 (Amplified Bible)

4:17 As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.

4:18 [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.

4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb.