Challenges To The Journey Of Faith-2

CHALLENGES To The VENTURE/JOURNEY Of FAITH-II—

Genesis 11:26—12:9

Attention:

Tom is applying for a job as a signalman for the local railroad & is told to meet the inspector at the signal box.

The inspector decides to give Tom a pop quiz, asking: "What would you do if you realized that two trains were heading towards each other on the same track?"

Tom says: "I would switch one train to another track."

"What if the lever broke?" asks the inspector.

"Then I'd run down to the tracks & use the manual lever down there," answers Tom.

"What if that had been struck by lightning?" challenges the inspector.

"Then," Tom continued, "I'd run back up here & use the phone to call the next signal box."

"What if the phone was busy?"

"In that case," Tom argued, "I'd run to the street level & use the public phone near the station."

"What if that had been vandalized?"

"Oh well," said Tom, "in that case I would run into town & get my Uncle Leo."

This puzzled the inspector, so he asked, "Why would you do that?"

"Because he's never seen a train crash."

Tom ventured forth in faith despite the challenges.

We all face challenges to our journey of faith.

Genesis records Abram’s encounter with YaHoWeH/the LORD/God & his resultant/subsequent actions of faith.

Encountering God calls us to a venture/journey by faith.

What limits/hinders the venture of faith?

What is challenged in a journey of faith?

12 challenges to the venture/journey of faith.

Earlier, we found 2 Challenges to our journey of faith lie in...

1. Our HOME(11:26-32)

2. Our RELATIONSHIPS (11:26-32)

3—A challenge to our journey of faith lies in...

Our COMMUNITY(11:27-28, 31)

Explanation:(11:27-28, 31) Land

:27—“This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, & Haran. Haran begot Lot.”

:28—“And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.”

“Ur of the Chaldeans”

“It is called Ur of the Chaldeans even though technically, at the time of Abraham, it wouldn't have been Ur of the Chaldeans.” Moses, remember, is recording Genesis for the instruction of the children of Israel, “who are entering the Promised Land.” The events recorded here took place many hundreds of years prior to Moses’ recording of such. Thus both Moses & Israel know Ur as Ur of the Chaldeans. “Chaldean tribes, through its history, were later associated with it, & so it was that way known to Moses' people.”—John MacArthur

Archaeologists tell us that the supposed site of “Ur of the Chadeans” is now located some ~150(?) mi. from the coast but was probably a maritime city in Abram’s day located at the head of the Persian Gulf, as it would later be the major port for Babylonia.—Eastons’ BD, Smith’s BD

Sometimes our communities go through drastic changes so that they are no longer recognizable to us.

:31—“And Terah took his son Abram & his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, & his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, & they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; & they came to Haran & dwelt there.”

Don’t become a mere storage unit for your children’s sentimentality. Become a usable instrument of the Lord!

Argumentation:

Gen. 17:7-8—““And I will establish My covenant between Me & you & your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you & your descendants after you. Also I give to you & your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; & I will be their God.””

The faithful are to live as aliens in foreign land.Why?

Because As a Christian, our Community is the New Jerusalem:

Rev. 21:1-8, 22-27; 22:1-5—“Now I saw a new heaven & a new earth, for the first heaven & the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, & He will dwell with them, & they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them & be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true & faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha & the Omega, the Beginning & the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, & I will be his God & he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, & all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire & brimstone, which is the second death.””.....“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty & the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, & the kings of the earth bring their glory & honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory & the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”.....“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God & of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, & on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God & of the Lamb shall be in it, & His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, & His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever & ever.”