The Great I Will
Text: Gen. 12:1-9
Introduction
1. We are going to begin a study of the life of Abraham.
2. Who was Abraham?
a. Abraham was a native of Chaldea, and descendant in the ninth generation from Shem, the son of Noah. His father’s name was Terah, and he was born in Ur, 2161 B.C. (The New Unger's Bible Dictionary).
b. He is known as the Father of Faith
c. Romans 4:16 (NLT)
So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.
d. The life of Abraham, from his call to his death, consists of four periods, the commencement of each of which is marked by a divine revelation (The New Unger's Bible Dictionary).
e. The four periods are: 1) The Call, 2) The Promise, 3) The Covenant, and 4) The Test.
3. Today we are going to talk about the call of Abraham found in Gen. 12:1-9.
4. We will see…
1. God’s promises to us
2. Our responsibility to Him
3. Our response to God’s challenge
4. Our reaction
Transition: First, let us look at...
Proposition: In order to activate the promises of God we have to respond to His challenge.
I. God's Promises to Us (2-3).
A. What God Will Do For Abraham
1. We have often heard of God referred to as the "Great I Am," but another name we could easily use in referring to Him is the "Great I Will."
2. God invited Abraham to leave his life of emptiness to receive a life of blessings.
a. God's invitation involved personal, national, and universal blessing.
b. God would also make Abram's descendants a great nation, not in a worldly sense, but as a special treasure to God, a holy nation.
c. The personal blessings would naturally include spiritual blessings, and all of these blessings would make his reputation great, thus making him famous.
d. God's blessings also bring his provision and power for our needs (Horton, 103).
3. If Abraham responds to Yahweh's invitation God tells him, "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others."
a. God's call to Abraham is is enclosed in a conditional statement.
b. One of the most important words in all of Scripture is the word "if." If we will do this, God will do that.
c. The result of Abram keeping God's command would be threefold: God would make him a great nation, God would bless him, and God would make him famous.
4. The first thing that God promises Abraham is that he would make him into a great nation.
a. From Abraham, Arab and Jew alike trace their origin. More than one nation now calls Abraham "father" (The Teacher's Commentary).
b. God not only made him into a great nation, but into many nations.
5. The second thing that God promises to do for Abraham is to bless him and make him famous.
a. To bless in the OT means "to endue with power for success, prosperity, longevity (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament).
b. A second part of that is to make him famous.
c. The reverence of millions in the three great monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) has more that fulfilled this promise (The Teacher's Commentary).
d. The end of v. 2 is not a part of the blessing but is actually a command, a fact that is often missed in English. The second command is "be a blessing" (Allen, 95).
e. God doesn't bless us so that we can brag about how blessed we are, but rather that we can be a blessing to others.
6. God illustrates this by telling Abraham that he will not only bless him, but he will also bless others through him.
7. In v. 3 God says to Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
a. The wording of v. 3 shows God's determination to assist Abram in being the blessing he has commanded him to be.
b. The force of the Hebrew in the first blessings here shows God's determination, it reads literally "I am determined to bless those who bless you."
c. The second blessing shows more of God's obligation to treat with contempt those who show contempt to Abram (Allen, 95).
d. When God blesses someone, he puts that person under his care and protection and in his favor (Walton, 393).
8. But a few would despise the promise and thus keep reviling, mocking, or making light of Abram (the word contempt actually means "to make light of").
a. God would curse them by putting them under divine judgment.
b. The blessings for all of the families of the earth refer to God's plan to reverse the curse of Gen. 3 and all the effects of the fall.
c. The promise of divine salvation-blessings is repeated five times in Genesis and becomes an important theme throughout the Bible (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14).
d. Ultimately, the promise looks ahead to Jesus, for it is only through Him that we become Abram's see and heirs of the promise (Horton, 105).
B. All of God’s Promises
1. Illustration: A wealthy businessman lay on his deathbed. His preacher came to visit and talked about God’s healing power and prayed for his parishioner. When the preacher was done, the businessman said, "Preacher, if God heals me, I’ll give the church a million dollars." Miraculously, the businessman got better and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital. Several months later, the preacher bumped into this businessman on the sidewalk and said, "You know, when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give the church a million dollars if you got well. We haven’t received it as of yet." The businessman replied, “Did I say that? I guess that goes to show how sick I really was!”
2. We are heirs to the promises to Abraham.
a. Galatians 3:29 (NLT)
And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
b. Just as God made a promise to Abraham, he makes a promise to you.
c. Just as God fulfilled a promise to Abraham, he will fulfill a promise to you.
d. Just as Abraham could lean on the promise of God, you can lean on the promises of God!
3. All of God’s promises to you in Jesus are yes!
a. 2 Corinthians 1:19-20 (NLT)
For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. 20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
b. We can count on the promises of God because we can count on Jesus.
c. We can count on the promises of God because Jesus has already paid the price.
d. God’s promises are faithful because Jesus is faithful.
Transition: However, to release God's blessing requires something on our part.
II. Our Responsibility To Him (1).
A. Leave
1. All of the promises of God require an affirmative response from us in order to unleash God's blessings.
a. Malachi 3:10 (NLT)
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!
b. One of the most important words in all of Scripture is the word “if.”
c. It may seem like a small word to us, but to God and His promises it is huge.
d. Many of God’s promises are presented like this: “If you do this, I will do that.”
2. The same is true of God's covenant with Abraham. If he wanted to receive God's promises he had to be willing to obey God's command.
a. In Old Testament times the covenant, or berit in Hebrew, was at the foundation of social relationships.
b. It might represent a treaty between nations, or a business contract, or a national constitution.
c. In each case it represented a binding agreement, and expressed a firm commitment which was to be faithfully honored by all (The Teacher's Commentary).
3. In verse one we read, "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.'"
a. The first three verses of chp. 12 contain two commands followed by promises or blessings for following these commands.
b. The first command is "Leave, and is followed by three promises if Abram obeys the command (Allen, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Genesis/Exodus, 95).
c. This is not a sharp command, but an urging of a gracious invitation and a call to separation, not only from his old life of idolatry that had taken over the whole world, but also a separation to the worship and service of the Lord.
d. Abram had to move trusting God for guidance. But the fact that God was going to show him the land was significant (Horton, 103).
4. What God was asking of Abraham is not easy, but it was necessary if Abraham was going to receive the promises.
a. First, Abraham was settled in his life. Abraham was about 75 years old when God asked him to leave.
b. He was probably settled in life and fixed for the future.
c. He was undoubtedly a part of the family business as most male's of this time.
d. He was asked to leave the only life he had ever known.
e. He was asked to leave the only home he had ever known.
f. He was asked to leave the only family he had ever known.
5. However, as is always the case with God, He was offering Abraham something far better.
a. He was promising to make a man who had no children of his own into a "great nation."
b. He was promising to make an obscure individual "famous."
c. As we will see, he promised him land for his descendants, which he didn't have yet!
d. He promised to protect him (bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt).
B. Response to God's Promises
1. Illustration: Charles Finney noted this about obedience and sacrifice, “Revival is nothing more or less than a new obedience to God!”
2. God begins our covenant with him by asking us to receive Him.
a. John 1:12 (NLT)
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
b. We are not in covenant with God because we go to church.
c. We are not in covenant with God because of our parents.
d. We are only in covenant with God when we ask accept his gift of salvation.
2. A second part of our covenant with God is he asks us to change.
a. Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
b. God doesn’t call us into covenant with himself so we can stay the same.
c. God doesn’t call us into with himself so we can go our own way and do our own thing.
d. God calls us into covenant so that we can become more like him every day of our lives.
3. A third aspect of our covenant with God is that we obey Him.
a. 1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT)
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
b. If we want to be in covenant with God we have to be willing to live by His word.
c. If we want to be in covenant with God we need to be willing to become holy as He is holy.
d. If we want to be in covenant with God we need to be willing to do things His way.
Transition: So how did Abraham respond?
III. Our Response To God’s Challenge (4-6).
A. So Abram Departed
1. So what does Abram do in response to God's call? He obeys!
2. V. 4 tells us, "So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran."
a. Abram's response to God's call is unmistakable.
b. We see him do the two things that God required of him. First, he left his home.
c. Notice that he doesn't hesitate, think about, or make excuses. He just does what God commands him to do.
3. Verse 5 says, "He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan..."
a. The second thing he did in response to God's call was he was a blessing.
b. He influenced others to join him in following Yahweh's call (Allen, 97).
c. The trip from Haran to Canaan is about five hundred miles and takes nearly a month to complete (Walton, 393).
d. It took great faith to undertake a journey like this one.
e. Hebrews 11:8 (NLT)
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
f. Abraham demonstrates his faith by obeying God, even though he was completely unfamiliar with the land to which he was going.
g. This shows us that faith consists of acting with reference to the unseen.
h. It is important to note that the promise that his descendants would inherit the land did not come until Abraham was already in Canaan, and the promise would not be realized by Abraham himself but by his offspring.
i. Thus, he did not go to the land to possess it but to live out an act of obedience to God.
j. Also, his mode of living in Canaan — dwelling in tents — served as a symbol of his commitment not to settle into the earthly cities of the Canaanites, but to seek a more permanent city built by God ( Guthrie, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Hebrews, 377).
B. Responding By Faith
1. Illustration: Henry Blackaby - the author of “Experiencing God" writes: “We should attempt things so great that they are doomed to failure unless God intervenes.”
2. God asks us to respond in faith.
a. James 1:6-7 (NLT)
6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
b. We need to show by our actions that we believe God.
c. We need to show by our choices that we believe God.
d. We need to show by our priorities that we believe God.
3. God asks us to respond by obedience.
a. James 1:22-25 (NLT)
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
b. We need to respond by faith in God’s promises.
c. We need to respond by faith in God’s faithfulness.
d. We need to respond by faith in God’s greatness.
Transition: Let's also look at...
IV. Abraham's Reaction (7-9).
A. He Worshiped the Lord
1. A great way to respond in faith and obedience to God's call in our lives is to bring others to a place of worship.
2. In v. 7 it says, "Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him."
a. Another way in which Abram was a blessing is that the first two communities that he came to, Shechem and Bethel, he set up altars.
b. While we can logically assume that there purpose was worship, the text specifically states was used to worship Yahweh.
c. Furthermore, the phrase translated "worshiped the Lord," carries with it more than the idea of worship.
d. It literally means "he proclaimed the name of Yahweh."
e. Martin Luther translated this verb "preached," and he wasn't far off (Allen, 97-98).
3. We can see in Abram a life of worship. After he moved on from there he went to the hill country in between Bethel and Ai, and again he built an altar. It says, "There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord."
a. The account of Abraham's entry into the land of Canaan is selective.
b. Only three sites are mentioned: Shechem, a place between Bethel and Ai, and the Negev. Significantly, these are the same three locations visited by Jacob when he returned to Canaan from Haran (chs. 34-35), as well as the same sites occupied in the account of the conquest of the land under Joshua (Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary (2 volumes), Pradis CD-ROM).
c. It was the worship that Abram established there that set the stage for God's blessings to come.
B. Praise Him
1. Illustration: A conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren't free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased. Let your balloon go (Bruce Larson, Luke, 43).
2. We should praise him for who He is.
a. 2 Samuel 22:50 (NLT)
For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.
b. Praise him for because of his love.
c. Praise him because of his greatness.
d. Praise him because of his power.
e. Praise him for his mercy.
3. We should praise him for what he has done.
a. Psalms 31:21 (NLT)
Praise the Lord, for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love. He kept me safe when my city was under attack.
b. Praise him for saving you.
c. Praise him for forgiving you.
d. Praise him for protecting you.
4. We should continually praise him.
a. Psalms 34:1 (NLT)
I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.
b. Praise him when we wake up.
c. Praise him during the day.
d. Praise him when things are good.
e. Praise him when things are bad.
Conclusion
1. We learn from Abraham's call that God is:
a. The Great I Will
b. That we have a responsibility to respond to his call
c. That we need to respond in obedience
d. That we need to praise him
2. How have you responded to God's call?
3. Have you kept your end of the deal?
4. How evident is praise in your life?
