It began when he was 75. God’s first call to Abram came with a look into the future. "I will make you a great nation." (12:2-3). So Abram packed up and left, just as God told him to do. He arrived in Shechem, and once again God told him it was coming: "To your descendants I will give this land." (12:7) Descendants? That was looking less and less like a possibility. With the exception of his father Terah, the 8 generations before Abram all had their 1st child by age 32 on an average, and Abram is considering "Even Dad was 5 years younger when I was born."
-Then, in Canaan, God reminds him: (13:15-16) "I'll give this land to you and your descendants forever...I’ll make your descendants as innumerable as the dust." There’s that word again: descendants!
Ch 14, he goes on a rescue mission after his nephew Lot. Abram has "318 trained men," (14:14), all born in his household. But still the guy, whose name means "Exalted Father" has no child of his own. What a joke! What does Abram have? He has God’s promise, God’s reassurance that it’s all going to work out OK.
Finally, Abram asks, (Gen 15:2-4) "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir. "Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."
And then, like someone up in the crow’s nest of a ship who can look ahead and tell the others what’s coming up, God describes Abram’s future for him. He invites him outside for a look at the stars. "Count them. If you’re able. So shall your descendants be." And Abram puts his hands in his bathrobe pockets, takes a deep breath and says, "I believe it." It didn't matter that he was somewhere past the age of 75. Abram trusted God and in heaven his account gets a checkmark under the righteousness column. And God knows His creation. He knows that we’re helped by reassurances along the way, so He makes a covenant with Abram -- a solemn vow from God -- a contract with a seal. "Your descendants are going to possess this land, Abram."
Well, Abram believes God, but he’s not the only one involved in this picture. His wife Sarai is going to have a part in Abram’s child too! And Sarai seems less assured. Maybe she hadn’t been in on Abram’s conversations with God. Maybe Abram hadn’t done a very good job of sharing them with his wife. Maybe she’s just struggling, because the maternal time clock went off 30 years ago, and the thought of being a barren woman in her day was among the greatest of disgraces a woman could have. It’s been 10 years now since God’s promise. Sarai can’t take the waiting anymore. So, like we often do, she lays out a plan to help God along, since He isn’t getting it done well enough.
Ladies, the degree of her desperation is clear when she says to Abram, "This isn’t working. God’s not letting me have a child. Please, have sexual relations with my maid Hagar. Maybe we can have a child through her." So Sarai gives away intimacy with her husband that belonged to no one but her, to rush God along.
Abram goofs here too. 16:2 "And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai." He could have refused, but even his personal assurance couldn’t make up for Sarai’s worry.
The folly of this mistake is evident almost immediately. To Sarai, it seemed like a good idea. Twice in Proverbs, God’s word tells us "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."
Sarai thought that getting a child, by whatever means, would make life complete. As soon as Hagar is pregnant with Abram’s child, Sarai realizes that wasn’t the way to do things. She’s still empty, childless, and now she has given away her husband too. Now her maid has not only shared intimacy with her husband, but Hagar’s status has gone up several notches. She’s carrying Abram’s child. Sarai isn’t. And Sarai is angry at everyone -- Hagar, Abram, and probably herself and God.
Does this sound familiar? We get impatient with God’s way of doing things, so we try to rush Him along. We get so convinced that if we can just have whatever it is we think we want, by whatever means we have to use, we’ll be happy. Then we get it, and we’re not as happy as we thought we’d be –
• the job position isn’t so glamorous after all;
• The relationship sours;
• The car gets a dent. -- And we get angry.
Chapter 16 ends with the birth of that son. Abram is now 86.
Between 16:16 and 17;1,quietly, 13 more years pass by. God’s first promise to Abram is now 24 years old, with no signs of it happening.
Have you ever had a prayer request that went on, not for days or weeks, but for months and years? 24 years? You’re not alone in that struggle.
Abram was too old a long time ago! So was Sarai, and with every year the odds of a child have just gotten worse and worse. We don’t know what happened during those 13 years. We only know that Abram believed God before, and that hasn’t changed.
(*Rom 4:17-22) God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."
God reminds Abram that he’ll have a son by Sarai, that she’ll have a son and that kings will come from him. To drive it all home, God even changes her name to Sarah -- Princess, and Abram, the "exalted father," becomes Abraham – “father of a multitude.” Everything is now in place for God’s perfect timing.
Abraham falls on his face and laughs at the idea of an old man and old woman having a child, yet
(Rom 4:20-21) Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
-Abraham had faith. Notice here what that means:
1. He believed God is able, and
2. he believed that God keeps His word.
Maybe a few of you have been there at one time in your life. You know God’s promises, you believe He’s able to do it, but the very idea makes you laugh! God’s going to do this how? God’s going to use who? This is going to happen when?
-And then the God Who "calls things that are not as though they were" does it.
The clock is still ticking, and God provides one more help for the aging couple. I think Sarah needed more help at this point than Abe. 3 visitors come. It’s the Lord and 2 angels, and Abraham, Sarah, and the servants prepare a meal for them. (Can you imagine fixing God a meal?!)
-Abe stands by them as they eat. "Where’s Sarah?" "In the tent." "I’m going to come back this time next year, and she’ll have a son." Sarah overhears this, and inwardly, she laughs to herself. "Are 2 old people going to have the pleasure of intimacy?"
Somehow, Sarah gets dragged into the conversation. "Why did Sarah laugh at the idea of her having a son? Is anything too hard for God to do? Like I said, I’ll return this time next year, and you’ll have a son." Sarah suddenly realized all her years of doubting were wrong. She was caught doubting, and it scares her into a lie. "I didn’t laugh!" "Hello! This is ME, Sarah! Yes, you did laugh!"
I think this last visit and reassurance from God was especially for Sarah’s sake. She needed to be reminded that God promised and that God is able. -- God, Who hears us laugh and mutter to ourselves inside the tent. God, Who knows a baby’s gender, name, weight, and due date before it’s conceived. God visited Sarah with some words, for her sake. (Remember, faith comes by hearing the message from God) And, at some point, Sarah sticks her hands into her apron pockets and says, "I believe it!"
(Heb 11:11-12) "By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful Who had promised." NAS
This is delicate, but children aren’t conceived completely by chance. Speak with any couple who has had difficulty achieving a pregnancy - they’ll tell you. For Abraham and Sarah, it took acting in belief. They had to try. It took God’s faithfulness working along with their faith. It took saying, "This is crazy! But I believe God!" Maybe God returned some youthful glow to Sarah, because in Ch 20, as they travel through Gerar, the king sees this 90 year old woman and takes her to be a part of his harem! Know this: They had to try!
Frankly, that’s where a lot of us stop short. God sets us all up. He gives us a clear picture of where He wants us to go, what we ought to do. We say we believe in Him and His ability and trustworthiness -- and then we don’t act on it!
-There are ministries to be done! giving to be done! lives to be touched! teaching to be done! And we can’t sit back when God makes our part in it clear, and fail Him! We can’t look at how God sets it all up, and leaves us a part to do, and then not do our part!
-Faith doesn’t mean God does everything. Faith means we enter into a partnership with God and do what He wants -- which is more than we would do on our own anyway!
-Just like God promised, it happens. Sarah’s expecting! 90 yr old Sarah bears a son to a 100 yr old Abraham - 25 yrs after God first promised to make Abe into a great nation. I’ve heard grandparents say, "If I’d known grandchildren were this great, I would have had them first!" As far as I can tell, Abraham’s the only man to ever actually do this. 100 yrs old, and there’s a baby in the house!
Listen to the joy in Sarah’s words in *21:6-7.
In Ch 17, Abe fell on his face and laughed. In ch 18, Sarah laughed to herself at the idea of having a child. In ch 21 she says, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Hmmmmm... What shall we name this boy? How about Yitzak (laughter)?
The birth of a child is a happy thing. The birth of a nation is a wondrous thing! 25 years of waiting prove that we're all living God's timetable. But Isaac was the embodiment of the promise of God; a covenant personified! He is proof that God is able and that He keeps His promises.
What if God had said, "Abram, I’m going to make you a father of nations." and BOOM, there was the nation of Israel as soon as Abram believed? Would we be reading about Abraham's great faith in Rom 4, Heb 11? What’s so great about Abraham is that God chose to use him, and he had real faith. Tried, tested, proven; he believed in what he couldn’t see, and as a result, the Lord used him, blessed him, and called him righteous. And now, he’s the Father of us all." (Rom 4:16)
• And what if God said to you, "I have the perfect job for you." and BOOM! there it was. No waiting, no working your way up, no struggle. It’s just dumped on you. Did your faith grow? Would you reflect back on the way you had to depend on God? Would people talk about how you endured? showed character? showed strength because of it? NO.
• And what if God said to you, "have faith, and I’m going to make your congregation strong. You’ll become a blessing to many others. And BOOM! it was all there with no struggles, no lessons learned, no stretching, no stepping out in the dark when we can’t see exactly where we’ll land? Would this community marvel at our great faith? Would VHCC be noted for its people who trusted God, or the number of people it attracts? NO.
• And what if God says to you, "Trust Me, with your whole self, and I’m going to give you life. I’ll give you the ability to endure what’s ahead that you can’t even see, and I’m going to give you eternal life besides." And then, it doesn’t happen all at once. You lose a loved one. You hit hard times. You get harassed at school. You house is burglarized. Your child is born with a defect. Your marriage struggles. You’re injured or disease strikes. You don’t see God’s answer. You can’t see how it’s all going to work out. All there is to look at is God’s promise to be with you and to help you and, ultimately to save you.
But you do it! You believe God. You move ahead at His word. You do things that don’t make worldly sense: you use the death of your loved one as a story to encourage others; you recommit yourself to a sound marriage; you bear up under the harassment at school; you love your unique child; you thank the Lord for the positives about your house being burglarized - after all, no one was hurt; you send around resumes with total confidence that the Lord will land you at the job where He wants you; you look at the brighter side of your disease or injury -- and then, what do your family or close friends say about you?
"You believe in something you can’t see? You act like you know how it’s going to turn out!" or maybe they say, like some must have said to Abe, "You’re crazy! You’re too old for that!" And you laugh again inside as you listen to Sarah bouncing a baby boy on her knee inside the tent.
Ill - Bob Lowery, professor at one of our Bible colleges, was asked by a student: "How many points should a sermon have?" "At least one." Here it is:
What makes the difference, what opens the door for God’s blessing, what changes us from being just part of some mob to being an agent in God’s plan, what changes the log books in heaven, so that by your name there’s a check mark under the column marked "righteousness" is - FAITH.
So let me share with you some practical ways to live it out successfully:
1. Listen to the word from God.
(Rom 10:17) "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." God knows we need promises and reassurance. He’s given those to us!
Listen to the word from God. Look at what He’s done in the past. Is He trustworthy? Do you trust Him? Look around you at His power. Is He able? He is! and He’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
2. Decide who you’ll listen to.
Ill - Eating at a restaurant outside Heiligenkreuz. I needed to find the restroom...
Faith comes by hearing. Hearing who? What kind of hearing? There are 1,000 siren voices that call out for us to trust them, but there's only one that leads in the direction we should go.
To whom or what will you listen tomorrow? Dr. Ruth? Rush Limbaugh? Peter Jennings? Rosie O’Donnel? Jenny Craig? your intuition? popular vote? TV. They all have directions for you. But who do you believe?
-What's the situation in your life where you need a word from God? Now, decide that you’re going to seek a word from Him about that before anyone else.
3. When God says something, accept it
(Rom 4:20-24) "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead."
If God says that He created a stable, developed earth in 6 days, accept it!
If God says that the only right place for a physically intimate relationship is in the context of marriage, accept it.
If God says to love those who are your enemies, accept it.
If God says that He’ll build His Church and the gates of hell won’t overpower it, accept it.
And if it doesn’t make sense to you, remember as you compare you plans with God's: who makes mistakes? and WHO doesn’t?!
Faith is believing that God is able, and that He'll keep His promises.
God says in Mk 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved."
Do you trust Him? Who will you listen to? God has said it. Now you need to accept it.
