This boredom has driven some people:
• To quit their jobs
• To quit their marriages
• To quit their churches
• To turn to drugs and alcohol
• To run away from home
• To experiment with homosexuality
When some people have been exposed to every kind of evil there is, they then ask, “IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?”
We live in an age when many are driven by boredom. Some of the pundits think this is the reason that homosexuality is on the rise today.
There was a time when children grew up with a curiosity about the opposite sex. Today people have been so exposed to so much sex, that all the curiosity has gone and people are bored to death and they are looking for some new adventure! Many folks live a life that is filled with boredom. They have SEEN IT ALL and DONE IT ALL!
Many people live boring lives day after day. But on the other hand, there are many who live exciting lives. One of those that stands out, is a man that we read a lot about in the Old Testament called Abraham.
First, we need to consider . . .
I. HIS COUNTRY
He was raised in the country of Ur. How would you like to tell people you came from Ur? This is one of those names you would like to forget!
Illus: An elderly gent was invited to his old friends' home for dinner one evening. He was impressed by the way his buddy preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms, such as, “Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc.” The couple had been married almost 70 years, and clearly they were still very much in love.
While the wife was in the kitchen, the man leaned over and said to his host, "I think it's wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your wife those loving pet names."
The old man hung his head. "I have to tell you the truth," he said. "I forgot her name about 10 years ago. That is why I call her darling, honey, sweetheart and pumpkin.”
Listen, if I came from a place called Ur, I would do my best to forget it also! What a terrible name for a town.
Illus: When it comes to names, I think of the man who had an unusual name and an unusual sense of humor. His name was Hogg, and he named his twin girls Ima and Ura. I can almost imagine them in school when the teacher asked each student to stand up and give their names. One girl jumps up and says, “Ima Hogg” and the other girl jumps up and says, “Ura Hogg.”
Abraham came from the land of Ur, and we know two things about his surroundings as he grew up there.
A. IT WAS A LAND OF CULTURE AND EDUCATION
It was near the Persian Gulf, near Iran, and even in 2000 BC it had an advanced culture.
Illus: Back in the twenties and thirties, Sir Charles Leonard Woolley excavated Ur and came up with some of the greatest treasures of archeology. For example:
• In Ur's royal cemetery they found 16 tombs, each one filled with golden headdresses and gold and silver harps. Each tomb also contained up to 74 bodies of servants who were buried with the king.
• Woolley's excavations also revealed that the houses in Ur were 2 stories high and were whitewashed to be pleasing to the eye. The larger homes had up to 20 rooms, with well-equipped kitchens, good plumbing and sanitation. Their schools taught mathematics, astronomy and medicine.
• When God called him to leave this place he was also in his golden years.
• It was a city that contained a large library and a university.
Abraham was not a redneck from the back side of the desert who didn't know anything. Through Archaeologists, we have discovered that the land of Ur that Abraham came from was a great city of WEALTH and CULTURE. He probably had a very comfortable life in the most advanced culture of that time.
B. IT WAS A PLACE OF IDOLATRY
They primarily worshipped the Moon Goddess, and it is believed that Abraham worshipped her before he was converted.
Abraham was raised worshipping the moon. He was raised in a place of CULTURE, EDUCATION and IDOLATRY when God appeared to him. Notice, it is God who took the initiative to enter his life.
We often hear folks give their testimony of how they came to know God, and they give the impression that they were the pursuer. But not so, IT IS ALWAYS GOD WHO MAKES THE FIRST MOVE!
Illus: Janell Wheeler was lecturing her daughter about young men and how she needed to live a chaste life.
• She said, “I mentioned how important it was to be chaste.”
• "But why, Mom?" she asked. "I'd rather do the chasing myself instead of being chased!" (Skellytown, Texas. Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom.)
When it comes to us, GOD DID ALL THE CHASING.
Some are quick to point out that in James 4:8, God commands us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you….” James is talking to sinners who have been saved by the grace of God.
God always takes the initiative when it comes to approaching mankind for salvation. And it was God who came to Abraham while he lived in the heathen land of Ur.
John 6:44 says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
All who have ever been saved, are people the Lord approached and they responded in a positive way. God even appeared to a heathen like Abraham to bring Him to salvation.
It is our job to exalt the Lord Jesus, and He said, in John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL men unto me.”
Man might give the impression he his chasing after God, but it is GOD WHO IS DOING THE CHASING!
Illus: A man came to church one day and told his pastor, Dr. Odell Belger, that he had a terrible thing happen to him last week. Dr. Belger said, “What happened?” He said, “I had to go to work before daylight and I opened the door to get in my car and a man was laying under the dashboard of my car stealing my new expensive radio.”
Dr. Belger said, “What did you do?”
He said, “He was a big man, almost twice my size, and when I opened the door he immediately got up and he took off running” “I did not know what to do, so I started chasing him, but a few times I had to slow down because I was catching up with him!”
When it comes to salvation, it is ALWAYS GOD WHO IS DOING THE CHASING!
In the life of Abraham we have looked at HIS COUNTRY, but also we need to consider . . .
II. HIS CHALLENGE
In this confrontation with God, Abraham was confronted with two things:
• A COMMAND TO GO SOMEWHERE
• A PROMISE TO RECEIVE SOMETHING
As we read about the COMMAND and PROMISE to Abraham, we may see ourselves.
Why?
Because the things that God asked him to do PHYSICALLY, He also asks us to do SPIRITUALLY.
Look at the CHALLENGE he received from the Lord. He was commanded to do some things.
A. HE WAS COMMANDED TO FORSAKE HIS COUNTRY
He was to leave the place where he had been living from birth. This is where Abraham had learned about all kinds of idols that men served, and now God is saying to him - FORSAKE THESE IDOLS!
Spiritually speaking, God has commanded us to do the same thing. Before we gave our hearts to the Lord, we served all kinds of Idols, but if we are going to live in the Promised Land, we have to be willing to FORSAKE THE IDOLS THAT WE ONCED WORSHIPPED!
WHY SHOULD WE NO LONGER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE IDOLS THAT WE ONCED SERVED?
Illus: Charles Spurgeon once said it this way: “If I had a brother who had been murdered, what would you think of me if I . . . daily consorted with the assassin who drove the dagger into my brother’s heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the crime. Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; can you love it?” [SermonIllustrations.com (Worldliness)].
This is why the Lord tells us to FORSAKE THE IDOLS and do not have anything to do with them. God’s Word commands us to do the same thing.
Look at 2 Cor. 6:17, we read, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
To live in the Promised Land, he had to leave the land of Ur.
B. HE WAS COMMANDED TO LEAVE HIS FATHER
It is believed that Abraham’s father was an idol maker. That is, he made idols and sold them.
To most people, family means a great deal. It’s hard to give up family.
Luke 14:26 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”
This verse of scripture is a figure of speech called hyperbole. A hyperbole is an over-exaggeration used to make a point. In this verse of scripture, the Lord is saying that our love for those we love the most in this life, should appear as hate when it is compared to our love for the Lord Jesus who died for our sins.
For Abraham to enjoy the Promised Land, he had to forsake HIS COUNTRY and HIS FAMILY. His father was an idol maker. He made and sold idols. He could not stay there!
Illus: Legend has it, that one day, Abraham’s father asked him to mind the store while he went out to take care of some business. While he was gone, Abraham got a hammer and smashed all the idols in the shop except one in the corner. When his father came back and saw all the smashed idols except one, he said to Abraham, “Who did this?” And Abraham pointed to the one idol in the corner with his raised hand and said, “He did it!” His father said, “He couldn’t have done it, that is only a piece of clay!” Then Abraham said, “If it is only a piece of clay, why are we making these dumb idols for people to worship?”
Our father, in this sense, is Adam, the father of us all. We are called to leave OUR OLD LIFE and our OLD NATURE. The command to us is to leave THE ADAMIC NATURE that we inherited from Adam.
God commanded him to leave his COUNTRY, FAMILY and HIS FATHER. God had a better life for him to live, but he had to be willing to accept THE CHALLENGE.
What a challenge it must have been for Abraham to pack it all up and move out, and follow the true and living God He had come to know.
We have looked at HIS COUNTRY and HIS CHALLENGE, now let’s look at one more thing.
III. HIS CHOICE
Illus: Have you ever seen the cartoon of the mule pulling a buggy? To get the mule to go forward, the man in the buggy has a long stick and a carrot is tied to the end of the stick. The man dangles the carrot in front of the mule and the mule starts to walk forward to get the carrot!
God does this to Abraham and He also does it with us. God dangles three carrots before Abraham.
Look at Gen. 12:2-3, we read, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
A. HE PROMISED TO MAKE HIM A GREAT NATION
Look at Genesis 12:2, we read, “And I will make of thee a great nation…”
HOW DO NATIONS BEGIN?
Every nation that has ever existed started with a man’s idea. Others began to join in with this idea and soon “A man’s idea expanded into a nation!”
God was telling Abraham that if he would leave this God-forsaken place called Ur, He would make something beautiful out of his life.
B. HE PROMISED TO GIVE HIM A GREAT NAME
Look at Gen. 12:2 again, we read, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”
God said if Abraham was willing to leave the land of Ur, his name would be respected and he would be a blessing to many. It is a wonderful thing to have a good name.
Illus: A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement. He is so proud of himself, that he starts calling his wife, "Mother of Six" in spite of her objections. She liked her name and she did not wanted to be call the “Mother of Six.”
One night, they go to a party. The man decides that it's time to go home and wants to find out if his wife is ready to leave as well. He shouts at the top of his voice, "Shall we go home 'Mother of six?'"
His wife, irritated by her husband's lack of discretion shouts right back, "Anytime you're ready, 'Father of Four!'"
God promised Abraham that if he would leave the land of Idolatry and follow Him, He would give him a new nation and a respectable name.
C. HE PROMISED HIM PROTECTION
Gen. 12:3 “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
We are all wrapped up in our children. They are the apples of our eye, and whatever touches them touches us. You can hurt us, but you better not hurt our children.
God feels the same way about His children. God says, HE will identify Himself with Abraham. What concerns Abraham, concerns God.
Conclusion:
THE LIFE OF FAITH IS THE ONLY LIFE THAT PLEASES GOD.
Heb. 11:6, we read, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
What is faith? Heb. 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
• Abraham OBEYED a GOD he had never seen.
• Abraham PATIENTLY WAITED for a CITY he had never seen.
• Abraham walked by FAITH, not by SIGHT
The Life of Abraham teaches us to leave the things of the world and follow after the things of God. Abraham was willing are you?
I. HIS COUNTRY
II. HIS CHALLENGE
III. HIS CHOICE
Note: You can hear many of Dr. Odell Belger sermons on you tube. Type Youtube Lykesland
