Abram Begins A Journey
Genesis 12:1-8 (Sunday Jan 26, 2003)
Intro:
Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl Championship in ’71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.
Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."
Christians have been called to a life of obedience.
Paul wrote in Titus 3:1 “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work
Acts 5:29 “…We ought to obey God rather than men.
‘
Without a doubt one of the greatest examples of obedience comes out of Genesis in the life of Abraham.
Obedience to God was not easy with the family and in the land that Abram dwelled.
The Bible speaks of Abrams family being involved in idolatry Joshua 24:2 “And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.
The land of Ur in which Abram dwelled and the land of Haran the land they dwelled in when his Father died were strong regions for worship of the moon.
Abram set him self apart, The Wesleyan Bible commentary suggest “Perhaps through the death of Abrams brother (11:28) The family was made aware of spiritual poverty of the material rich culture, and Abram specifically heard the call of God to a pilgrimage of faith, a spiritual adventure of the highest order.” (Volume 1 p59)
1. Abrams Call (12:1)
A. The Call From Jehovah (v.1a)
12:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram
The word “LORD” here stands for the Hebrew word for God “Jehovah’ or “Yahweh” which is the personal revealed name of God. The word is capitalized in our Bibles to distinguish from another Hebrew word for “LORD” which is “Adonai”
The word Jehovah is explained in Exodus 3:14-15 “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
The LORD “Had Said to Abram” Abrams name means the “Exalted Father.” His name is changed to Abraham in Genesis 17:5 which means “Father of Many.”
God has called men in many different way’s he called Moses by the way of a burning bush, he blinded Paul by a light, But the method in which God called Abram is not specified, but what is known is Abram was asked to enter into a journey of twofold portion.
B. The Twofold Call (v1b,c)
1. Call of Separation (v.1b)
“Get out” of your country, The country was the land of Ur the place of his home From your family And from your father’s house, to ask him to leave his fathers house meant for him to give up being the leader of his family. His father Terah had passed away and Abram had assumed the role of leadership.
God has asked Abram to leave all that he knew, all that he had worked for, all that he ever loved, to follow him.
God calls us to become Christians, and after we become Christians God calls us to a state of “Separation.’
The call of separation was issued to a tax collector In Luke 5. before the name change Matthew was known as Levi he was setting in his tax office and Jesus said for Levi to “Follow Me.” The Bible say’s Levi “left all rose up and followed him.”
Luke 14:25-33 “Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Jesus is not instigating hate. We know his whole message was love. What he is talking about is getting our priorities in line. Our loyalty must be to Christ. 27“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29“lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30“saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31“Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32“Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Martian Luther said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.
God is asking Abram to count the cost, give up everything, and follow him.
Vance Havner said, "We are not to be isolated but insulated," "moving in the midst of evil but untouched by it." Separation is contact with contamination. Jesus was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Heb. 7:26), yet He was "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34).
2. Call of Faith (v.1c)
“To Land that I will show you.”
In view of today’s terms this would be like getting on a plane flying to a destination unknown. Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Not only was Abram asked to give up what he had, but also he was asked to journey to a destination unknown
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Ill. There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow. An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don’t believe you can do it, but I’m willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls." Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I’ve never been to America and seen the Falls, I’d love to come." Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he comes across the rope, which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!! And he makes it across easily. The crowds go wild, and he comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?" "Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it." "No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?" "Well of course I do, you just did it." "No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?" "Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it." "Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."
How often do we say that we believe Christ can do it, but refuse to get in the wheelbarrow?
The song say’s “Faith is the victory Oh, glorious victory that overcomes the world.”
Charles Wesley wrote “Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, And looks to that alone, Laughs at life’s impossibilities, and cries, It shall be done.”
Faith moves mountains, Faith spilt the Red Sea, Faith made the walls of Jericho crumble down, Faith saved Noah and his family from the flood, Faith saved the three Hebrew Children from the fiery furnace, Faith allowed Jarius daughter to be made well, Faith allowed the woman with the issue of blood to say “If I can just touch him I know I will be made whole,” Through faith we received remission for our sins, through faith we are justified in the eyes of God, through faith we are adopted into the family of God, through faith we are sanctified wholly, Through faith we have the hope of glorification.
We are to walk by, live by, pray by, and overcome by faith.
Genesis 12:4 “So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him,
Because of faith Abram left and went to inherit a land, which would eventually be, called the land “Flowing with milk and honey.”
2. Promises To Abram (Vv.2-3,7)
A. The First Promise: A sevenfold promise (Vv.2-3)
12:2-3 “I will make you a great nation; this would be the beginning of the Hebrew nation. This verse also has significance because at this time Abram and his wife Sari have no children and he is 75 years old. In chapter 21 a miracle through God occurs as Sari and Abraham have a son “Isaac” When Abraham is 100 and Sari is 90 years old.
I will bless you. Included is the blessings of good health a long life and prosperity
And make your name great; For his name to be remembered would be a high honor, three of the largest religious groups, the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims all consider Abraham to be one of their greatest men.
And you shall be a blessing. This was a literal command. Abram was to seek to be a blessing to people. We are as Abram to be a blessing to people.
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; God has promised to bless those who bless Abram and his descendants. People’s blessings would depend on their attitude to Abram. If the people cursed Abram and his descendants than Gods curse would be on them. This verse shows the importance of us a country and a Christians in supporting Israel.
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” All families are blessed today if you are a Christian because through the lineage of Abram came the Lord Jesus Christ.
B. Second Promise (V.7)
Then the LORD appeared to Abram this was the first appearance of the Lord to Abram in the land of Canaan. and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.
If you will look back to v.6 the last sentence tells us “the Canaanites were then in the land Why would God take the land from the Canaanites and give it to Abraham?
The main reason, the Canaanites were guilty of sin. God cannot allow sin to dwell in the land of promise.
God has made a promise to each of us, if we will not sin, and live the life of holiness, we to can inherit the land of promise, a Holy city made by Gods own hands.
Rev 21:2-5 “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4“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.” 5Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
Hebrews 11:16 “16But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Conclusion:
There is an old legend of a swan and a crane. A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired:
"Where do you come from?"
"I come from heaven!" replied the swan.
"And where is heaven?" asked the crane.
"Heaven!" said the swan, "Heaven! have you never heard of heaven?" And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane.
Finally the crane asked: "Are there any snails there?"
"Snails!" repeated the swan; "no! Of course there are not."
"Then," said the crane, as it continued its search along the
slimy banks of the pool, "you can have your heaven. I want snails!"
This fable has a deep truth underlying it. How many a young person to whom God has granted the advantages of a Christian home, has turned his back upon it and searched for snails! How many a man will sacrifice his wife, his family, his all, for the snails of sin! How many a girl has deliberately turned from the love of parents and home to learn too late that heaven has been forfeited for snails! Moody’s Anecdotes, pp. 125-126.
As God called Abram he calls us; to salvation to sanctification,
God has promised a better land to his Children.
Are you heeding the call, are you destined for the promise land.
All scripture taken from the NKJV 1982, Thomas Nelson Publishing. Unless otherwise noted.
