Abraham: Fact-Checking Your Future - Part A

Abraham began the long lineage and journey to the cross begins with Abraham. 14 chapters of the book of Genesis are devoted to this one man Abraham right in the middle of the book of Genesis. The simple swap of Genesis is devoted to Abraham and great sections of the New Testament are devoted to Abraham, God made great promises to Abraham and Abraham lived by those promises, demonstrating what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. Today on connect with Skip Skip shares how God works powerfully in your life you choose to live by his promises, but before we begin want to let you know about a resource that will help you experience the joys and rewards of a steadfast prayer life. Recent research has found that Google searches for the word prayer surged worldwide alongside the spread of the novel coronavirus Google trends data shows that the search intensity for prayer doubles for every 8000 2/19 cases, but is there a right way or a more effective way to pray just best-selling author Kay Arthur where the battle is raging were to be on the frontlines on the front lines on her knees on the front line standing in the full armor of God Chi's book Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days offers simple but powerful instruction on how and what to pray and what to expect when you do on our way to say you when you give a gift of $25 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air.

Give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer call 800-922-1888 Chapter 11 were studied with skip-somebody else in this hall of faith is a love that is a guy by the name of Abraham father Abraham had many son, you know that song. I will make his cell father Abraham was 75 years old when God got a hold of him, told him to leave his pagan environment and go to a new land. That's what it all started at age 75, but he would be 100 years old when he had his first born child true Sarah his wife, a son by the name of Isaac Ellis is to have a little quick review of what we have learned so far in Hebrews 11 we look at able.

We looked at Enoch. We looked at no able was an example of worshiping faith Enoch was an example of walking by faith Noah was an example of working. Let's call it working out faith because he he did what God told him to do. He obeyed instructions. Abraham let's call him a prime example of wondering by faith God told him to leave without any further detailed instructions just to get up and go, and he was willing to go by faith. So he is next on the radar screen in Hebrews chapter 11 now II do want to paint a little bit of the background before we jump into these verses and there are more verses are working to cover Sorrento swiftly through his life, which is written about a lot of places in the Scripture, but the writer of Hebrews is trying to make a very important make a point here and that is he is showing that salvation by faith is always how God has been approached it's not like a new approach is unlikely. New Testament only approach is not like their works in the Old Testament. A person was saved by doing things in ceremonies and then God changes mind announces salvation by faith. The writer of Hebrews is same God is never changed. It is always been by grace through faith even in the Old Testament and why is he doing that because he's trying to show that this New Testament, this new covenant through Christ is not some aberrant anti-no men against the law, theology. It is the way able approach God by faith. It's the way Enoch approach God by faith is the way Noah approach God by faith. Remember he's writing to Hebrews and Hebrews that he is writing to the Jewish audience at that time did not have the pure form of Judaism as God intended it to be. It was by that time the New Testament a perverted, legalistic works induced form of religion they believe that by their works or by their circumcision or by their genealogical records. They would be safe. So the writer of Hebrews is really underscoring the salvation by faith. When we look at the flow of history. We understand that God created Adam and Eve and they had kids and you know the story, God made himself available to mankind.

Generally, at that time to the human race. He made himself available. He was available to the world but by the time of Noah.

Only eight people believed him enough to get into a box. Everybody else was destroyed from off the face of the year so though God revealed himself generally in creation made himself available to all upon the earth Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He believed God, he walked by faith and he and his family was saved and then the flood came, and that after the flood, God still made himself available to people on the earth as they repopulated is expanded on their as they spread out and multiplied, once again, but something monumental happened to change it all was called the Tower of Babel, they once again decided to rebel against God be free of God's revelation and make their own way to God their own religious approach. So they created a tower cigarette all explained that is in the Medicus were were Abraham lived. The place was full of so that they tried to approach God. That way God confounded the language so now people cannot communicate to one another. It's very confusing. It's very difficult because of the language barrier, cultural barriers also. So the revelation of God became stifled became slowed at that point after the Tower of Babel. So God begins to isolate a family.

A person gets a hold of a guy by the name of Abraham, who becomes the central figure at that time in redemptive history now is gonna follow a genealogy to the Scripture, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 12 tribes all the way down to the tribe of Judah and Jesus Christ. So Abraham becomes the central figure in redemptive history and he becomes the father of the Jewish nation.

Father Abraham had many sons okay so he becomes the father of the Jewish nation what what Jewish tour guides call grandpa Abraham.

That's how they refer to him in his will or talk about grandpa but were related all the way back to Abraham.

So the Jewish nation then became for a number of years the central repository of divine revelation. All that God was doing.

He did through the Jewish nation. The Jews became the vans yelled out.

That's what God intended them to be the evangel. The light, the ones who will open up the darkened eyes of the Gentiles around the world. God said that throughout the Old Testament, they failed to do it, but they that was God's intention, so Paul picks us up in Romans chapter 9 verse four and five he speaks about the Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory of the covenants, the giving of the law. The service of God. The promises of whom are the fathers, and from whom, according to the flesh Christ came, who is overall, the eternally blessed God. Amen. So to shorten it up. Abraham begins the long lineage and journey to the cross begins with Abraham.

14 chapters of the book of Genesis are devoted to this one man Abraham right in the middle of the book of Genesis.

The central swath of Genesis is devoted to Abraham and great sections of the New Testament are devoted to Abraham one chapter in the book of Romans is about Abraham to chapters in the book of Galatians are about Abraham is called the father of them who believe. So he becomes or the progenitor of of the faithful living he is called three times in the Bible, the friend of God. Very unique title only given him the friend of God.

To this day the Arabs will refer to Abraham's cognitive how little is Arabic for friend all is God's of the friend of God. That's how he is affectionately referred to in many Arab places. So what I want to do in the section would look at is an expansive section is a little bit longer section. There are 12 verses altogether aided, which specifically deal with Abraham and then others more generically deal with people of faith, but what I meant to do this quickly and wouldn't have to gonna move rapidly and this really deserves weeks if not months. If you know me, but working to go through it in one fell swoop, some to give you five faith facts five faith facts about Abraham number one. He lived as a pilgrim he lived as a pilgrim. Hebrews chapter 11 verse eight by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place where he would receive as an inheritance and he went out, not knowing where he was going. That's a pilgrim that's up that some that's a wanderer that's up that when in in a modern sense.

If you go to Israel you seen the Bedouins just wandering from place to place with her animals so they can have a bit of drink and something to eat. Abraham was many of you know from a place called war you are.

That's how you spell his city war or of the Chaldean school in Chaldea today would be located in southern Iraq and the state of the archaeologist as found that all was not some little Podunk outpost. It was a a central vantage point of civilization at the time it was the capital city of Sue Mayor SU MER it had a population of around 300,000 at the time of Abraham.

It had an advanced civilization advanced musical instruments were found. They specialize in the study of math and astronomy. They had a university and a large ancient library but was taken and specifically was polytheistic, you know polytheism as many gods, the worship of many gods but the main godly worship. Interestingly, the patron god of the city was the moon God by the name of sin SIM that we would trends literally into our language so they worshiped sin among God know it's fascinating you don't have time to really chase her down but many scholars believe that the moon God worship in order Chaldea's was was where the Arab cultures later on. Worship the moon God called Allah before Mohammed came along, so there should be one that many gods but one but… Deserves a study hall to its own don't have enough time to chase it down. So what I do want to do is is give you a few verses out of that large swath that is found in Genesis deals with Abraham in chapter 12, read just three verses it says this now the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country to see where he begins the pilgrimage. Get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be blessing I will bless those who bless you I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. This is God's first words to Abraham is alike. This introduction is alike. I Abraham I'm God nice to meet you. His first words to get out like our tour guide. See visual. I love you not get out. So God says don't get out and you don't want to go. We hate the life of faith because it's one step at a time sometimes notices get up and go where not only will just go out.

I don't like that. I would much rather, God give me two or three year or better that just download the entire itinerary of my life because then I don't have to live by faith. I can let by sight.

But God gives one step now God gave to Stephen two steps. In the New Testament.

He said get up and leave this area of Samaria and go to Gaza, which is the desert didn't give him step three, which is written to meet an Ethiopian eunuch. He gave just two steps leave here and go there, but here Abram can even get that he just get up and go to the land I will show you God says your leader country here to leave your family.

You are to leave your father's house your country, your family, your father's house. All those things are influences that mold a person's life. Now he didn't know where he was going.

As I mentioned, says just go to the land I will show you not I am showing you I will future tense is step two later on after you do step one, so I imagine the moving van pulling up in front of Abram stepped and they loaded all the belongings of Mrs. Sarah tells Mrs. Abraham Sarah tells everyone ago and then the guy driving the moving truck I could put my camels says were we gonna work like what we drive because I don't know you don't know and I'm here moving yourself and you don't know where to go.

No will. How will we know when we get there. If you don't know where we're going. And of course the answer would be.

I can't tell you that either but I believe God will tell me when it's time to stop. That's how he had, she was told to begin his life now. God tells us to do the same. God tells every believer to make a clean break from your past from those things that molded and influenced your life and start over. Jesus said if anyone come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me and to the extent that we leave our old life determines how much we enjoy our new life. You enjoy your new life to the extent that you leave your old what if you don't leave much of your old one and not really enjoy your new one if you really leave the old one will really have more space and time to enjoy the new one when I came back home from San Jose, California where I received Christ watching the Billy Graham Crusade on television. I went back down to Southern California. I told my mom and dad and brothers that I've come to Christ.

They were not excitedly try to sort of pull me back in the religious system all my old friends try to pull me back into their party scene system and I had all of those factors in my life trying to pull me back and I remember the battle. I was facing, and it was a summer afternoon end of July. Probably beginning of August and I was reading this. This was my Bible back then is a little New Testament here called good news for modern man really is today's English version of the New Testament. This was my my my first Bible and the reason was because I could understand a regular Bible just like Arnold or San so I'm reading through the first book I'm reading through the Gospel of Matthew in Matthew chapter 5. What happens in Matthew chapter 5. Any pastor, scholar, so now sermon on the Mount happens that Jesus teaches the crowd in the sermon on the Mount, and it gives the Beatitudes here translated.

Happy are those who know their spiritually poor.

The kingdom of heaven belongs to them, so I thought yeah okay good I get that I'm reading I keep reading. Happy are those who mourn, God will comfort them didn't quite understand what that meant. Happy are the meek, they will receive God's promise. I think I understood that was ongoing for the ride. Then disperse it. Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires, God will satisfy them fully. I'm reading this and I put this down. I thought okay I haven't been doing that but now I am now, Lord, I am all in. I'm in it to win it. I'm all yours under the follow you wherever you lead me that for me was my Abraham pilgrim moment where I finally let go and I said, my aim will be to please him so fact check not knowing where you're going is better than going in the wrong direction going where you have no clue what was going to be is a whole lot better than going in the lot, so if you're going in this direction is the wrong direction and you know where it is to be better to not know where you're going to go any direction. But the longer action so not knowing where you're going is better than going in the wrong direction. I did not know what my life would lead me, but I surrendered fully to the Lord's call on my life at that time and I found out they got there was a whole lot better than I do. So God called Abram to leave for the Chaldees, he migrated up the Euphrates River to a place called Heron HAR eight and before he finally made it into what we call the promised land. The land of Israel. So number one they fact number one. He lived as a pilgrim. They fact number two. He lived by promise, not only delivers a pilgrim. The only thing he had to live by was a promise that God revealed in verse nine of Hebrews 11, by faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise God made promises to Abraham about his family about children that he would have of what God would do with him and through him about a land that would be his and his descendents forever. Joseph Parker was a great preacher, a contemporary Charles Spurgeon said grade lives are trained by great promises one here some great promises that they are I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you notice God doesn't say Abraham you will be awesome. You will be cool.

You will be influential. You will do great things. He said let me tell you a bring what I'm going to do for you.

Here's the promise I am making to you.

Essentially he promise promise is what he'll do for him. I'll make you a great nation. What he'll do in him all bless you and what God will do through him in you all the nations of the world of the earth will be blessed. What is Abraham doing as God is telling them all this is he in the background working it out how he is going to work hard for God with his new plan, a new vision to reach his community for God.

Now all he's doing is listening is taken notes is going okay.

You're making the promise is not me.

He's not doing anything. The why am I hammering this because too often we make the emphasis about what we should do for God when really the Bible makes inferences about what God does for us. You could do anything for God unless God did something for you. My numbers again. I was six years old and I remember the president of the United States on television 30 for present United States John Fitzgerald Kennedy that's old lamp town that's really old so on his inauguration day, he stood up on that Plaza in Washington DC and in his probably most most famous speech, he said, my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country and and immortalize kind of his whole platform.

Too many Christians say you know it's not what God can do for you. It's what you should be doing for God.

The Bible says we love him because he first loved us.

You couldn't even love God unless God love you certainly couldn't work for God unless he energize you and gave you the ability to do so and makes it happen by his work.

This is God's work, that their God is called to do so.

He's a pilgrim but is living by promise that's good message in the series affect your use get to tell you how you can help keep these teachings coming your way. Connect others to Scripture. The Bible is full of God's promises, but if you want to know them to study Scripture while our goal is to connect friends like you with truth found in God's word. That's why we share these Bible teachings on-air and online into your gift today. You can help keep these messages that you love coming to you and connect more people around the world to the Bible. Here's how you can give right now: 892 to 1888 to give. That's 800-922-1888. You can also get online@connectwithskip.com/donate. That's connectwithskip.com/domain. As always, thank you for your partnership. Did you know there's an exciting biblical resource available right at your fingertips through mobile device Skip has several Bible reading plan is available version vital. Simply download via search Skip and just a reminder, watch, connect with Skip Heitzig on the hills on channel on Saturdays at 4:30 PM on catch on TBN on Sundays at 5:30 AM Eastern. Check your local listings join us next skip. Isaac shares how you can experience more God's power in your life so Skip presentation of connection communications go through