Abraham: Fact-Checking Your Future - Part B

By the time Abraham gets to be 99 years of age still located changes is from exalted father from two of.com, which his father, and I can see favorably. Please know more. Don't make me aware that the remember paper and believe God, and there's no indication that he walked into the Bible tells us that God is put eternity in our hearts. Abraham was no different. She looked ahead to a heavenly country today on connect with Skip Heitzig Skip shares how you can experience more of God's power in your life you live for eternity. Before we begin, choose a great resource that will help take your prayer life to a new level. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China said it is possible to movement through God by prayer alone and downs authored nine books on prayer said God shapes the world by prayer, the more praying. There is in the world, the better the world will be and Billy Graham said to get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees dear Skip I think you know the Bible says that we will experience God's peace. When we pray, and it tells us to pray about everything.

We want to help you know how and what to pray.

What to expect. That's why were offering. Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days by Kay Arthur when you give to support this ministry. Prayer is meant to up the game of peace and joy in our hearts, Lord, teach me to pray is our thanks when you get $25 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air, connecting you and others to God's work, call 800-962-1888. Get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer Chapter 11 teaching with Skip Heitzig meet Mrs. Abraham, Sarah, verse 11, by faith Sarah herself also receive strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude in innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. Abraham and Sarah had.

I suppose a normal life may be a three bedroom tent to camel garage right they had each other. They had no child and that even though God said, to make a nation out of you, bless you and your nomination that there will be blessed right but time passed and he's not getting the younger fact is getting quite a bit older and one night God says to him, I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.

And this is wonderful but but you can just almost feel Abrams resistance because he's been patiently waiting so long. He says what will you give me saying that I am childless and I have this guy name Eliezer who is my hair this dude from Damascus, but he's not like mine.

Will you give me so when he says that God says a step outside stew some stargazing together. Check. Check those stars out. Can you count them. I'm to make your offspring more in number than the stars.

You can count in the sky and it says after God told him that another promise says Abraham believed God, and he God accounted it to him as righteousness. Just going okay. I believe amen sure, whatever you know you just made a statement of faith in God said okay that's enough for me to account you as righteous now. In that conversation. Abraham is now 86 years old from 7511 years pass and he says look at the stars on regular designs like the stars of heaven, so it is been 11 years since a gets the first promise that his wife Sarah is going to have a child so you know, month after month, year after year after year after year.

Same question you bring me know I can't get pregnant and I'm a really old person so I God's are not of my favorite night.

You know that Abram is a name that means exalted father.

That's what his name means exalted father, which is an embarrassing name for a guy who can't have a So the caravans come by and the guy what are you doing is great and the caravan leaders and what your name because exalted father, and so the caravan leader would say great will. How many do you have how many children do you have as well.

I don't have any noise. He sees it as he's a laughingstock. By the time Abraham gets to be 99 years of age still located changes his name from exalted father from two of.com, which is father of a multitude, and I can see Abram going please know Lord, don't make me wear that name but remember Abram believe God and there's no indication that he balked at that.

So he took the name father of a multitude because he believed God.

Okay, now here we have Sarah's faith in what we just read highlight in Hebrews 11 when we read. However the tax back in Genesis. It seems to read a little bit differently we dotes we were not like struck by her faith right because in chapter 17 of Genesis as she basically says a book I'm old hero, the singular work.

I have a handmade name tag are I think God meant by that promise we can really like take the Bible literally. So I got really mad is that you can just go in and have relations with Hagar and don't have a baby and that baby will be. Let's call it the promise of it's a spiritualized promise.

So there is not an indication of faith. Ishmael was born and there's a lot of lessons can be learned with Ishmael. We think we may know what's best and kind of order God to do it our way. We don't really know the full scoop so don't ever do that. I love the story about a girl who went to a computer dating service and she knew exactly what she wanted in a suitor and a husband and she was very specific on the computer.

She wanted somebody who was short because she herself was wee little ass so I she said I want somebody who was short, somebody who prefers formalwear and somebody who loves watersports of the computer center a penguin short formal attire loves watersports out is the point even when we ordered up a penguin in life and Ishmael got a still faithful so they go ahead and have a child named Ishmael.

Chapter 18 of Genesis God comes Abraham again says Sears can have a baby and Abraham goes all Lord is getting sold on let Ishmael live before you know that Ishmael might live before you just fulfill your promise. Through him you know, we went to this rigmarole to have him he's here using demagogues note all bless Ishmael all make him a great nation but your wife Sarah is going to have a natural born child. Now when Sarah heard that promise because, says the Lord. In these these angels appeared in their evening meal and make this promise says that Sarah laughed within herself so she does, that's funny because ain't no way I'm having a baby and then the Lord said, hey Abraham, why did Sarah laugh at you. I love lords. If you, I heard it. I know it. So she laughed. That was not a laughter of faith. It was on a laughter of joy was the laughter of I don't believe your remarks are about her faith yet before the year ended, she was pregnant delivered a child and name the child laughter. Isaac means laughter and she said the Lords made us laugh. Now this was the second laughter different than the first laughter laughter. It was a laughter of unbelief. The second was just a laughter of sheer joy. God did it.

God did it, God turned a retirement home into a maternity ward and it's just so weird. All they could do was laugh with joy. Here's what I love.

Hebrews 11 doesn't mention her unbelief doesn't mention her laugh of mockery mentions only her faith, which must've been right at the end.

As she grew in her pregnancy and delivered her child so Hebrews 11 makes no mention of her initial doubt only her eventual fate.

Why well, there's a principal in first Corinthians 13 love keeps no record of wrongs. Here is God not not even acknowledging the bad part of her testimony and just includes the good part because he is the God of second chances enough to all of this 25 years Abraham was patient, verse 12.

Notice it again. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead is 100 years old, were born as many as the stars in the sky in multitude enumerable as the sand which is on the seashore reproductively. His body was dead. Physiologically, Sarah was barren, but Abraham is not thinking of human frailty, but of divine faithfulness circumstances. I've said this on many times I occasions that wanders one of the services. Circumstances don't make you and they don't break the reveal. You when things get good or things get bad.

The real you comes out and and and I think we could all say about Corbett 19 with all the restrictions and all the stay at home and some of us have lost jobs and our faith is on the line. It really reveals who we are loving or not loving filled with faith are filled with doubt really sweet or really grouchy. Whatever it is circumstances simply reveal who we are and we have during this time had to come face-to-face not just with our kids and our wives and husbands and pets and projects at home but us.

We have to face us every day and hopefully God is using this to get us here to be men and women of great patient's endurance is God is working these things are okay. Let me give you faith factor number four. He lived for permanence. Abraham lived for permanence. Verse 10 tells us, for he waited for a city or for the city which has foundations member.

He's wandering around in a tent is a program for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Go down to verse 14 for those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland and truly their call to mind our country from which they had come out they would've at upper tease me opportunity to return. But 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. Abraham is about one he wandered in tents while he was on the earth, and though he was promised land. And he was in that promised land he was waiting for the ultimate promised land.

A heavenly country. It is called in verse 60 and then in verse 10 Kevin is compared to a city I find this interesting. He waited for the city which has funded. He came from a city of 300,000 he's wandering along the Euphrates River out in the wilderness out in the open, but is he's waiting, looking for the ultimate town, the ultimate city so the Bible here's prefers to have as a country refers to heaven as a city most often were used to hearing heaven describes the kingdom in the book of Daniel, the words of Jesus. The kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven. We think of heaven as a kingdom here.

It's referred to as a city. Do you know in the book of Revelation at least part of heaven is a big city which isn't typically how we most people would imagine heaven is like city I you like right now Corbett you want to be in New York City you want to be in Colorado or New Mexico with wide open spaces right you want to be a socially distance.

As you can.

The idea of coming to a city with tons of people doesn't like heaven to us and we think Maui not New York right but Revelation talks about the new Jerusalem and and that is a city that is 1500 miles to 1500. While the distance 1500 miles. If you went from Albuquerque to Spokane Washington that is 1500 miles from Maine to Florida. That's 1500 miles.

So if you took that and and and made a cube 1500 miles.

Q that's how big the new Jerusalem is. It comes out of heaven toward the earth. Not this earth, but a new heaven and a new earth, but part of our environment in the future will be a heavenly city called the new Jerusalem that we will enjoy rises city important city is a place of fellowship and proximity will be nothing that separates us in heaven. That's the idea, at least of the motif of the city.

I believe also a city is secure. Keep in mind 2000 years ago people were dreaming of a branches of Montana, Colorado and New Mexico. There were dreaming of living in a city with walls as it protected them, kept them safe from intruders. So the idea of the city for ancients was it was a place of fellowship. It was a place of security and it was a place of wealth of storage you store things in cities there's resources, there's amenities and city so we are. He was looking for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Other there's a fact check here when the people around you who are unbelievers are telling you will look all there is is right now right here dear, this is all there's going to be.

This is all that you can expect. That's fake news there's a whole another real really real world.

Besides the real world that exists that we are waiting and that is the heavenly city the heavenly country the heavenly kingdom and he lived for permanence and fifth and finally the that the fifth faith fact or say that 10 times that fifth faith fact for Abraham is that he lived in God's power. Abraham lived in God's power. Verse 17 by faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac now were taken forward in Genesis chapter 22. In this verse by faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac and he who had received the promise offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was set in Isaac your seed shall be called concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead from which he also received him in a figurative sense Abraham when he was tested.

Genesis 22 verse one opens up by saying God tested Abraham is a go tomorrow I go to the landowner show you this mountain and offer your son Isaac as an offering.

As a burnt offering the word test in Hebrew means to prove the quality of something by adversity or suffering to improve the quality of something by adversity and and God tests people God does not tempt people. Sometimes the Bible uses the word tempt. That's like the old King Jimmy modern translations will will correct it. God tests he never tempts people the devil tempts God tests there's a big difference. Satan will tempt you to bring out the worst in you.

God will test you to bring out the best in you. That's his intention now for us. It's not easy to tell the difference how can you tell the difference. Is this a test or temptation. Can I can I give you some advice on that. If you're wondering, I'm going through this hardship on an officer temptation of is a test.

It doesn't matter in the end it doesn't really matter because in that circumstance, I would say Satan is trying to trip you up. But God is trying to temper you, so God would even use the temptation as a test to make you stronger. So in the end it is a matter of Joseph when he was some you know what he went through he said was brothers you meant it for evil God meant it for good. Same circumstance so you know what the test was it was offering up his son God touched the most sensitive nerve that God could touch in Abraham's life kill Isaac what why was that the most sensitive because for one simple reason. Big all that we study so far all of God's promises to Abraham were wrapped up in the existence and the continuation of Isaac. He waited 25 years for Isaac. Isaac represented his progeny of faith. Isaac represented the inheritance in the land of promise. Not only that Isaac represented future salvation messianic hope in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed. That's a prophecy of the coming Messiah. So when God says he take your son that is the son of promise and go kill him is faced with a dilemma. He's faced with an ethical and spiritual dilemma because the promise of God. All the promises of God require that Isaac live but the common command of God requires that Isaac die. That's the dilemma he and my dealing with a self contradicting deity here because he says here's Isaac, the son of promise, to bless the world through Isaac and Alice's go kill so notice what it says in the text will represent verse 19 concluding, concluding that God was able this is Abraham concluding God was able to raise him up even found that dad which he also received in a figurative sense. Here's what's noteworthy about the original story returned to about back in Genesis 22 when Abraham and Isaac and their servant come to the land of Moriah. Abraham takes Isaac and says to the serpent, you stay here the ladder and I will go yonder and worship and listen notices and we will return to you not I will return you will go worship and we will return to you. When I got sick leave him unaltered dad. But Abraham says we will return to you. Why is that well probably the night before.

He's not sleeping well. I'm thinking if you're going to kill your son. The next thing you know it because God said you're not you not have a good night sleep. It's very very unnerving in settling it's it's that dilemma that dilemma you go through sometime in the night. It clicked.

I get it I get it so easy cc the word concluding in verse 19 record is like get semi-like get some eyes were we get our word logic. So I'm going to give you a bad translation is not even what he logic Isaac. He applied logic to the situation and so he reason came up with one of two conclusions either number one God is erratic and can't be trusted or number two God is faithful and sovereign can be trusted, which means that honor to go up there and plunge a knife into my son and God's going to raise him from the dead in front of my eyes and working to come back and see the servant that I said we come back to work in a go worship and we will be back sometime in the night. He concluded that God is going to raise his son from the dead, because God to kill your son but God said your son must live for all the promises I gave you to be fulfilled is only one conclusion.

Logically, I can come up with God is going to miraculously raise my son to life in front of my eyes so will be back. He lived in God's power.

What he believed.

Verse 19 that God was able hang on to those words brother and sister God is able. What are you dealing with God is able. What are you fearful of God is able what you struggling over God is able and another secretive Abraham.

It said stay here the lad, and I will go yonder and worship. Never forget to worship in the calamity like Joe did like Abraham like you and I must pause on the ashy and worship God, then friendship Skip Heitzig's message for the series factor right now you Skip to tell you how you support these messages coming your way in connection more people to God's truths. As we learn today. Abraham made life choices based on what he knew of God's character so how can you know who God is by studying his word. Our goal is to connect you to the Lord and that's why we shared these Bible teachings that you so love but your support is vital to keep them on the air and online give a gift today to help others get to know God. Here's how you can do that visit connectwithskip.com/donate to give your gift today that's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1888. Again, that's 800-922-1880 coming up tomorrow Skip Heitzig begins a series called 2020 and helps you sharpen your focus on God's truth in your life.

Be sure to join us spiritual vision, spiritual clarity, spiritual acuity belongs to those who go to the optometrist in this case.Jesus and admit that they don't see as clearly as they are and so may Skip presentation of connection communications to go through