The Faith of Abraham (Part-1) : Answering The Call

2015 is a year of resurrected dreams. We pointed to the faith of Abraham and how he believed God to see the dream God gave him to come to pass.

We are going to spend the next three Sundays, learning from the life of Abraham of how to journey by faith in the dreams God has birthed in our hearts.

Today we are going to look at how God called Abraham and learn some lessons from this.

God wanted to raise up a nation of people through whom He would send the Messiah and bless the nations of the world.

God chose to work with a man named Abram. Here are some facts about Abram, when God called him:

First, Abram was of the tribe called the Chaldeans, and lived in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:28). Ur was a city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, now located in modern-day Iraq. The city is recorded in written history as a City State from the 26th century BC. The city's patron deity was the moon god, and the name of the city is in origin derived from the god's name. The Chaldeans were essentially worshippers of the moon god.

Second, Abram's wife Sarai was barren and so they had no children (Genesis 11:30) .
Third, Abram was about seventy-five years old at this time (Genesis 12:4).
Fourth, Abram was very wealthy (Genesis 13:2)

To a man living in idolatry, and to a man whose wife was barren, and a man who was well advanced in age, God appears and presents this call:

Genesis 12:1-4
1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Consider what God calls Abram to do:
Leave your present environment (country, family, father's house) Go to a land I will show you
He then promises:
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.

Consider Abram's natural conditions:
He has a large extended family that he has to leave behind.
He has to leave behind his ancestral worship of the moon-god and follow the Lord who is now speaking to him
He has to journey to a land that he knows nothing about as yet
The promise of becoming a great nation is very questionable, since Abram and his wife are now old and have no children. Sarah is barren.
All the wealth Abram had, could not in any way help him see God's promise fulfilled.

And yet Abram's stepped out:
Genesis 12:4
So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy- five years old when he departed from Haran.

Here are some lessons we can learn about the call and promise of God, as people of faith.
(Pastors, as you present each point, please talk about the application of each in our personal lives).

#1, As people of faith, we understand that there are times when we have to leave our present to enter into God's call and promise.

#2, As people of faith, we understand that God's promises are not based on our present conditions, but on His purposes.

#3, As people of faith, we understand that our journey into God's promises is a journey of faith and obedience.

Hebrews 11:8-10
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.
9 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;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Vs 8 By faith Abraham obeyed

#4, As people of faith, we understand that in our journey of faith and obedience into God's promises, we may not always have complete understanding of everything..the what, the where, the when, the how

Vs8 And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

#5, As people of faith, we understand that even after we enter into our promise, our eyes are on what is eternal

9 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;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham had Isaac when he was one hundred years old. Abraham lived to be one hundred and seventy five years (Genesis 25:7). Isaac and Rebekah had their twins Jacob and Esau when Isaac was sixty years old (Genesis 25:26). So Abraham was one hundred and sixty years old at this time. Abraham was living in the land of promise with Isaac, Jacob and Esau. Yet the Scriptures say, he looked for something beyond that land in which he was dwelling. He was looking for an eternal city - the heavenly Jerusalem.

Application:

As each of us answer the call of God and journey into the dreams He has for us personally, we must learn to walk like Abraham.

Romans 4:11,12
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,
12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

Abraham is called the father of all who believe - the forerunner, the primary example.
We are called to walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham.

This year as we believe God to resurrect dead dreams, we must journey by faith into seeing those dreams fulfilled. Will continue next week further on the life of Abraham.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur