“Following God’s Call”

“Going for the Gold” series part 5

Heb 11; Gen 22 & Selected (Pew Bible page 14)

·         Past few weeks we’ve looked at David, Joshua and this morning, God’s Hero of Faith – Abraham

·         To begin let’s look at three passages from Hebrews 11 the faith chapter…

Hebrews 11:8-10 ⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:11-12 ¹¹ By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore…

Hebrews 11:17-19 ¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Who is this man Abraham who finished strong and impacted countless generations for God?

Abram… Abraham (“Father of a multitude” – the first Hebrew patriarch Gen 14:13) – 2161BC

•      75 years old who lived in Ur… great ziggurat (temple tower, moon god “sin” Nannar)

•      City of 360,000 people… center of wealth and culture… Affluent, populous, sinful 

•      Located in the Mesopotamia region about 220 miles south of Baghdad in Iraq

What can we learn from Abraham in Following God’s Call?

I. Following God’s Call brings Personal Responsibility

Genesis 12:1-4 ¹ The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. ² "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." ⁴ So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

·         Great Purpose Gen 12:1

o   God had a plan for Abraham… He’s about to work mightily through His servant

o   God has a plan for you too… A good plan/purpose

·         Great Promise Gen 12:2-3

o   God will make you into a great nation, great name, and a great blessing

o   What promises… Today God works the same way with us… promise of forgiveness of sin, abundant life, eternal life, absolute assurance of a home in heaven

o   Abraham personally responded… He left his country, people & family… Faith in God

·         Great Covenant Gen 15:4-6,18 – God swore fidelity to His promises and placed the obligation for their fulfillment on Himself alone!

o   God ratified His promise with shedding of blood… Jesus paid the penalty for sin by shedding His blood… buried… rose again…

“Be cautious of rejecting God’s call’…

o   God calls us to salvation then calls us to serve Him… are we?

o   We sometimes totally miss His call, His plan because we are out of fellowship

o   Hard, cold heart, tainted by the cares of the world and self… speaks still small voice

Following God’s Call Realize…

II.  Momentary Compromise brings Lasting Consequences

·         Abraham trusted in his own resources –

Genesis 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

·         Abraham Lapsed into lies and deception – (fear of man brings a snare)

Genesis 12:11-13 ¹¹ As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

·         Abraham Slept with his Egyptian maidservant –

Genesis 16:1-4 ¹ Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

	Abraham now 85 (10 years after God called him) sleeps with an Egyptian maidservant Hagar
	Hagar conceives and bears a son called Ishmael… the father of the Arabs (Gen 16:11-12)

	One time you were on fire for Christ… somewhere along the way you went down into Egypt
	Little compromise here, a little there… now look at your life… consequences…

	Are you personally growing in your faith?  What difference is Jesus making in you?
	James tells us the testing of your faith matures the believer… growing more Christlike?
	If you are undergoing trials… are you consumed by them or driven to your knees?
	How’s your fruit?  How’s your faithfulness?  How’s your hunger for righteousness?

God used this test in Abrahams life to “prove” / “refine” his faith… BIG Test = BIG Bless

IV.  There are many Parallels between Isaac & Jesus, I’ll touch on briefly…

®      Both Miraculously conceived –

Genesis 17:17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

®      Both Father’s only beloved son –

Genesis 22:2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,

®      Both carried wood –

Genesis 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,

®      Both willingly laid down their lives as a sacrifice –

Genesis 22:9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

®      Both offered on the mountains of Moriah –

Genesis 22:2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

·         “Mountains of Moriah” believed to be the “Temple Mount” we see in Jerusalem today… Same location where God’s temple once stood… presently in the hands of Palestinians (Arabs who came from Hagar & Abraham’s son Ishmael)

·         Here’s an aerial shot… Here’s a closer look… and here’s an inside look of the bedrock in the Moslem mosque where many believe to be the actual rock where Abraham laid Isaac…

Hero of Faith Following God’s Call…

·         When he told his son, “God himself will provide the lamb”…

Genesis 22:8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

·         Fast forward 2000 years, God actually did provide Himself as the sinless sacrificial lamb…

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Picture of Christ on the Cross…

1 Corinthians 5:7b “…For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”

·         Have you experienced His grace and invited Him into your life?

·         You could not pay the penalty for your sin… Jesus paid it for you… you must receive Him

·         It all begins by saying YES to His call… Open your heart to Him in repentance…

·         Following God’s Call… begins at salvation and continues till you meet Jesus!

V.  God’s Hall of Faith Hero, Abraham

Look at the result of Abraham’s Faith…

Genesis 22:15-18 ¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

·         Judaism, Islam, and Christianity (the three great world religions) all revere Abraham

·         Abraham finished strong, he captured the Crown… God’s Hero of Faith…

·         An epitaph reads from James…

James 2:23b “…Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend.”

·         You too can finish the race set before you strong… trust and obey like Abraham

·         I want to leave you with one question to personally ponder…

What must I do today to begin following God’s call?