05.20.2012 10am - 12pm
Sunday Service
05.20.2012 5pm - 8pm
Spaghetti Dinner
05.22.2012 7pm - 9pm
Encounter Youth Group
INTRO: Epitaphs; Abraham’s in Hebrews 11; Begin with
1. The Conclusion: Abraham was a man of real faith
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed
9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise
11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac
2. The Principle: Justification results in Sanctification. [Abe was a man of part-way obedience who kept getting put back into the oven till he did it right!]
I. THE BACKGROUND: Abraham fell short in the faith test many times (Got a C on all the quizzes & Aced the Final)
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed
-First settled in Haran with relatives, let his father lead him rather than leave relatives Gen 11:31, Acts 7:2-4
-When he went, he still took Lot (who was nothing but trouble)
-Gen 12:5
9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise
-After promise, left for Egypt and lied about his wife (not trusting that God would keep him alive to fulfill the promise) Gen 13:11-20
-Settled down when God told him to travel Gen 13: 17,18
11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive
-Abe Questioned God's promise Gen 15:8
-Fathered Ishmael Gen 16
-Laughed at the promise of a son through Sarah and asked for Ishmael to be heir. But obeyed w/Circumcision Gen 17:17-21;
-Sarah also laughed at the promise & lied to God about it. 18:12-15
-Lied again about his wife to Abimelech Gen 20
-Gen 21:1-7; God kept promise; Named him “Laughter”
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac
THE TEST (Aced the Final, so he Aced the Course)
1. Background: Sacrificing the firstborn child was common practice among the Canaanites Duet 18:10
2. The Command
-Abraham knew God's previous promise which had been reaffirmed many times. Gen 11:31(with Acts 7:2); 12:1-4; 15:1-21; 17:1-21
-Abraham knew God was faithful Gen 12:17-21; 14:22; 20:17
3. The Response
-Immediate Obedience 22:3
-Absolute Obedience 22:9,10
-Absolute Confidence 22:5 (wewill return); Heb 11:17-19
Concl.:
-Justification means to be declared righteous (Duet 25:1).
-Abe justified by faith & called a friend of God Jas 2:23
-Abraham was made righteous in God's sight in Gen 15, but his faith was demonstrated to all men in Gen 22.
-When its all over, God's final record is our faith grade, how we finish - not all the times we botch it up.
Lessons to Learn:
1. Justification results in Sanctification.
2. God's final record is our faith grade, how we finish - not all the times we botch it up. If God can bring Abraham to the point of faith even after falling short so many times, He can & will do it in us, also.
3. We have to keep repeating a test till we learn it. Sometimes the test gets harder.
4. God forgives our messes, but often we still have to deal with the consequences.
Acts 7:2 And he said, "Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3 "and said to him, ’Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ 4 "Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.
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. 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. 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude — innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.