Abram's Lapse Of Faith

ABRAM’S LAPSE OF FAITH

Genesis 12: 10-20

INTRODUCTION:

A. Up until this moment in Abram’s life, he has been a model

of what a believer should be

1. Galatians 3 tells us that God preached ther gospel unto

Abram and he believed and that it was counted unto him

for righteousness

a. God told Abram that Jesus would one day come and die

for his sin and then be resurrected

b. Abram’s faith in what Jesus was going to do was what

saved him

c. Today, we look back by faith and trust that Jesus did

come and die for our sin and was then resurrected

d. But for both Abram and ourselves, salvation is by grace

through faith

2. Abram’s faith caused his life to change

a. It led him to believe that God would use him to bring

the Messiah into the world

b. It led him to forsake the land of his fathers and his

family to go into a land that God would show him

c. His faith then led him to construct an altar and worship

God

B. In v. 10, some things change

1. A famine came into the land

a. That famine tried Abram’s faith

b. God had told Abram to sojourn in the land of Canaan--

that was God’s will for Abram’s life

c. The test for Abram was seeing if God would care for

him in that land even though a famine had arisen

d. Abram failed the test-- he forsook God’s will and went

to Egypt for aid-- he turned to the world

2. Many believers start off well but somehow end up out of

God’s will

3. Why we end up out of God’s will

a. A lack of faith in God-- causes us to refuse to give

b. Pride causes us to end up out of God’s will

c. Lustful desires

I. NOTICE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FORSAKE

GOD’S WILL

A. When we forsake God’s will, we also end up forsaking our

time of devotion and fellowship with God

1. We never see Abram at the altar in Egypt-- its only after

he comes back to Canaan that we see him return to the

altar

2. One act of disobedience can kill our devotional life

a. That act of disobedience will bring guilt that will keep

us from coming to God

b. Guilt will cause us to fear God and run from Him rather

than seeking Him

c. That act of disobedience will cause God to refuse to

hear our prayers

d. Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord

will not hear me

e. Isaiah 59: 2 your sins have hid his face from you that he

will not hear

3. When Abram made his decision to forsake the will of God

for his life, he also made a decision to forsake the altar

4. Many today made decisions to forsake God’s will for their

life only to find that it also killed their relationship with

God

B. When we forsake the will of God, we also end up forfeiting

our assurance

1. Up until this point in his life, Abram was not afraid of the

inhabitants of the land

a. He was trusting in God’s promises that God would care

for him

b. Now when he wasn’t where God wanted him, he didn’t

have that assurance

2. Fear always replaces assurance when we are out of God’s

will

a. Fear of getting caught

b. Fear that God doesn’t love us any more

c. Fear of the future

d. Fear of losing our salvation

3. This same picture is seen in Peter’s life

a. When he was in God’s will where he was supposed to

be, he was as bold as a lion

b. When he was not where he was supposed to be, he

cowered before a little girl

C. When we forsake the will of God, we end up adopting the

world’s ways

1. Abram ended up trying to lie his way out of this situation

2. Peter ended up both lying and cursing

3. The sad part about Abram’s life is that it affected others

a. Sarah had to be angry and hurt by Abram’s actions

b. Lot watched his uncle and learned some bad habits

c. Isaac, Abram’s son, later committed the same sin

4. A believer who adopts the world’s ways will hurt those

around him

II. HOW ABRAM CORRECTED THIS PROBLEM

A. He came back to the place where he left God

1. 13: 3-4

2. To do that, Abram had to:

a. Acknowledge that he should have never left Canaan

b. That acknowledgment calls for humility and honesty

c. That acknowledgment is called confession-- God, you

were right and I am wrong

c. That was the main factor that led the prodigal son to