Sermon Central
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Faithful And Obedient Abraham Series
Contributed by Pastor Randall Timblin on Nov 4, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: An illustration of the obedience that Christians should have by looking closely at the life of Abraham
Sometime after the destruction of Babel; after speech had been confused by God; God chose Abram (Abraham) to the the Father of all Nations.
God disrupted his day by instructing Abraham to leave his home. Up to this point, Abraham was a pagan, living in Ur; a sinful city of sorts. Abram believed and trusted God and so Abram and his nearest kin left the comforts of their homes to become Sojourners in a strange land.
Abram believed in God and willfully obeyed Him.
HISTORY
First a little history. It had been less than 300 years since the Great Flood at this point in time.
Abram had been born and was the 20th generation after Adam. Abram was born in 1996 B.C. Adam was created in 3944 B.C.
Abram's father was Terah, a descendant of Noah's son Shem. Noah was still alive and dies some 52 years after Abram's birth. Shem dies 25 years after Abraham dies.
BACKGROUND
Some have said that the symbol of Abraham's life was the tent, but they would only be "half-right." They forgot to include the "altar."
Abram's family had been living on the other side of the river Euphrates and were pagans (JOSH 24:2-3).
Abram's name means 'Exalted Father.'
Here was a man who was rich but never owned any land. He traveled all over the lands that make up what we now call the 'Middle East.'
Building altar after altar, as he traveled, spoke much about the fellowship Abran had with God.
Abram was told by God, that he would be a great nation. His name would be great and he and his descendants would be blessed.
ALTARS AND TENTS
You are about to hear how at every opportunity, Abram constructs and altar, and calls on the LORD.
When God commanded, Abram always confirmed his faith by worshiping God and building an altar. But, they could never be a per-constructed pagan altar. That would never do, since they worshiped multiple gods. This would end up being a clear testimony of his commitment to One God.
Abram re-used this altar to worship God. Bethel, BETH (House) EL (God) is God's house.
Abram had some problems in Egypt but as always he approached God via an altar, which is a great example for we Christians. When things get tough, we need to follow Abram's lead by returning to the House of God and then call on the LORD. Amen.
FAITH and OBEDIENCE
Abram had what many of call "blind faith." He obeyed God in all that He asked of him.
With a small army of men, Abram had defeated four kings and yet he keeps none of the booty, for he had promised God he would take nothing. Again, Abram's obedience shines through.
DESCENDANTS
From Abram's lineage would come Jesus Christ (1992 years later).
Abraham would go on to father Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac would father Jacob and Jacob's name would be changed to Israel.
The rest is history.
In Closing:
A tent and an altar should be symbols of every Christian's life
According to His Word, we are all pilgrims and strangers in this World of ours
We, like Abraham and Sarah, should be witnesses of the reality of God in our lives
Just as God did with Abram, God breaks into a person's pagan way of life and then gives them salvation
