Fail Forward?Abraham: When faith gives way to fear?
Genesis 12:10-13:4
God’s call to Abraham.
Genesis 12:1?God’s promises to Abraham.
Genesis 12:2-3 Abraham’s faith resulted in obedience.
Genesis 12:4 ?Abraham’s faith resulted in worship.
Genesis 12:7-8??Abraham’s faith gave way to fear.
Genesis 12:10-16?
Our faith can give way to fear in moments of crisis.?
Our fear causes us to forget God’s promises and focus on our problems & limitations.
Our fear feeds our self-centeredness.
When our faith turns to fear, it results in failure.
??God doesn’t give up on Abraham.
Genesis 12:17-13:4
Our failure doesn’t mean that God is finished.
Our failures should return us to the place our faith began.
Fear gives us an opportunity to exercise faith. ?
God accomplishes His perfect purpose through imperfect people.
I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Abraham is arguably one of the most important figures in the Bible story.? Abraham is known for his great faith. When you look up the references about Abraham in Old and New Testaments, many times it references his faith.
He demonstrated great humility when his nephew Lot’s herdsmen began arguing with Abraham’s herdsmen and Abraham let Lot take the good ground for his herds, even though Abraham deserved to take the best land.
He demonstrated heroic bravery when later he rescued Lot when Lot was kidnapped and taken away by some foreign kings. It was a daring and brave rescue.
Most importantly, the genealogy of Jesus is traced all the way back to Abraham
But Abraham didn’t always get it right. In fact, he experienced some deep struggles and setbacks in his life.
God’s call to Abraham. “The LORD said to Abram: ‘Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you’.” Genesis 12:1? Abraham’s original name was Abram. But Later in the story, after God established a covenant between Himself and Abram, God changed his name to Abraham. You probably already know this, when a covenant is established, both parties give something to the other party. In a wedding covenant, rings are given. In a land deal, one gives money, the other gives land. So when this covenant was established between God and Abram, God gave Abram part of His name, the ‘ah’ Yahweh. And from that day foreward for the Hebrews, God became called the God of Abraham. So God said, ‘Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you’.” I want you to go to a place you don’t know about. So Abraham struck out, not knowing the way to go, not knowing the place to go, not knowing what it would look like when he got there.? Story of Sue/Me Albuquerque…phone call, closet. Sue had no idea, but God spoke to her and she went with me. ? There are those times in life where the Lord prompts you to step out in faith and do something even tho you don’t know how you’ll do it or what it will look like after you do it. I’ve heard so many testimonies of people during/after Unleashed where they prayed, sensed, stepped out not know how or exactly what it would look like afterward. But they did it by faith..??God’s Promises to Abraham. Genesis 12:2-3 ? (Rebecca can we highlight on screen? If so, please highlight “will” as seen below)?2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples[a] on earth will be blessed[b] through you.” Genesis 12:2-3? 7 Times God says to Abraham…. “I will” = When the creator of the universe says, “I will”, you can take that to the bank. Again, let me say that when God says He will bless us when we tithe, when we give sacrificially, when we offer a verbal witness to someone, when we take a stand for him in the office or at school—when He says He will bless us and be with us—you can count on it. God said to Abram, “I’m going to bless you and make your name great…and here the Name of Abraham is revered by 3 great religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.? More importantly, God says that He will bless the nations through Abraham. What’s He talking about there? The Messiah! Jesus!
Abraham’s Faith resulted in obedience. 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ?What do you call it when you do what God tells you to do? Obedience! He acted on the revealed will of God. That’s obedience and that is faith. Over and over again, faith and obedience are positioned as different sides of the same coin.? Deitrich Bonhoffer ““The truth is that so long as we hold both sides of the proposition together they contain nothing inconsistent with right belief, but as soon as one is divorced from the other, it is bound to prove a stumbling block. "Only those who believe obey" is what we say to that part of a believer's soul which obeys, and "only those who obey believe" is what we say to that part of the soul of the obedient which believes. If the first half of the proposition stands alone, the believer is exposed to the danger of cheap grace, which is another word for damnation. If the second half stands alone, the believer is exposed to the danger of salvation through works, which is also another word for damnation.”
Don’t think for a minute you can believe but not obey. And don’t think obedience without faith is the way to go. In faith and obedience, Abraham left his home and traveled to Canaan at the age of 75 years old. Took his wife and his nephew Lot with him.
Abraham’s Faith resulted in worship. (Map of Abraham’s trip)?After arriving, he built altars to worship the Lord there.?7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord. Genesis 12:7-8?
Abraham’s Faith gives way to fear. ?But before long a situation arose that caused him to doubt the Lord. ?10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe. ?11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. ?12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live. ?13 Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.” ?14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ?15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s household. ?16 He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels. Genesis 12:10-16? But isn’t that just like us when it comes to witnessing or generosity or loving our spouse unconditionally?? Our faith can give way to fear in moments of crisis.? When the pressure’s on, we chicken out. How many times have you started to ask someone to church or share the good news or offer to pray for someone and in the pressure of the moment, you bail on God? I’m ashamed to say it has happened more times than I’d like to admit.? Our fear causes us to forget God’s promises and focus on our problems & limitations.
God will keep His word; His promises are good. But when we take our eyes off of Him and get focused on our problems, our deficiencies, our lacks…we temporarily forget and devalue His promises... Changing circumstances are no reason to stop trusting the Lord.?? Our fear feeds our self-centeredness. (Build…this is slide #1)? “feeds” = it fuels our natural selfish desires. We put our wants and our desires ahead of everything else.? It causes us to rationalize our actions and jeopardize those we love. (#2)?? It causes us to put what we want above the welfare of others. (#3)
Illustration…STORY? When our faith turns to fear, it results in failure.? Abraham reasoned that the way to survive was to go to Egypt where there was food. He probably considered this trip to Egypt as only temporary, thinking he’d come back to Canaan when conditions improved. However, as reasonable as his plan seemed, even a temporary journey away from God’s will can have disastrous results. Then He begins to lie about his wife to protect himself…and ultimately it cost everyone.?
God doesn’t give up on Abraham. Genesis 12:17-13:4
17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.?? Our failure doesn’t mean that God is finished. ?God is still faithful! He is still active and working even in spite of our fear and failure. God can and will accomplish His purpose despite our shortcomings…? ? Our failures should return us to the place our faith began. ? Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, 4 to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the Lord there. Genesis 13:1-4
Abraham wasn’t the same man at the end of his life as he was at the beginning or even in the middle. And you won’t be either! God isn’t finished writing your story. There will be ups and down, but in the end, God will bring your story to its beautiful completion. ? if you’ve wandered off the path, go back to where you left it. When you’re faith falters and you fall; get back up and assume the position of faith.? ? Fear gives us an opportunity to exercise faith. ?Fear and faith are at the opposite ends. If you’re suffering fear, to that same degree you’re suffering a lack of faith. Know God’s word. Memorize God’s promises. Count on His faithfulness. And your faith will grow strong again.?? God accomplishes His perfect purpose through imperfect people.?He did it in and through Abraham. And He can do it in& thru you. Do not forget Philippians 1:6, It’s like the theme verse for this series:
6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you[a] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Don’t let fear overcome your faith this morning. Whatever circumstance you are facing right now is an opportunity to strengthen and exercise your faith! And not matter what your past may look like, God is still working in you to accomplish His purpose, for His Glory and your good.?
