?TWO HALVES DON?T MAKE ONE WHOLE? GENESIS 11:31- 12:5
JOKE--- One of the regular ladies of the church ?Eunice? was cooking a pot of her famous beans for the church potluck. As she was just getting them on the stove her Grandson, ?Little George?, came running through the house, BB gun in one hand, and a handful of BBs in the other. Immediately she grabbed him and told him to go into the living room and quit running through the house. Well the phone rang, and boys will be boys? Little George came running back through the kitchen, missed a step, tripped and, naturally all the BBs landed right in the pot of beans.
Now after a few minutes of trying to get Eunice off the phone, Little George could think of no reason why he should risk punishment, so he said nothing. The dinner went well, and, as usual, the beans were one of the favorite dishes.
The next day, the church secretary, Jane, called and said, "Eunice, your beans were delicious as usual but what did you put in them this time?"
Eunice replied, "Nothing new, why do you ask?" "Well," said Jane, "this morning I bent over to feed the cat and I shot the canary..."
INTRO---You know, we are all like little George! And our disobedience can really bring pain to those around us (especially to our canaries). Abraham was no exception. He too was much like little George. God had told him exactly what he expected, even made him a promise, yet Abraham did his own thing anyway. As a result, he and countless others would suffer for his disobedience.
Abraham will forever be known as the father of our faith, but we must remember that his faith in God was developed through many years of mistakes.
PRAYER---
TRANS--- Abraham grew up in Ur of the Chaldeans. Ur was an important city in the ancient world. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of a flourishing civilization there in Abraham?s day. The city carried on trade and had a vast library.
JOSHUA 24:2-- Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.
Terah left Ur to go to Canaan, the promised land, but settled in Haran instead. Why did he stop halfway? We are not told, but what we do know is that God chose Abraham and singled him out from among his fellow-idolaters, that he might reserve a people for himself.
Abraham was tested as to whether he loved God more than everything and everyone, and whether he would willingly leave all to go with God. And yet we find that Abraham stumbled time and time again because of his reliance on his family and his father?s household.
God?s dealings with Abraham began with a first a covenant and then a command.
A FOUR FOLD COVENANT
1. I Will Make You Into A Great Nation And I Will Bless You? God established a covenant with Abram, telling him that he would found a great nation.
a. Remember vs. 30: Now Sarah was barren; she had no children.
2. I Will Make Your Name Great, And You Will Be A Blessing? God promised to bless Abraham and make him great, but there was one condition.
a. Abraham had to do what God wanted him to do.
3. I Will Bless Those Who Bless You, And Whoever Curses You I Will Curse? God promised Abraham security in the face of any foe he may encounter.
4. All Peoples On Earth Will Be Blessed Through You?Israel the nation would come from Abraham. He was to follow God and influence all whom he came in contact with.
a. Through Abraham?s family tree, Jesus Christ was born to save humanity.
b. Through Christ and His New Covenant between himself and the believer people can have a personal relationship with God and therefore, eternal life.
A FOUR FOLD COMMAND
1. Leave Your Country? Abraham was 75 years old and his father had just died. Undoubtedly he was now a very wealthy man because he owned his father?s household.
2. Leave Your People? He was to leave his friends.
3. Leave Your Father?s Household? He was to leave his newly found inheritance and all his possessions: slaves, animals, gold and silver, relatives, everything.
4. Go To The Land I Will Show You? The actual Hebrew is lech lecha? ?GO FOR YOURSELF?, or ?GO BY YOURSELF?.
My friends, just as He always does with each individual today, God had called Abraham out personally; ?just Abraham and his wife? apart from any possessions or friends or other relatives. Let?s Look and see what Abraham did, and more importantly what Abraham learned.
I. THE FIRST THING ABRAHAM LEARNED IS THAT HALF OBEDIENCE IS THE SAME AS DISOBEDIENCE
A. Look at vs. 10--- Abraham comes to the promised land only to find a great famine!
1. Wait a minute! Didn?t God tell Abraham that he was going to the land of milk and honey?
a. But Abraham finds a famine instead!
b. Oh my goodness, somehow God?s plan had become altered! BUT HOW?
c. Go back and look at vs. 5!
2. You see, God specifically told Abraham NOT to bring nothing with him and to come alone.
3. But vs. 5 says he brought his possessions, his father?s possessions that he had inherited, his nephew Lot, etc. etc.
I. THE FIRST THING ABRAHAM LEARNED IS THAT HALF OBEDIENCE IS THE SAME AS DISOBEDIENCE
II. THE NEXT LESSON ABRAHAM LEARNED IS THAT A HALF TRUTH IS THE SAME AS A LIE
A. So as a result of his disobedience Abraham and all of the people and things he should not have with him have to turn and go 275 miles out of their way to Egypt.
1. You know, I love old Abraham, because he reminds me a lot of me? hard-headed, got to do it my way, and he was good lookin?? now we don?t read that but?
a. Now as you all know Abraham gets in all kinds of trouble down there in Egypt, didn?t he?
b. He just knew that as soon as Pharaoh laid eyes on his lovely wife that he would kill Abraham and take her for his own.
2. Now when men get into trouble where do we turn for help. Yep!
a. He turns to his beautiful wife and gives her one of them tricky manipulative compliments: he says, ?Honey, you are so pretty? (ladies watch out when a man says that) He begs her, ?tell them you are my sister.?
b. Now we know that she is in fact his half-sister (Gen 20:12). Is this a Kentucky sermon or what?
1) But she was also his wife!
c. How sad that we see this future man of faith fearing for his life so that he forgets all about God.
3. Oh but let?s not be too hard on Abram---Don?t we do the same thing when we are being disobedient to God?
a. When we get thrown into the frying pan don?t we bend the truth a little to keep from getting burned?
b. I imagine that Sarah could have smacked the smell out of Abraham?s beard for what he did.
c. If it wasn?t for God’s intervention, Sarah would have been absorbed into Pharaoh?s royal harem, and the promise of offspring for Abraham would have gone unfulfilled.
I. THE FIRST THING ABRAHAM LEARNED IS THAT HALF OBEDIENCE IS THE SAME AS DISOBEDIENCE
II. THE NEXT LESSON ABRAHAM LEARNED IS THAT A HALF TRUTH IS THE SAME AS A LIE
III. FINALLY, ABRAHAM LEARNED THAT DISOBEDIENCE ALWAYS REQUIRES REPENTANCE AND PRAYER!
A. Chapter 13 vs. 1 Begins with another problem because of an unauthorized companion.
1. We read that Abraham went up from Egypt to the Negev (and later back to Bethel about another 335 miles I might add), with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.
a. vs. 3 specifically says he went back to a place between Bethel and Ai where he had first built an altar to call on the Lord.
1) Now I just think that is the most interesting thing, you see, because the respective translations of Bethel and Ai indicate that he was literally between: ?The House of God,? who is ?The Rock? and ?The Ruins,? which literally is a ?Hard Place!?
b. But it was about to get worse!!!
2. Now Abraham?s financial bounties were rubbing off on Lot so that his flocks and servants began to rival his uncle?s.
a. Look at ch 13 vs. 7? CIVIL WAR!!! The Hebrew (riyab) translated quarrel {strife KJV} says: ?feud, or contention.?
3. I imagine that Abraham was completely spent at this point.
a. For years now, he has been wandering aimlessly with multitudes of people and flocks all requiring his constant attention.
1) He had disobeyed God and came to a famine instead of a feast in the Promised Land.
2) Then he had an unpleasant run in with Pharaoh in Egypt and was caught in a half-truth.
3) Now he was embroiled in a civil war and the greed of his nephew.
b. So finally, he did the most intelligent and sensible thing he could do: Abraham cried out to the Lord.
4. And behold! God answered, ?Lift your eyes my child!!!?
a. You see, when Lot went away; Abraham had lost a lot of those unauthorized possessions, and Abraham came back to the place where he first met God, he cried out in repentance.
b. And in Genesis 13:14-17, God reinstated his covenant with Abraham and Abraham and God were in fellowship once again.
MY FRIENDS, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT TWO HALVES DO NOT MAKE ONE WHOLE!
CONCLUSION? I believe there are people here this morning, the Lord is calling out. He is calling each of us apart from among relatives and friends and possessions. He is calling us out of the old country of death and into the New Country of Life. But you cannot merely give half of yourself to the Lord, for this too is simply disobedience.
Jesus said, ?If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
The Lord does not ask about your abilities or your disabilities. He is concerned about your availability.
Just as he did with Abraham, Jesus is calling just you and ?you only? out today. He does not want you to bring anything but you and your sins to this altar. Will you be available?
