Life and Faith of
Abraham
SERMON TOPICS
6 “Moreover Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. Romans 2:28-29
11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. Romans 4:11-12
Hebrews 8:8-13
8 For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will complete a new covenant With the house of israel and with the house of Judah; 9 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers In the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord. 10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And upon their hearts I will write them. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. 11 “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. 12 “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.” 13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear
Wait patiently on the God who sees and the God who hears / GENESIS 16:1-16
How to wait patiently and grow in our trust and faith in the Lord?
a) Confession and repentance toward God are essentials in our Christian life. Do not be stubborn but accept your are under the grace of God.
b) Obedience and humility are signs of true faith in God and spiritual maturity in the Lord and in Christ. You only have the same zip code or postcode of obedience and humility.
c) Waiting patiently and not going ahead of God will be rewarded by God with peace and harmony, joy and favour from God.
How to wait patiently and grow in our trust and faith in the Lord?
a) Confession and repentance toward God are essentials in our Christian life. Do not be stubborn but accept your are under the grace of God.
b) Obedience and humility are signs of true faith in God and spiritual maturity in the Lord and in Christ. You only have the same zip code or postcode of obedience and humility.
c) Waiting patiently and not going ahead of God will be rewarded by God with peace and harmony, joy and favour from God.
THE SAVING FAITH OF ABRAM IN THE MOST HIGH GOD / GENESIS 14:17-24
What is faith? “In the Old Testament faith is a personal, trusting response to God, who speaks words of promise. This same basic meaning is carried over into the New Testament as well. In different ages the word of promise has been different: to Abraham, it was God’s promise of a son to be born from his and Sarah’s dead flesh. To us, the word of promise is Jesus Himself. When we respond, as Abraham did, with a simple trust in God, we receive the same gift he was given—righteousness, and a personal relationship with God.” Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 52). Victor Books.
By His grace, God fulfilled His covenant to Abram by making him a great hero, a warrior, a protector and a deliverer! A provider, an employer and a father to his adopted sons. God is giving him faith to walk with God; To call the name of the Lord; God is giving him the strength and power to obey God; God is giving him compassion and love for the lost.
Faith thus purifies and instructs the mind, softens and stirs the heart,
and strengthens and controls the will.
“This is the victory … our faith.”
Thomas, W. H. G. (1946). A Devotional Commentary: Genesis (p. 130).
Spiritually, we are also God’s servants and warriors. Heroes of the faith. But we need faith and obedience to God and His word to win all the spiritual battles we face in this world. We can be a hero to our kids and friends if we are like Abram who has faith, who obeys and believes the promises of God.
By His grace of God, He will make the way to separate us from the world. We need to be separated from the world, just like Abraham, by God's grace. God separated Abram from his own people and from his own pagan gods. From his own kin Lot and his own son Isaac. To show his faith in God and the promises of His Word and his faithfulness to God.
This is also prophetic: The Abrahamic covenant. He will be a great nation, and he will be blessed, and all the people of the earth will be blessed. Abraham became the hero of the land with the help of his children and his people, and even saved people. Same with Jesus, He came and defeated satan and all his influences in this world. Saved many people. One day, his demonic kingdom will be destroyed and all false prophets. And He will rule as the Mighty God. The Saviour of the world. The Saviour of His own people. The King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He will be our Eternal Father, Wonderful Counsellor, and Our prince of Peace.
Be reminded we are just temporary residents here in this world. You will die and you will leave everything in this world. We are children of Abraham because like him we also put our faith in Jesus Christ. We are also Hebrew people (we are cross -over people or we are just passing through this temporary land) from this temporary land to eternal land. Do not put your hope in this world. Put your hope in the Lord and His eternal Kingdom heaven. The true City of God!
GENESIS 13:1-13
1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.
3 And he went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4 to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called upon the name of Yahweh.
5 Now Lot, who was going with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
6 And the land could not sustain them while living together, for their possessions were so abundant that they were not able to live together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living then in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.
9 “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 Then Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.
11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.
12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived in the cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
13 Now the men of Sodom were evil and sinners, exceedingly so, against Yahweh.
Genesis 12:1–9
“1 And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, And from your kin. And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
4 So Abram went forth as Yahweh had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 So Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go forth to the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
6 And Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “To your seed I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to Yahweh who had appeared to him. 8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to Yahweh and called upon the name of Yahweh.
9 And Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
The calling of Abram came from a godly family line. Blessed by God of salvation (vs 1).
The calling of Abram is to follow Yahweh by faith (vs 1)
The calling of Abram is perfectly planned by God: To inherit the land. To bring the Seed. To receive the blessing. And to be a blessing (vs 2-3)
The calling of Abram by God is to be a blessing and those who cursed him will be cursed (vs 3)
The Calling of Abram resulted in obedience to God’s command and a great blessing (vs 4-5)
The calling of Abram makes him to hear and know the voice of God (vs 6-7)
The calling of Abram led him to set up an altar and worship Him and proclaim the name Yahweh (vs 8-9)
The calling of Abram and his own people is to bear the Gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Seed to bring salvation to the world (Galatians 3:8,16).
The calling of Abram and his seeds is to live in the land of faith and be faithful to Yahweh (vs 1-9).
The calling of Abraham is for us to publicly proclaim the Gospel of God (vs 8).
The calling of Abram to live by faith and trust that the Lord is faithful to His promise covenant.
Galatians 3:8 “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
Acts 3:24–26: “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also proclaimed these days. 25 “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
Genesis 12:10–20
“10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 And it happened as he drew near to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Now behold, I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; 12 and it will be when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
14 Now it happened when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
Genesis 12:10–20
15 And Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore he treated Abram well because of her; and sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels came into his possession.
17 But Yahweh struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? So now, here is your wife, take her and go.”
20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away with his wife and all that belonged to him.
The faithfulness of God to His promise Seed is recurring and man’s failures and sin has no power in God’s way and promise blessing and salvation.
The Sovereignty of God will show who is in control of our life here on earth.
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