“ Abraham ” part 4, Gen 12-25 & Selected

1. “Abraham” part 4,Gen 12-25 & Selected • Pastor Dave Martin, Cross Creek Community Church, Sept 14, 2014

2. ABRAHAM… James 2:23 “…Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend.”

3. I. The Call, Covenant and Challenges Genesis 12:1-5 1 The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

4. I. The Call, Covenant and Challenges 4 So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

5. Down to Egypt – Momentary compromise, lasting consequences, 12:10-20

6. Down to Egypt – Momentary compromise, lasting consequences, 12:10-20 • Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom... Spiritual descent, 13:1-14:16

7. Down to Egypt – Momentary compromise, lasting consequences, 12:10-20 • Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom... Spiritual descent, 13:1-14:16 • King-Priest Melchizedek, an O.T. picture of Christ, 14:19-20; Heb 7:1-3

8. II. God formally makes and Seals the Covenant

9. Genesis 15:1-6 1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."

10. 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

11. God encourages and promises a son w/ innumerable offspring, 22:17, 26:4

12. God encourages and promises a son w/ innumerable offspring, 22:17, 26:4 • Abraham believed, God makes a binding covenant, 15:7-21

13. God encourages and promises a son w/ innumerable offspring, 22:17, 26:4 • Abraham believed, God makes a binding covenant, 15:7-21 • 400 years (Egyptian) bondage prophesied upon your offspring, 15:12-16

14. III. Lack of Faith: Hagar & Ishmael & the Lord Genesis 16:1-2, 11-12 1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said…

15. III. Lack of Faith: Hagar & Ishmael & the Lord 11-12 11 The angel of the Lord also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

16. Start of century’s long hostility between the Jews and the Arabs

17. Lord speaks with Abraham about Ishmael & promised Son Isaac, 17:18-22 Genesis 17:1-2 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

18. IV. The Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah Genesis 18:20 20 Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous. Genesis 19:4-5,11 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."…

19. IV. The Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah 11 Men struck with blindness… Genesis 19:13 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."… Genesis 19:16 16 When he hesitated [Lot], the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them… Genesis 19:22 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it [Zoar]."…

20. IV. The Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah Genesis 19:24-26 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

21. Grievous sin & judgment coming - Abraham’s intercession, 18:16-33

22. Grievous sin & judgment coming - Abraham’s intercession, 18:16-33 • God uses the lesson of Sodom & Gomorrah as a warning… Deut 29:23, Isa 1:9-10, Jer 49:18, Amos 4:11, Mt 10:15, 11:23-24, Rom 9:29, 2Pet 2:6-9, Jude 1:7

23. Jude 1:7 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

24. “A dreadful example of those who turn from God to follow their own lustful desires… The fate of the unbelievers in those cities foreshadows the fate of those who deny God’s truth and ignore His warnings” ~ John Walvoord

25. God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven today… Rom 1:18-3:20

26. God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven today… Rom 1:18-3:20 • Truth suppressed, thinking futile, hearts darkened, vs18-21

27. God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven today… Rom 1:18-3:20 • Truth suppressed, thinking futile, hearts darkened • Exchange Truth of God for a lie v25…God gave them over

28. Romans 1:24-27 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

29. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

30. MERCY Gen 19:16 “… Lord led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them”

31. Put your trust in the Lord! Psalms 33:10-11 10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

32. Romans 5:8 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

33. “HIS story – OUR story” Join us Wednesday’s at 6:30 for “Digging Deeper” Bible study!