Abraham: Following In The Footsteps Of Faith
Sermon #6
Genesis 13:14-18
GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAM RENEWED
Intro: Abram is a man walking with God. His misadventure in Egypt is
behind him and he is back in the place of blessing walking by faith. This is
seen in the fact that when a dispute arose between himself and his nephew
Lot, Abram willingly took the second place. He place the needs of Lot
ahead of those in his own life and left himself in the gracious care of God.
By the way, that is how you can know when you are growing as you should
be. When you can willingly turn loose of your rights and privileges for the
good of others, you are on your way! After the incident with Lot, Abram is left alone with his wife, his servants
and his possessions. It must have been a difficult thing to see his own flesh
and blood separate from him under such harsh conditions. Yet, for Abram,
that difficult time would turn into a time of grace and blessing. For it is this
time that the Lord chooses to renew His promises to Abram. Let's listen in
this evening as the Lord renews His promises to His servant Abram. While
these are Abram's promises, there are spiritual applications that we can
glean from these words.
I. V. 14-16 THE CONFIRMATION OF GOD'S WORD
(Ill. When you look at the events of verses 7-11, you may believe that
Abram got the short end of the stick. You see, verses 10 and 14 tell us
that both Lot and Abram "lifted up their eyes". But, what they saw with
those eyes was vastly different. Lot saw the world; Abram saw the
promised land. Lot looked in self-sufficiency; Abram looked in perfect
trust. Lot looked with a heart driven by greed and lust; Abram looked
with a heart driven by a sacrificial love of unity. Lot looked through eyes
connected to a worldly, uncommitted heart; Abram looked through eyes
that were connected to a committed, spiritual heart.
Lot may have taken the best of the land, but Abram was about to get
all the land! Friend, those who walk with their faith in God and their
heart centered in His will need never fear that they will lose anything!
God honors the faith of His people, because the faith of His people
honors Him!)
A. What The Promise Communicated - God's promise to Abram was
full of blessings!
1. V. 14-15 A Promised Land - Lot chose the best; Abram got that
and the rest to boot. The land was the prize for his faith. (Ill.
Heaven for us - Rev. 21-22; John 14:1-3.)
2. V. 16 A Promised Legacy - God's promise is farther enhanced
by the promise of a multitude of offspring from Abram. No doubt
his lack of children was a sore spot with Abram. To the people
of that era, many children were an indication of the blessings of
the Lord, Psa. 127:3-5. Even his name was a mockery to him.
Abram means "Exalted Father". However, God's promise is
that Abram will have a legacy in children. So many will descend
from him that their number will be beyond comprehension. That
has literally come to pass! (Note: God wants to do the same for
us! He wants to multiply our faith and use us to reach others for
His glory. We too can leave a legacy of spiritual children behind
for the glory of the Lord, Dan. 12:3.)
3. V. 15b A Promised Length - God's promise to Abram is one
that will never be repealed. Notice that there are no strings
attached! God is going to do this thing for His Own reasons. It
is an eternal promise! That land they are fighting over this
evening in Israel and the Middle East belongs to Abraham's
descendants! (Note: The redeemed are also partakers of eternal
promises. Our salvation, our heavenly home, our Father's love
are just a few of the many eternal promises that belong to those
saved by the grace of God.)
B. When The Promise Came - God's promise came to Abram after he
was separated from Lot. Lot represented worldliness and lack of
commitment to the things of God. When that distraction was
removed, Abram heard from the Lord. (Note: Separation from
people, institutions, etc., is never easy. However, if we ever expect
the Lord to bless us to the level that He can bless us, we are going
to have to separate from anyone or anything that hinders our being
right with Him, 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1. God can and will bless a separated
life!)
(Note: Did you notice that this promise merely amplified promises that
had been given to Abram earlier? Gen. 12:2, 7 are the first of the
promises concerning the seed and the land. Now, those promises are
amplified, expounded and enlarged. This is how the Lord always works
with His people. The walk of faith is a walk of progressive revelation.
As we walk in obedience to what He has already revealed, He will show
us more and more as time goes by. That is how the Lord works; line
upon line, precept upon precept, Isa. 28:10. That is how His Word
works, Psa. 119:105. We want to know it all up front, but God reveals
Himself as we are ready to receive Him, John 16:12.)
II. V. 17 THE COMMAND TO GOD'S WORKER
(Ill. After the promise has been given, a call to obedience is issued. This
is always the way it works with the Lord. His promised are nearly always
coupled with His commands. This is good and right! If we want His
best, then we should be willing to follow Him.)
A. A Command To Rise - Abram is called upon to get up and to go
with God. He is being challenged to deepen his walk with the Lord.
(Note: God is looking for people who will simply walk with Him, Micah 6:8. Sadly, many believers are just sitting around and are not
walking with Him by faith. Romans 13:11-14 has a word for you!)
B. A Command To Review - Abram is commanded to get up and walk
up and down, all over the land he has been given. He is to try and
see it all! (Note: As believers, we need to take the time to review all
that we have in Jesus Christ, Eph. 3:18; Phil. 3:10; Eph. 1:3. That
is a tall order, but it is one that is worthy of our time. No doubt, there
are many believers who are less than they could be simply because
they do not know who they are and what they have in Jesus Christ.
Ill. Some of those precious spiritual possessions we have!)
C. A Command To Receive - As Abram journeyed, he was live as
though he carried the title deed to the land in his hand. Even if, at
the moment, it belonged to someone else, Abram was to accept by
faith the fact that this land was his land! (Note: So it is in our
spiritual journey. We have much in Jesus, but we have to claim it by
faith. For instance, what about victory? Jesus says that we have it, 1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:37. Let's face it, there are days
when you just have to take that by faith! What about Romans 8:28?
Or what about Romans 8:18? Or what about 2 Cor. 4:17? Or what
about Hebrews 13:5? Those are all great promises and they are
true whether I believe them or not! Abram could have set still and
the land would still have been his. I have all those things I have
mentioned and more, but they do me no good until I reach out and
take them by faith!)
III. V. 18 THE CONSECRATION TO GOD'S WILL
A. Seen In Abram's Adaptation - When the Lord spoke, Abram
responded in action and obedience! As this old man traveled around
that country, he was looking at more than the mountains, valleys,
rivers, streams and lakes. He was looking for a place to settle down
forever. Hebrew 11:8-10 tells us that Abram had his sites set just
a little higher than Canaan. He was looking for Heaven at the end
of the way. So he just kept going, moving around the country
enjoying all God had given him until the day came when he would go
home to God. (Note: His is an example that we should all readily
follow! Like Abram, we are pilgrims in this world. As we journey
through our lives, we are to do so in dependence upon and
obedience to the Lord God. Always knowing that this world is not
our home. One day we will leave this world for a better land. But,
until then, let us move at the command of the Lord, for nothing
honors God like obedience to His commands, 1 Sam. 15:22; John
14:15.)
B. Seen In Abram's Association - The Bible tells us that Abram
moved to Mamre which is in Hebron. Those two names are filled
with meaning! Mamre means "Fatness" and Hebron means
"Fellowship". The idea is that Abram has settled down in a place
of blessing and closeness to the Lord. He is living a life of close
fellowship. (Note: That is what the Lord wants from your life and
mine! He wants us in the place of "fellowship" and "fatness". He
wants what was said about Enoch to be true about you and me, Gen. 5:24, "And Enoch walked with God..." Can that be said
concerning your life?)
C. Seen In Abram's Adoration - Abram does again that which has
become his trademark: he builds an altar for the worship of the Lord.
(Note: A life that is lived in communion with God is a life that God
can bless! He desires that every one of us be in a place where we
love Him more than anything else in this world. He wants us to
acknowledge Him. He wants us to exalt Him. He wants us to love
Him. He desires our worship, John 4:23-24!) (Note: God is
absolutely self-sufficient, Psa. 50:10-15. He needs nothing! He
does not need us. But, He wants us! That is precious and we
should all determine that we will live our lives for His glory,
considering the fact that He gave His life for our salvation.)
Conc: Where are you in your relationship and walk with God this evening?
Are you as close as you should be? Are you growing deeper each day in
the things of the Lord? When He speaks, do you move? Are you
concerned with strengthening your fellowship with Him day by day? His His
worship the number one priority in your life? Those are hard questions to
hear and face, but they reveal a lot about the condition of our relationship
with the Lord Jesus. May we determine that, like Abram, our life will be
characterized by our altars and by our obedience to the voice of God.
