Part 5, Abram / Abraham

Genesis chapter 12, beginning in verse one in Genesis chapter 12. And when you get there, if you’re able, if you would stand with me as we honor God and the reading of his word. Genesis 12, verse number one. It’s page nine if you’re using the Pew Bible as I’m using. Genesis 12 and verse 1.

And now hear the word of the Lord.

Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram [was] seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites [were] then in the land.

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent [with] Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

May God and his blessing to the reading, the preaching, and now you’re hearing to understand his holy word. May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forever be praised. And all of God’s people say, “Amen.” Amen. You may be seated.

If you’ve ever been to vacation Bible school, Sunday school as a child, children’s church, you probably know the words and the motions to father Abraham had many sons and many sons had father Abraham. And then what do you do at some point? You turn around, sit down. And uh if you’ve been in that position as a teacher, you know that that little song and a lot of the songs like it are a good way to fill some time and to burn off some energy when the bell hasn’t quite rung yet and it’s time, uh your materials finished, but it’s not time to let them go. And you can burn off that energy. And through the song, children learn this Bible story.

Well, it’s more than just swinging arms and turning around. When we sing it, when we sang it as a child, we probably didn’t realize that the man behind the song wasn’t just a Sunday school character, not just a vacation Bible school character. This man Abram that we later call Abraham, he is a huge character on the stage of world history. He’s a towering figure. As a matter of fact, most most of the world’s religions trace their identity back to Abraham. Whether it’s Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Orthodoxy, Mormonism, Catholicism, all of the world’s great religions besides maybe Buddhism and Hinduism, all of them trace their lineage back to Father Abraham. Nations trace their lineage back to Father Abraham.

Through him, God literally changed the map of history by calling out this one man from obscurity, great man. But Genesis doesn’t introduce him to us as a superhero. We first meet Abram as a man with no children living in a pagan culture. And he’s asked by this God he does not know—I want you to understand, he was asked by a God that he did not know—to leave everything he knew, everything that was safe, everything that was familiar.

It was in his ordinariness. I had to practice saying that word. So I’m going to say it again. Ordinariness. Say it with me. ordinariness. That we see God do something extraordinary.

Here it is from Genesis 15. We read that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Notice it does not say that Abraham believed in God. That’s not what it says. No, it says Abraham believed God. It wasn’t like he was checking off a box on a do you believe in God? Yes, I believe it. No, Abraham believed God. He staked his life on the promises God had made. And that’s the thing we’ll explore today about Abraham and his story.

His story is not just a a journey from of the Caldes to Canaan land that we sing about in the old gospel songs. Abraham’s journey is a journey from self-reliance and depending on yourself to faith reliance and depending completely on God. Abraham’s story is about how God gives us new names and new futures if we’ll trust in him. And Abraham’s story is a story about how our faith or our lack of faith shapes the generations that come after us.

So, as we step into Genesis 12 this morning, think about that childhood song as more than motions, but let it be a reminder that faith in God’s promises ripple out. Listen, faith in God’s promises ripple out from you, to your family, to your community, and ultimately to all nations. And as we see Abraham’s life, we’ll discover that his call to trust God is the same for us today. Whether we’re teenagers just starting out or young families building a home or older saints wondering what God has still left for me, there’s a message for us in the story of Abraham.

So we began this morning number one with a retelling of the story very quickly. If you can, you listen fast? Okay, turn the speed up a little bit. Here we go.

of the Caldes gleam like a jewel in the sun. Its streets bustled with traders. Its temples smoked with sacrifices to silent gods. Men carved idols from wood and stone, but none of those idols spoke. None of those idols promised. None of those idols loved.

In one of its houses there there lived a man named Abram. He was no prince. He was no priest. He was no hero. He was simply just an ordinary man. A man now 75 years old. A man and his wife Sarai. They had no children. They lived in the same household with their father. And their father kept these household gods and these household idols.

Yet into the clamor of came a voice that Abram had never heard before. It was the voice the true and the living God. The voice said, “Leave your country. Leave your kindred and your father’s house.” The voice said, “Go to the land I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

There was no map. There was no timetable. There was only God’s promise. Abraham looked at Sarai. Sarah looked at Abram. And with that look began the journey that would outlive them both. They walked out of the Caldes. They walked away from safety and into the unknown, but in the unknown, guided by God.

Years roll by. The tent pegs of Abraham’s camp bid into many different soils, but the promises still seemed far off. Every evening, Sarai would watch the stars that glittered like diamonds, millions of them in the sky, and she remembered God’s promise. But she still does not even have one child.

One day, frustration bloomed into a a plan. And let me say that again. One day, frustration. Yeah, I get a witness. Anybody? Frustration bloomed into a plan. Almost saying I know better than God. The Lord has kept me from bearing children, she said. So to Abram, go in with my servant Hagar. Perhaps I shall obtain children by her.

Abraham. This man of faith, Abraham, he listened to his wife’s voice instead of waiting on God’s plan. And Hagar conceived, but instead of joy, there came tension. Bitterness crept in between the women like a cold wind. And Sarah then dealt harshly with Hagar. And Hagar fled into the wilderness with Ishmael, her son.

The family that had been chosen to bring blessing now sowed its own discord. Yet even on this detour, God showed mercy. He sent his angel to Hagar with a promise for her child. And later, when God came again to speak with Abram, he made it clear. God said that his covenant would stand through the son born to Sarah. Sarah’s son, the son of promise, not by human shortcuts, but by God’s miracle.

Then God underscored his pledge with new names. Abram becomes Abraham, the father of multitudes. Sarai becomes Sarah, meaning princess. And every time they heard their new names, they would remember God’s promises are not fulfilled by human plans. God’s promises are not fulfilled on human timelines.

At last, the impossible happened. The tent that had long been silent with disappointment rang out with the cry of a baby. Isaac was born. His name means laughter. He was promised wrapped in flesh and swaddling clothes.

And Abram built another altar, not of stones this time, but of gratitude. For he had learned that when God speaks, he keeps his word. So the story of Abraham and Sarah becomes a living parable for us, a parable of grace. And here is the parable. Listen. God calls. God promises. God renames and God keeps his word.

Out of ordinary people he brings extraordinary blessing and through them he begins to weave the story of redemption for the whole world.

And so that is the story of Abram. We retell the story. But number two, we remember the truths.

Six memorable statements.

Number one. Number one, God calls the ordinary to do the extraordinary. Abram was an ordinary man. He lived in a wicked and idolatrous city. And yet God called him to begin a story that would bless the entire world. You folks don’t despise the fact that you’re ordinary. That’s the only kind of people God’s ever used. Amen. So when God calls you, he’s not looking for your qualifications. He’s looking at his plan. You may feel ordinary, but God’s calling makes you part of something eternal.

Number two, faith means walking on ahead when you don’t see the map. Abraham left home, the Bible says, not knowing where he was going. Do you ever do that? Sometimes you just ever feel like getting in the car, get in the truck, and and driving around. No particular place to go. We can’t even go now without knowing where we’re going. You got your GPS telling you this many miles to home. And and I get in my new one now and it knows where I’m going when I’m not even told it where I’m going. Just it it I get in it, it automatically knows I’m going to the co-op. Co-op 8.9 miles. Go. How do you know I’m going there? Too smart. Are y’all paying that thing money to do that?

We can’t even go somewhere without knowing where we’re going today. But Abram literally struck out not knowing where he was going. Folks, true faith isn’t having all the details. True faith is trusting the one who does have the details. In your own life this morning, where is God asking you to step out without seeing the whole map? Where is God asking you to step out in faith, not knowing where it’s going to take you? He’s still doing it today.

Number three, God’s timing stretches us so his promises can shape us. Years passed. Before Isaac arrived, decades between promises made and promises kept. We’re the ones who grow impatient. God doesn’t. A thousand years with God is like a day and a day is like a thousand years. We forget that so many times. But even in the waiting, in the waiting, God was forming Abraham. And God was forming Sarah in that time of patience. And in your waiting, he may be forming you for what is yet to come. So don’t grow impatient. Grow in the time that God has you in. Because if God hasn’t got you there yet, it means he’s getting you there over time. It means that you’re not ready for what’s yet to come. Be patient in the waiting.

Number four, Abraham’s story teaches us that selfmade shortcuts to God’s plan bring. You ever gone on a shortcut that ended up adding 45 minutes to your route? Our shortcuts with God’s plan can bring long-term pain. Hagar, Hagar and Ishmael’s story is is a sober warning to us that trying to force God’s promise on our schedule creates conflict and sorrow. And friends, that conflict and sorrow that got started with Isaac and Ishmael, Hagar and Sarah, that conflict is still going on today in the Middle East. It started because people of faith grew impatient with God’s promise.

How are we tempted to to help God out and and urge him along and push him along? Huh? Just trust him. Just trust him. The consequences otherwise are long-term.

Number five, when God changes your name, he changes your future. Abram becomes Abraham. And it’s literally a breath mark in the Hebrew. Abraham, the the breath of God, the spirit of God. Sarai becomes Sarah. It’s literally a breath mark, the breath of God upon Sarai to become Sarah. Their new names were a pledge of a new identity and a new destiny. Folks, in Christ Jesus, you’re renamed. You’re forgiven. You’re adopted. You’re beloved. God’s grace writes a new destiny over your life.

Number six, folks, God blesses us so that we can bless others. Didn’t put that one in. I just quit. Huh? That the computer swallowed it up. As old as that computer is and all that it swallowed up over the years, I’m just wondering how it’s even still there. If you know, you know.

But God does bless us so that we can bless others. God tells Abram, “Through you, all nations will be blessed.” Folks, faith isn’t just about receiving. Let me say that again. Faith is not just about receiving. It’s about being a conduit. It’s about being a hose pipe. Make me a channel of blessing. Amen. Of God’s grace to your family, to your neighbors, and to the world.

Those are the truths that we remember.

Lastly, number three, let’s respond with faith. We’re talking to our teenagers this week with all that’s going on in their lives and on their campuses. Folks, let me speak to those teens just a second, but you don’t miss this message either.

teams, students, waiting isn’t wasting. Waiting on God is not wasting time. Like Abraham and Sarah, you may feel like God is taking too long to show you what’s next. Whether it’s about college or career or a relationship and you’re wanting to rush things along and God is saying wait. Waiting time is training time. God uses it to shape your character because he already knows what the future holds. Amen.

Remember that shortcuts have consequences. Peer pressure, cheating, compromising morals. It may look like the quick way, but they bring pain, division, and sorrow. Faith in God means trusting God enough to take the longer road, to take the harder road, to take the road less traveled.

for young adults and families. How do we respond with faith? You lead your home in faith. Abraham believed God and he built altars wherever he went. And so we too, we can establish prayer as a habit in our home. Scripture as a habit in our home, worship as a habit in our homes.

Lead your home in faith, partnership and trust. Sarah’s plan with Hagar shows how couples can drift away when they stop seeking God together. Communication is key. Communicating husband and wives communicating with each other and communicating with God.

I’ve told so many couples this very phrase in marriage counseling over the years. God is not going to tell you one thing and you the opposite thing. God is not schizophrenic. If it’s coming from God, it’s going to be the same thing. And if husband and wife, if the husband will get in touch with God and the wife will get in touch with God, they’ll be on the same page. God’s timing is perfect. Remember that.

For older adults, for empty nesters, Abraham was Abram was 75 years old. Folks, God is still giving new names at whatever your age. You’re not retired from the faith. Like Abraham and Sarah in their old age, God can still give you new assignments and fresh influence. Those of you the older generation, you have a duty to model faith for the next generation, to tell your stories of waiting on God’s provision and seeing his promise fulfilled. be a living testimony of patience, of faith, of generosity, and trust.

And lastly, for the older generation, guard against cynicism. You know the story, and I didn’t get time to have time to do all of it, but Sarah laughed. [Music] Sarah laughed in disbelief at God’s promises. She heard, “And I’m a I’m a old woman and I’m supposed to have a baby.” Haha. That’s what she said. She grew skeptical.

Folks, many older folks grow skeptical because God listen, this is just how it is. It’s been this way in every generation. If you’ve checked out, I’ve got four and a half more minutes left. Give it to me. Okay?

Listen, it happens in every generation. God moves in new ways in young people and old folks don’t understand it and don’t like it and grow skeptical and cynical about it and laugh at it like Sarah did. Don’t grow cynical about what God is doing. Choose to laugh with joy, not scoff in doubt, because we don’t know what God’s doing. Amen.

Lastly, in conclusion, calling on the name of the Lord. In Genesis 12:8 that we read, it gives us a quiet but powerful glimpse into Abram’s heart. It says there in verse 8, “And there he built an altar unto the Lord, and he called upon the name of the Lord.”

Up to that point, Abraham, Abram had left his home. He’d cross the borders. He’d walked into uncertainty. But here he stops. Here he builds an altar. Here he calls upon the name of the Lord. And folks, that single act of calling upon the name of the Lord turns a wandering man into a worshshiping man.

The altar marks not just a place, but it marks a decision. The decision was by Abram that this is where my life and from here on my life belongs to God.

Friends, the Christian life always moves toward this point of decision, decision, decision. You may be at the start of your journey, unsure of the future. You may be somewhere in the middle, surrounded by responsibilities and distractions. You may feel like Abram that you’ve already traveled a long road. But wherever you are, the turning point is the same: stopping and calling upon the name of the Lord.

And what does the New Testament tell us? Romans chapter 10 verse 13, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Abram’s altar points ahead to Jesus’s cross where God himself provided the sacrifice. It’s no longer a lamb or a bull upon the stones, but Jesus, the lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world. The altar of Abram becomes the cross of Christ. The call of Abram becomes our invitation to call on Jesus to be saved.

So, let this be our resolve today. Here’s our decision makingaking. Like Abram, we will build our altars—moments and habits of prayer, of worship, of obedience. Even in the middle of our busy lives, we will resolve to, like Abram, we will not merely believe in God, but believe God, trusting in his promises, even when the path seems uncertain.

We resolve that like Abram, we will live so that the generations after us can point back to us and say they trusted God. Resolve it now. No matter your age, your circumstances, or your doubts, you can call upon the name of the Lord today. And when you do, he will not only meet you with mercy, he will carry you forward into his promise just like he carried Abraham.