Creation, Glory, Death, Promises, Faith.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] All right, go ahead and have a seat. [0:03] Welcome again. Let’s see if I can remember what I was gonna say for the next 40 to 45 minutes. [0:10] We’re starting a new series today, and we are returning again to the book of Genesis for the third part of our [0:18] series through the book. Now some of you might be thinking, [0:21] I didn’t know there was a part one and a part two to this series. [0:25] That’s because it’s been a little while since we’ve been in the book of Genesis, and some of you

[0:29] started coming, you know, within the last three years. [0:32] So we haven’t been in the book of Genesis for three years, and so we did [0:37] Genesis 1 through 9 in the first part, then we did Genesis 10 through 22 in the second part, and we’re gonna be returning [0:44] next week to chapter 23 of the book of Genesis, and today I’m going to preach through the first [0:52] 22 chapters of the book of Genesis just in case you forgot [0:58] what they were about. And we’re gonna do it in time for you to get lunch.

[1:03] I see the concern on a few of your faces. [1:07] It’s okay. [1:08] We will get to lunch, all right, and if we don’t, I’ll just help you learn the spiritual discipline of fasting.

[1:17] Genesis literally means beginning, and that is what the book of Genesis is. [1:22] It is a record of the beginning of the created world, and so within the 50 chapters [1:28] that is the book of Genesis, we see an overview of the purpose of creation, [1:33] the glory of God, the fall of man, the longing of man for God, and the promise of God to [1:40] redeem and restore, and then we also see the power of God through faith in His promise. [1:46] So to begin this third section of the series,

[1:50] I thought it would be helpful to do a little review for those of you who maybe forgot the first 22 [1:58] chapters of it, and you weren’t diligent enough to go onto our podcast and listen to all of those sermons. [2:04] And so we’re just gonna play some catch-up, [2:06] but I hope what happens today is that you catch a view of your place in the history [2:14] that God is telling through everyday life, because oftentimes we struggle with reading the Old Testament, [2:22] and so we struggle to understand what it means, we struggle to apply the narratives to everyday life,

[2:28] we look at these overarching epic stories and we think that’s wonderful, but I don’t really understand what it means, [2:33] we don’t grasp the genealogy’s purpose, and so we tend to have a bent, as Christians in modern times, [2:40] that we just kind of spend most of our time in the New Testament where it’s basically mostly [2:46] prescriptive for our lives, and there’s a lot of just easy anecdotes for us to follow, [2:50] but the key that I always want everyone to keep in mind is that you cannot hope to fully grasp the meaning of the New Testament, [2:58] nor can you really hope to understand the gospel in its entirety without also

[3:04] understanding the way that the Old Testament shows God working towards the gospel of Jesus, [3:09] and then life out of faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and because of that, [3:16] sometimes when we’re reading the Old Testament, and even sometimes when we’re reading the gospels in the book of Acts, [3:21] we read it like we would a fictional novel, or the way that we would watch a movie, [3:28] we read it as if these are, you know, [3:31] stories that didn’t really happen to real people in real time, and so instead we tend to even subconsciously

[3:38] look at them as mythical accounts of people that are nothing like you, and because your life is nothing like theirs, [3:47] and so the truth is that these are records of how God works in this world. [3:54] The people of the Old Testament are not [3:57] heroic characters that just have greater might than you do, these are people that are just like you, and the Old Testament is so [4:05] honest that it shows us all of their shortcomings. It shows us the records of where they struggle, [4:11] it shows us the records of where they were faithful, but it also shows us where they were completely faithless,

[4:18] but it more so [4:20] focuses in on how God works [4:23] through his people as they trust him, as they follow him in [4:29] faithful obedience. [4:30] What I hope you gather from today as we go through this great arc of characters and records that when God is [4:38] trusted and his path is followed in faith,

[4:43] God will work in very powerful ways. [4:48] So I just want to start from the beginning. What is the book of Genesis all about? Well number one, Genesis is about God’s [4:55] creation for his [4:57] glory. In Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 it starts, in the beginning God. [5:05] You know in this very first line of the Bible you see the main character, [5:09] it’s God, and you see the overarching theme of the rest of the stories of Scripture.

[5:16] There is a God and he is not only [5:19] involved in creation, but he is also the source of all that exists. [5:25] God is preeminent and everything that exists must look to him for purpose, [5:32] because it is from him that all of us move, that all of us have our being, that all of us can hope to [5:40] find our purpose, and it is in him alone. [5:44] You know throughout the first two chapters of Genesis the creation of the world is recorded. Out of nothing

[5:51] God made everything. [5:55] God’s power is displayed from the very beginning as he speaks and everything exists. [6:04] With mastery and with great strategy the world around us was spoken into existence by the very [6:11] revelation of God. [6:14] It’s unmatched power [6:16] that is

[6:18] unparalleled strength. That God could simply take the action of [6:23] speaking and things exist. That power has not been seen since. [6:28] That power has not been matched. Try as we will throughout the history of the world. [6:34] We cannot harness the ability to out of nothing create [6:39] anything. [6:42] Yet here we see in the beginning God

[6:46] displays [6:46] first thing, primary thing. [6:50] This is the power that he has as God. [6:53] But then we see something unique happen in creation. [6:59] We see him not speak [7:02] humanity into existence. He could.

[7:05] I mean clearly if you can speak animals into existence you can speak man into existence. [7:10] But God desired to show his special relationship with humanity and put his very image [7:16] into man. The scriptures record that God actually with his hands out of the dust of the ground [7:23] formed humanity and then breathed life into people. [7:28] Genesis 1 26 points to this creation of humanity and it says let us make man in our [7:35] image.

[7:36] This is what separates humanity from the rest of creation. [7:42] This is the bedrock of understanding what it means to truly be human. [7:47] It is to bear the very image of the Creator. [7:54] Outside of that you cannot hope to understand your purpose. [7:59] You cannot hope to understand your significance. [8:03] You cannot hope to understand why you are here on this earth or what it means to be a

[8:11] true human until you get to the point where you say I [8:15] was made in the image and likeness of God himself. [8:20] We bear the very image of our Creator and we are the only being on this earth. [8:26] We are the only part of creation to bear that significant [8:31] relationship and in that God gave man dominion over creation. [8:37] Now this friends is a responsible stewardship in which God called Adam to be his

[8:43] ambassador to the world around him. [8:47] God showed Adam this is your purpose. [8:51] Steward creation to point to the very glory of God. [8:57] Unlike animals, [8:59] Adam was not created to live simply by instinct. [9:04] Then in Genesis chapter 2 verses 15 through 17 it shows that God gave us a responsibility.

[9:11] God gave us humans a law to live by and we find our life in God [9:19] receiving responsibility from God in order to point all things towards the one whose image [9:28] we bear. [9:31] And right there is where we see the significance and the problem of sin. [9:36] So Genesis number two is also about the curse of sin that brings death. [9:44] We have a problem in this world. We have pain in this world. We have turmoil in this world.

[9:50] We have deception in this world all because of sin and [9:56] the very basis of sin if you’ve ever wondered what is my problem all [10:02] sin is an attempt to rob God of glory. [10:07] Now we have already founded that God is there and he is not silent. He exhibits power. He exhibits his authority. [10:14] He demands that his creation live by his design and that is where the commandments come from. [10:21] You see the limitations, which is what commandments really are. They are boundaries around in which we are to live. These

[10:28] limitations are both for our preservation, but they are also for human flourishing. [10:34] The temptation to disobey God though is not based [10:39] foundationally on the desire of the object. [10:43] No, that is not what temptation really is. Temptation is based on a distrust of God and [10:50] a desire to have his glory for ourselves. [10:55] I mean that’s the story of Genesis 3 and verses 4 and 5 the serpent looks to even says you will not surely die.

[11:03] For if you disobey him you will be equal to God. [11:08] You see friends that is the temptation that every one of us struggle with. [11:13] Yeah, we may not put it in those words, [11:15] but our sin shows that we all have a rampant desire to steer our own lives. [11:22] And when we seek to steer our own lives in our own way, we’re showing God [11:26] I want the glory that only you have. I want to be the commander. I want to be in the driver’s seat.

[11:31] I want to live life by my design. [11:35] It’s an attempt at thieving God of his glory. If God works in ways that we don’t comprehend, what do we do? [11:42] We say, well, how dare he? [11:44] That’s not fair. [11:46] You see we were not meant to be God. [11:49] We must in humbleness submit to that reality.

[11:54] We were meant to serve and worship God and friends the consequences of sin [12:00] reveal that. [12:03] Because sin as I said, it’s an attempt to rob God of his glory, but it is also [12:07] trusting false gods over the creator God. [12:11] You see the curse of sin brought pain. [12:15] Curse of sin brought deception. It has brought conflict,

[12:21] roots itself, and pride in our lives. And it ensured a life of turmoil in all things, [12:28] especially within ourselves. [12:30] And revelation to us to show us that sin also brought death. [12:37] A death that we are responsible for. All of those things quickly came to the surface in Genesis chapter 4 verse 8. [12:46] See in that text is where Cain kills his brother Abel. [12:51] See it all comes to a head right there.

[12:53] Cain wanted to do it his way. He wanted to live life under his command. [12:57] He wanted to be in the driver’s seat. And when God had the audacity to accept the sacrifice of his brother Abel over his because [13:05] Abel’s heart was for the Lord and Cain’s heart was for himself. Cain was driven to despair over this. [13:12] He was driven to look to God and say who do you think you are? [13:16] And then he was driven to conflict with his brother that ultimately brought the revelation of death. [13:23] You say well, I’ve never been driven to that point.

[13:25] Well, I tell you friend all of the consequences of the sin that you do struggle with maybe not today, [13:32] maybe not tomorrow, but ultimately it will all end in death.

[13:39] See friends [13:40] Genesis serves to reveal our sinful plight.

[13:45] There is hope, but it is only found in returning to God. [13:51] Humanity though steers the other way. [13:55] In Genesis chapter 6 verse 17, we see God move in judgment. [14:01] A foreshadowing of his eternal judgment came the flood, but there was also a foreshadowing of redemption. [14:09] In Genesis chapter 7 verse 1, we see the revelation that in God’s judgment, he desires to be merciful. [14:16] All the turmoil in your life points to death.

[14:19] Only God can offer hope and that is exactly what he intervened in the life of Noah to bring not just to him, [14:27] but also to us. [14:30] To show us that in his judgment for sin, he desires to be merciful. [14:35] But even in that we see number three this morning, the Genesis is also about the pursuits of man as longing for God. [14:46] Do you know that every one of the pursuits in your life show a deep longing that you have in your life? [14:51] I mean, why else would you pursue anything?

[14:54] We pursue things because we think that our life will be better with them. [14:57] We pursue things because we think our life would be lacking without them. [15:01] But every pursuit of your life has one common denominator that it reveals a great longing in your life. [15:08] And that longing is there because of the image of God, not in spite of the image of God. [15:13] It is the image of God that gives you that longing. [15:15] What is that longing for? That longing ultimately is for God.

[15:19] And it is only with God that that longing will ever ultimately be fulfilled in eternity and in this life.

[15:29] What’s interesting about the conversations that I have with so many people [15:33] throughout my life is that we admit to this longing and then we want the salvation that only God has. [15:40] We admit to our downright sinfulness. [15:43] I mean, it’s really not hard to convince someone that they’re a sinner because nobody’s life is perfect. [15:48] And we will admit to not having ultimate wisdom. [15:51] We will admit to being finite, to be limited in our understanding of everything.

[15:55] We’ll say, yes, I do not want hell. I want heaven. [15:58] Oh, Jesus can give me heaven. God’s promises can get me there. [16:00] That’s what I want. And then when we’re also told, well, in that Jesus is also Lord. [16:06] And so he wants to change your life. [16:08] He wants you to begin to go to him for wisdom rather than trusting on your own wisdom. [16:11] And you say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[16:14] I want heaven, but this change stuff is ridiculous. [16:18] And so we will attempt over and over again to bring the wisdom that we had apart from God into our relationship with God. [16:28] And when we are told you must live by God’s wisdom rather than your limited wisdom, we say, oh, well, I don’t think that’s necessary. [16:35] That is an attempt to be God.

[16:40] Friend, there is no redemption apart from submitting him, excuse me, from submitting to him both as savior and Lord of your life. [16:51] You see, we see this in the Book of Genesis as the world was rebuilt from the great flood. [16:58] Genesis reveals God’s desire was the same for human flourishing. [17:03] He was not swayed from this. [17:05] And so for the third time in Genesis, in Chapter nine, verse one, God showed his desire for us to be fruitful and multiply. [17:16] See, God’s designs were not arbitrary.

[17:19] Instead, they were meant for our benefit. [17:22] His design was to change us, to be the people that God desires for us to be and to flourish in this world. [17:30] Often, though, we turn to navel gaze for purpose. [17:34] We don’t look to him. We look to ourselves. [17:37] We don’t look up. We look down to ourselves. [17:40] We look to our feelings.

[17:42] We look to our desires. [17:45] We look to what’s my giftedness? [17:47] What’s my personality? [17:49] Well, this is what I want my life to be about. [17:51] Well, this is what I want my mission to be about. [17:53] And we just tried to put all of the design of God into the boat of what I want for myself and my vision.

[18:02] See, it’s not that God hasn’t given us purpose. [18:06] It’s not that God hasn’t revealed what he wants us to do. [18:09] He has. He’s revealed it all. [18:11] He’s revealed it in total.

[18:14] It is that we are unwilling to submit to his design without saying, surely there is something more for me than what God has said. [18:26] See, and right there, we return again to the lie of the serpent in the garden. [18:31] We’re looking for more than God. [18:34] Friends, it is not that God hasn’t given us his revelation. [18:39] It’s not that it’s insufficient. [18:41] It is that God is not trusted.

[18:45] And you don’t trust him because of your sin. [18:48] Friends, it is God that we need, but we look for heaven on Earth in ourselves. [18:56] Genesis 11 for shows us that story playing out in the Tower of Babel. [19:01] We want to make a great name for ourselves, but that isn’t what we were designed to do. [19:09] So you want people to know who we are. [19:11] We want people to know of our life.

[19:13] So we’ve got to go after more than God has for us. [19:16] But you weren’t made to give yourself fame. [19:18] You were made to give God fame. [19:22] You were designed to make a name for him, not for yourself. [19:26] And so instead, so often for most men now, heaven is a full wallet or a better job. [19:34] For most women, heaven is a flat stomach or a newer house.

[19:39] Our focus is streamlined onto our version of heaven rather than looking for God’s version of his kingdom. [19:48] The reality is, friends, God’s version is better, but he must be trusted in order for you to find joy in it. [19:59] Do you struggle to find joy in the life of God?

[20:04] Do you struggle to feel his presence? [20:06] Do you struggle to feel him move? [20:07] It is not because God is not there. [20:10] It is not because God is not moving. [20:12] It is that you are not looking to God in all things. [20:16] You are looking to yourself and every single pursuit of your life reveals that important truth.

[20:25] You are longing for more. [20:29] But you’re looking in all of the wrong places.

[20:34] There is hope. [20:35]

[20:37] Because Genesis is about God’s promise of restoration. [20:42] Genesis is about God’s promise of restoration. [20:46] See, because many times we will even hear that great truth and we will say, [20:50] well, I am going to turn myself then to what my purpose really is. [20:53] I’m going to pull myself up on my bootstraps. [20:55] I’m going to stop all this nonsense.

[20:56] I’m going to become more religious. [20:58] I’m going to be more faithful. [20:59] I’m going to be more obedient. [21:00] I am going to do.

[21:04] But see, you’re falling again into the trap of self-rule. [21:08] You’re falling again into the trap of self-determination. [21:12] You’re falling again into the trap of fulfilling your self-purpose rather than your God purpose. [21:20] Friend, your hope is not that you intervene for yourself and fix the problem. [21:24] The only hope is for God to intervene. [21:29] You need God’s intervention.

[21:32] God isn’t looking to you to find the answer for yourself. [21:35] He’s looking to you to finally just stop and look to Him.

[21:44] To stop gazing into the mirror and look to Him. [21:49] Stop gazing into the wisdom of this world and look to Him. [21:53] To hold everything in this life, everything that you’ve got going in an open heart, [21:58] in a open hand because you trust His wisdom. [22:01] You trust Him so much that you say all of it is negotiable. [22:05] Lord, I need you to intervene.

[22:07] That’s how we find the life of Abraham. [22:11] It wasn’t that Abraham figured out a magic formula of faithfulness. [22:14] Abraham wasn’t even looking for God. [22:17] God hadn’t abandoned. [22:19] Rather, God was right there and God intervened into his life. [22:23] How could he do such a thing?

[22:25] The first promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ was in Genesis chapter 3. [22:31] Verse 15, God promises that a man born by woman through pain [22:35] would ultimately bear our pain to end our pain. [22:40] Then you see it slowly begin to unfold through the record of scripture. [22:45] Of exactly how God would do this. [22:47] Because we would have God make the promise in chapter 3

[22:50] and then He fulfills it completely in chapter 4. [22:52] Then in chapter 5, the kingdom is delivered. [22:54] The story’s over. [22:56] We figured it all out in a half hour. [22:59] That’s not God’s way. [23:02] God has desired to move throughout the entire history of the world

[23:05] to bring His kingdom. [23:07] Why? [23:07] Because it’s not about my wisdom. [23:09] This isn’t a burrito in the microwave. [23:12] This is about God’s glory. [23:14] This is about God’s wisdom.

[23:15] This is about God teaching us to submit to His timing. [23:19] This is about God teaching us to submit to His will. [23:22] I mean, I wouldn’t have picked Abraham, but God did. [23:24] I don’t know why He picked him. [23:25] Abraham was worshiping false gods. [23:27] And God just shows up one day and says,

[23:29] hey Abraham, move your family over here. [23:31] I’m going to do some amazing stuff in your life. [23:34] That’s what happens in Genesis 12. [23:36] God just intervenes in the life of Abraham. [23:39] And He promises that God is going to make a people for Himself through Abraham. [23:45] That God is going to build something bigger than a great nation.

[23:48] God is going to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham.

[23:56] It’s Abraham left. [23:58] He’d been worshiping a lot of false gods and they’d never talked to him before. [24:02] Now he’s heard a revelation from the true God. [24:05] So he packs all of his things and he moves. [24:07] But it isn’t perfect. [24:10] And in the life of Abraham, we begin to see a theme that threads

[24:13] throughout the narrative of Scripture. [24:14] And that is that God uses pain for His glory. [24:18] He uses struggle to show His sovereignty. [24:21] You see, the life of Abraham shows the struggle to believe the promises of God. [24:27] But it also shows the enduring faithfulness of God to His promises. [24:33] From the moment that man sinned, God promised to restore His vision.

[24:37] And He would do it for His glory through His power. [24:41] None of the promises were ever contingent on humanity. [24:44] None of the promises of God were ever contingent on Abraham. [24:47] And as you read through the narrative, you see God going out of His way, really, [24:51] to show that these promises were not dependent on Abraham. [24:54] These promises were dependent on God and God alone to show that God is the faithful one.

[25:02] And as Abraham struggled in life, God continued to promise. [25:07] Then in Genesis 15, 4 through 6, we see God really at His pastoral level. [25:14] It says, behold, the word of the Lord came to him. [25:18] Because Abraham was struggling to receive this promise in chapter 12. [25:22] And I was like, I don’t believe that God’s going to be able to do all these things.

[25:27] Abraham looks to him. [25:28] It says, this man shall not be your heir. [25:31] So because Abraham was thinking, maybe God wasn’t clear and He didn’t mean I was going [25:35] to have a son. [25:35] Maybe He meant this other guy over here.

[25:39] God says, no, your very own son shall be your heir. [25:43] And God called Abraham to come outside of His tent. [25:46] And He said, look toward heaven. [25:48] Number the stars if you are able to number them. [25:51] I love this because this is the struggle that often we have with God because we might [25:56] think to ourselves, because God knows Abraham can’t count all the stars.

[26:00] It’s like count the hairs on your head. [26:02] Now, if you’re not bald, that’s an issue. [26:05] You can’t do that. [26:06] It’s tough. [26:08] And so God knows Abraham can’t count the stars. [26:10] How dare, why would God speak?

[26:11] If God spoke to me that way, I wouldn’t appreciate it very much. [26:15] He’s being a little facetious. [26:16] It’s been sarcastic.

[26:20] Well, maybe that’s why you don’t hear the voice of God. [26:23] Because you don’t like the way He’s talking to you. [26:25] So you just ignore Him. [26:27] He said, oh, if God talked to me the way He talked to Abraham, I’d struggle with it. [26:30] Here’s the deal, friend. [26:31] He is speaking to you the way He talked to Abraham.

[26:33] You just don’t like it. [26:35] You don’t like the fact that God tells you you don’t have all the answers. [26:39] You don’t like the fact that God tells you, hey, your ways, [26:41] they’re stupid. [26:42] Stop it.

[26:45] You don’t like that. [26:47] And she said, oh, how dare God. [26:50] See that self-rule rising up, that rebellion, that attempt to rob God of His glory. [26:57] Sometimes it manifests itself in trying to rob God of His personality.

[27:02] He said, God wouldn’t do that to me.

[27:05] I love it where He says, if you are able to number them. [27:09] And then he said, Abraham, so shall your offspring be.

[27:15] And in verse six, and he, Abraham, believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

[27:25] You see, God’s point was that Abraham couldn’t count the stars. [27:30] God’s point was, Abraham, you are insufficient for this. [27:35] God’s point was that God would fulfill the promise. [27:41] What was Abraham’s task? [27:44] To believe.

[27:47] To believe that God was telling the truth. [27:49] To believe that God could fulfill His promise. [27:52] To believe that God would do exactly as God said He would do. [27:58] And Abraham’s part was the believing, and it was God’s part that was the fulfilling. [28:05] You see, friends, Genesis is also about God’s call to His path of faith. [28:13] Genesis is about God’s call to His path of faith.

[28:19] Now, if you haven’t read the story, you might be saying, why was Abraham having such a hard time [28:23] believing that God could do this? [28:27] Why is he looking for people outside of his family that God would fulfill the promise [28:32] of making him a great family? [28:33] Why didn’t he just look to his wife? [28:35] Well, I’ll give you a little biology lesson here.

[28:39] Abraham was old. [28:41] I mean, super old. [28:42] Sarah, old. [28:44] Super old. [28:45] Now, no one in here is old. [28:47] So I’m not dogging the elderly people.

[28:49] You’re all spring chickens. [28:51] But the key to understanding the life of Abraham is partly an understanding that there [28:57] tends to be a certain age where you stop procreating. [29:00] There tends to be a certain age where ladies don’t have babies anymore, and then they move [29:06] into the older aspect of their lives, and they don’t go to the grave pregnant. [29:10] They stop having children.

[29:13] And Abraham and Sarah were way past that day. [29:17] They were decades past that day, and it was grody to even think about [29:23] at that point in Abraham and Sarah’s lives. [29:26] So when God comes to Abraham and God says, I’m going to give you a great family. [29:31] Well, they’ve been infertile for years. [29:33] They’d never had any children.

[29:36] And Abraham looks to God and he’s like, oh, you show up now?

[29:41] We really could have used your help 30 years ago. [29:44] It’s a little late in the game. [29:46] I mean, we’re checking into the nursing home. [29:49] All right.

[29:52] But God has an interesting way of doing things on this earth to show that it was him and not us.

[30:02] So he says, Abraham, I’m going to do it. [30:04] I’m going to do it because I’m God and I can. [30:09] And that’s the call that God continuously gives to his people. [30:14] He says, join me on my path of faith. [30:16] It’s not dependent on you. [30:18] The promises that I have, they’re not dependent on you fulfilling them.

[30:22] They’re dependent on you believing them. [30:24] I’m going to do it with or without you, but I’m inviting you to be an active participant [30:29] in the story that I am telling in history. [30:33] God’s promise to Abraham hinged on his wife having a son and Abraham was struggling.

[30:43] I mean, Abraham even disobeyed God, thinking he could fulfill God’s promises his own way. [30:49] You ever done that?

[30:51] You ever say God’s way seems kind of difficult. [30:54] I’m going to do a workaround on my discipleship. [30:57] All right. [30:57] I know I need to go straight on 95, but I’m going to get off on exit 23. [31:01] All right. [31:02] And it’s still going to work out.

[31:04] That’s not the way God’s promises work. [31:07] You see, in Genesis 21, God kept his promise.

[31:12] Isaac was the beginning of God’s march, not just to a great nation, [31:17] but to a blessing of all nations through Jesus Christ. [31:22] You see, friends, the life of Abraham, [31:25] it shows his abundant covenant that God ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, his own son. [31:30] But in the life of Abraham actually living within that covenant, [31:34] we see the imperfection of man.

[31:38] We see Abraham not trust a couple of times. [31:41] And we see this great truth that you need to understand for your life, [31:44] that when God is not trusted, that is when the curse of sin is the most felt.

[31:51] In Genesis, faith in God is shown as the path that God calls us to walk on. [31:58] And it shows us every time that when God is not trusted, [32:00] the curse of sin that leads to death is felt. [32:03] I mean, look at it from exile, from the garden, [32:07] when Adam and Eve are kicked out of the garden to the flood [32:11] of not just destroying cities, not just destroying countries,

[32:16] but destroying the entire world.

[32:19] To the complete destruction and execution of Sodom and Gomorrah, [32:24] we see the pain of sin. [32:27] I mean, Abraham, in distrusting the God who was speaking to him audibly, [32:32] would even deny that he was married to his own wife, [32:36] thinking that a king would kill him for her. [32:40] Again, the curse was felt.

[32:44] And all of those moments, I can just suspect, [32:47] the scripture doesn’t tell us this, but it’s just a suspicion that I have [32:50] that God was simply thinking to himself, if you had only trusted me, [32:55] you would have seen me work in powerful ways.

[33:00] Abraham goes before the king Abimelek, and he was scared of Abimelek. [33:03] He thought Abimelek was going to kill him because Sarah was such a hottie.

[33:08] And so Abraham lies.

[33:11] But you see, God had made a promise to Abraham, an irrevocable covenant. [33:16] He said, Abraham, I’m going to through you and Sarah, there will be a child, [33:20] and from that child will come a great nation. [33:22] And from that great nation will come a blessing to all nations. [33:25] And as long as that promise was intact, Abraham had nothing to fear.

[33:32] Abraham could have marched right into Abimelek’s presence and said, [33:36] this is my wife. Isn’t she hot? You can’t have her.

[33:41] Because he believed God. And what would he have seen God do?

[33:49] See, friends, the other side is also true that when God is trusted, his power is seen. [33:57] When you trust God, you see him work in amazing ways. [34:01] We finished part two of Genesis in Genesis 22. [34:06] And verses one and two of Genesis 22, God gives Abraham a new command, [34:11] a command that I think and I have children is the hardest command that you could ever give to any [34:17] parent. God calls Abraham to sacrifice the promised son.

[34:24] This son that God had promised and taken him from his home to a new land. [34:30] The son that God had promised in which Abraham time and time again came before the presence of [34:35] God, where in great redundancy, God continues to tell him, you will have a child.

[34:42] And he has the child. What joy after years of infertility, what joy after years of waiting, [34:48] what joy after the many years from whence God actually made the promise in the first place.

[34:55] God says, Abraham, sacrifice your son. What a command.

[35:04] And as he did when God told him to move to the promised land, Abraham obeyed this time. [35:11] Abraham trusted. I imagine the journey to the mountain was hard.

[35:16] I imagine at the base of the mountain, when Abraham looks to Isaac and he says, Isaac, [35:20] take the kindling. We’re going to march up this hill. We’re going to sacrifice. [35:26] The scripture records Isaac looks to his father and says, but father, we have no animal.

[35:31] Abraham looks to his son. He says, God will provide. God will provide. [35:37] Must have been the hardest conversation that Abraham ever had with any human being. Must [35:42] have been the hardest walk that Abraham ever took with anyone. But Abraham had faith. You see, [35:50] Abraham had experienced faithlessness. Abraham had exhibited disobedience. [35:56] But now Abraham says, I’m going to trust him. God, whatever you call me to do, I’m going to do. [36:00] I believe that it is better to follow you than it is to follow myself.

[36:05] But now God had called him to a great sacrifice. But because Abraham obeyed, [36:12] he also experienced divine intervention. I mean, imagine your son, you tell him, get up on the [36:20] altar, son, and then obedience. Isaac does takes the knife out of the sheath. And just as he is [36:27] over his son, ready to drop the knife, says the angel of the Lord. And I believe personally, [36:35] this is a personal belief, that it was Jesus himself that spoke to Abraham. And he said, stop.

[36:45] And then over in a thicket, there’s a ram, an animal that had not been there before. But again, [36:50] we’re speaking about a God that can speak things into existence. So I think God spoke a ram into [36:55] existence in that moment. And the voice of the Lord came to Abraham and said, the Lord has provided [37:03] a ram, a substitutionary sacrifice. And in that moment of divine intervention, [37:17] in that moment of substitutionary atonement, in that moment where Abraham had had the audacity [37:25] to believe God, he saw God work in amazing power. Then in verses 15 through 18,

[37:39] God looks to Abraham again and says, the angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven [37:47] and said, Abraham, by myself, I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this, [37:57] you have not withheld your son, your only son. I will surely bless you. I will surely multiply [38:04] your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring [38:09] shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be [38:14] blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. There he is again, you’re going to bless all the nations.

[38:21] At this point, Abraham’s probably, can we move on to discipleship 2.0 here? This is getting redundant.

[38:27] We read that and we say, what is it that Abraham did that was so significant in this moment? He [38:32] didn’t do anything. He just believed. And it changed the path of his life.

[38:42] God called Abraham to believe him. God called Abraham to trust him. God called Abraham to obey [38:50] him and God would show his power to fulfill his promise. He always will. Every single time, [38:58] because God wanted Abraham to understand something, that Abraham’s life did not belong to Abraham. [39:05] Abraham’s life belonged to God.

[39:09] Isaac’s life did not belong to Abraham. Isaac’s life belonged to God.

[39:17] My life does not belong to me. My life belongs to God.

[39:27] And every day I can either walk in trusting him with my life or I can walk trusting myself [39:33] in my life. See friend, the Bible doesn’t contain the story really of Abraham and Isaac [39:41] walking down the other side of the mountain. It just says they did.

[39:48] But it was undoubtedly in my mind filled with worship.

[39:54] It was filled with renewed trust in the God who always provides power to fulfill his promises.

[40:03] Friend, I tell you my hope in this coming series is that you will start looking for your place [40:09] in God’s story. Again, don’t read this like a movie. Read it like history. Read it like [40:18] something that actually happened. Read Abraham’s life and don’t see Abraham as some great hero. [40:24] He’s not. He’s just like you and me. I mean, some of the things he did, I look and I’m like, [40:27] I’m better than this guy. I wouldn’t have done that.

[40:33] This is a story of God supplying for those whom he has redeemed.

[40:39] Friend, read it as something that is meant to inspire you to faith in God. [40:47] Find your place in God’s story. God wants to write stories of faith in your life. And when you don’t [40:57] follow him in faith, you don’t see the power. You feel the discipline and that discipline is [41:05] meant to move you to faith. But I believe that God wants to move in power. I believe that God [41:13] wants to move in power in every single person in this room right now. But he’s calling you to [41:22] leave him. He’s calling you to move with him. He’s calling you to stop sitting in apathy. He’s

[41:29] calling you to stop sitting and walking in your own wisdom. He’s calling you to radical obedience. [41:37] He’s calling you to radical faith. He’s calling you to move where he is going because where you [41:45] are going will only lead to death. See, the significance of your faith is not found in what [41:53] you say. The significance of your faith is found in are you moving with God.

[41:59] Friends, God wants to move in your life. But too often, like Abraham lying about the identity of [42:08] his wife because he was afraid of the things that King Abimelech might do to him.

[42:15] We’ve got to look at that story and say what would God have done if Abraham had told the truth?

[42:25] Friend, I want you to understand something very important.

[42:30] Nothing on earth can undo God’s promises.

[42:37] Nothing on earth can undo God’s promises.

[42:44] How could God show his power in your life if you would trust him and move with him?

[42:54] And friend, I want to ask you a very important question today because I believe that there is [42:57] a place of faith that God wants to move in every single one of our lives. [43:02] What is God calling you to do in faith but you are hesitating?

[43:09] What is God calling you personally to do in faith but you are hesitating?

[43:15] There is a move that every single one of us needs to make that will require us to trust God. [43:23] You see, God moves to fulfill his promises and I want to see his power to fulfill those promises [43:31] in my life. I want to see them so badly. I want to see God move in new ways every single year in my life.

[43:42] But to see it, I’ve got to move with God. I’ve got to go where he’s going [43:50] and I’ve got to believe him more than I believe anything or anyone else. As the band comes up,

[44:02] friend, sometimes we look at Abraham, we’re like, oh, it’s so easy for him. [44:06] I think it was harder for Abraham because Abraham lived on the other side of the cross. [44:13] Abraham had never seen God’s power to raise the dead. We live on this side of the cross. [44:19] We know where the story of Abraham went. We know that the story of Abraham didn’t just go to the [44:26] nation of Israel. We know that through Abraham’s line, God the Father moved miraculously to bring [44:33] God the Son, Jesus Christ to this earth. And we know that Jesus fulfilled the Abrahamic covenant.

[44:42] We know that Jesus went to the cross. He took our sins. He took our lack of faith [44:50] onto himself and he died to pay that penalty. And then three days later, Jesus rose. [44:57] The cross, covenant fulfilled. The nations blessed. And now we have the gospel of Jesus [45:08] Christ, which is the power of salvation to all who believe. And I ask you this morning, do you believe?

[45:18] Do you want to move with God and faith?

[45:22] Well, friend, today can be the day of salvation for you. You can come to faith in Jesus Christ. [45:28] You turn from your sin and you trust in Jesus Christ as Lord. If that’s you, I would love to [45:33] pray with you. I would love to talk with you about it. There are many in the foyer that would as well.

[45:40] You see, God has called us in light of his covenant. He said, when you gather, [45:46] eat the bread, drink the cup, because the bread represents the broken body of Christ. The cup [45:52] represents the shed blood of Christ shed for me and shed for you. And he says, when you drink it, [45:59] that is a picture that the life of God is in your life, that the promises of God are for you. [46:07] Live them. Friend, if you’re in here and you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, [46:12] I call you to in faith, come eat, drink, revel in the presence of God. When you’re ready.