There is that part of us that stands in awe of biblical characters as if they were incapable of struggling like mere mortals such as ourselves. That somehow, they had a little something extra to carry them through the struggles of believing and trusting. Sort of a divine royalty as payment for allowing their names to appear in the book! I hope that our look at Abraham is dispelling that notion. I hope that you are seeing that Abraham was indeed a frail child of dust who struggled greatly and yet God did extraordinary things in and through him.

He had to be considered an odd duck in his day. We know him as “Father Abraham,” the “Father of Faith” and “the Friend of God.” But he was a man out of step with the world of his day. He was a monotheist in a world of polytheist. He was a man who walked and talked with God! Not in chants or riddles but plane old, everyday language – he didn’t even use the “authorized King James” language! I think he was the regular topic of conversation down at the local doughnut shop. And yet we greatly admire and revere Father Abraham. Why? Because Abraham believed God. In spite of the struggle, in spite of the difficulties, he believed. This evening we will continue our look at the life of Abraham as we consider Genesis chapter 17…

Do you ever feel small or insignificant? Do you ever get discouraged? Do you ever feel that life has dealt you a rotten hand? In other words, are you alive? Who hasn’t felt small or insignificant? Who hasn’t felt that they got the short end of the stick or have been dumped on? That is the universal condition isn’t it? Our favorite song is “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” And we all tend to think; “nobody cares.” Sometimes we even begin to wonder if God cares. “I’m not the head of a country – I’m not a mover or a shaker – what difference does my life make?” But one of the most encouraging insights from the Scripture is how often we find God has taken note of the insignificant. Remember that little widow’s gift to the temple treasury in Luke 21? Or who could forget that nameless woman with the issue of blood who reached out to take hold of our Lord’s garment as he passed by? Instantly she was healed and Jesus stopped in the midst of that great crowd and said, “Who touched me?” The disciple responded, “Lord who hasn’t touched you – this is a great crowd.” Jesus said, “No, someone genuinely
touched me” and then his eyes met hers. But you know that is not just a New Testament phenomenon
we find it in the Old Testament as well. This evening I want us to see the grace of God in action – seeing the unseen, taking note of the un-notable…

Do you ever struggle with believing? Not that you find yourself wondering if God is really there. You know he is there. But maybe wondering if he really meant all that stuff he said? Wondering if all those things he has promised are really true? Do you sometimes find yourself
saying, “This sure sounds too good to be true?” I don’t want to sound sacrilegious but there are times when I think, “You know I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck yesterday – no one just gives things away like this!” But that is the message of the Gospel. Salvation is the free gift of God’s grace. It is the result of God’s unmerited, undeserved favor. It is God’s saying, “Here take this.” “No, you don’t deserve it, in fact you deserve my wrath but I choose to make you my child instead.”

The idea of the Sovereign King of the universe coming and living a perfect life and then dying a horrifying, agonizing death on the cross for stupid, wicked, ungrateful humanity was a stumbling block to the Jews and little more than a joke to the Gentiles! But for those who were willing to believe – it was the power of God unto salvation.

Sometimes we struggle to believe. We know the truth, and we have embraced the truth. Yet sometimes we struggle. Most often we struggle because deep down we want to be responsible. We want to pay our own way and the Gospel just does not allow for that…

It is a very popular teaching. You hear it broadcast daily. In fact several times a day! The bookstore shelves are loaded with its message. What is this great message? It is that believers are to “walk by faith.” Walking or living in faith is, in many respects, the central issue in many evangelical churches today. The problem is what these teachers often mean when they speak of “walking by faith” bears little or no resemblance to the biblical notion of living by faith. Today’s emphasis includes such things as “calling those things that are not as though they are.” Which seems to me to be a life of denial rather than a life of faith. Or maybe you are familiar with the concept of “your life today is the result of your speaking yesterday.” This idea is that you must speak “faith-filled words” and that your success or failure rides on your ability to stay positive and focus on the Word of God. That sounds more like sorcery and incantations than trust in the Sovereign God.
The issue before us is – what does the Scripture teach? How does the Word of God handle this? What does the Bible say?
What does it mean to walk by faith? How is the life of faith lived out? What is required of me if I am to live by faith? To answer these questions we must go to the Word of God. And I think it would be extremely valuable to examine the life of Abraham – the Father of Faith…

We’ve all seen it. Unfortunately, it is all too common. Folks who begin well in the faith but who stumble and fall away from the church. The falling away, most often, is the result of a gradual drifting. It is the result of a slow erosion of their commitment. It began innocently enough. Something needed to be done. There was somewhere they wanted to go – something they wanted to do – it wouldn’t hurt to miss this once. Before long there is more and more to do. And it is less and less difficult to ignore their spiritual duty…Once they quit meeting with the people of God – the things of God were less and less important to them. Oh, they still believe the truth. They still consider themselves in fellowship with God but the things of God are less and less binding upon them. Before long they allow things in their lives they would never have allowed before. Before long they find themselves in a “far country” and wonder how they got there…

This evening we consider a classic example of the subtle dangers of compromise…