Abraham - School of Faith

You can't run away from your problems and you can't send your problems away. You've got to give them to the Lord. How to walk and war and wait by faith.

Let's talk to our Father now. Gracious Father in Heaven, we're grateful that You are on the throne, that Jesus Christ is King of kings, Lord of lords. And that You have our times in Your hands. And You do make all things beautiful in Your time. Give us patience to wait for that beauty to come, even when we're going through times of difficulty. Help us now as we study Your Word. Remind us of what we have learned. Teach us something new. Convict us. And most of all, make us more like the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

We are entering the school of faith with Abraham, the great illustrator, the great example of what it means to live by faith. Genesis 12 is where we started. And I want to remind you that when you enroll in the school of faith, you learn to live by promises and not by explanations. If there's one thing we've learned from studying Genesis 12 through 16, it's that God doesn't always explain things.

God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees and didn't tell him where he was going. He said, "I'll show you the land." And then when he got there, he said, "This is the land." And then sometime later, he said, "I'm going to give you this land." And then he said, "I have given you this land." And God doesn't always explain everything. I think it's a little bit of pride on our part to insist that God explain things. That was one of the problems that Job had. Job wanted God to go to court with him. Several times in the book of Job, he says, "I wish I could get him to court and put him on the stand and force him to explain what is going on." But when you're in the school of faith, you do not live on explanations, you live on promises. And Abraham had all of the promises that he needed.

Secondly, when you're in the school of faith, you live by grace, not by self-effort. There's just too much of that going on today. We're all tempted to just do things our own way. In chapter 16, for example, Abraham and Sarah decided they wanted to have a son, why not let Hagar be the mother? Well, they were using their own self-effort, their own flesh, they were not using the power of the grace of God. God finally had to wait until Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 89. Their bodies were as good as dead. His resurrection power went to work in their bodies and then he gave them a son. When you are in the school of faith, you live by grace, not by your own self-effort. Now that doesn't mean you don't do anything. It rather means that God works in you and through you through His resurrection power.

Thirdly, when you're in the school of faith, you live for God's glory, not for the praise of men. Abraham was not always a popular person. He certainly wasn't popular with the king of Sodom. He wouldn't bow down to the king of Sodom. He wouldn't take so much as a shoelace from the king of Sodom. Abraham did not live for popularity, for the praise of men. He lived for the glory of God. The God of glory appeared to Abraham. We read that in Acts 7. The God of glory appeared to Abraham. And when he saw the glory of God, he said, "I want to live for the glory of God." And he did that.

Finally, when you are in the school of faith, you're going to be tested. Some people have the idea that when you say, "Lord, I'm going to start living by faith," that solves all your problems. Well, ultimately it does, but immediately it creates some new problems for you. Now, be sure of this, everybody has problems. Everybody. People who don't live by faith have problems. People who live by faith have problems.

The difference is this: When you and I go through the furnace, it purifies us, if we're living by faith. When people go through the furnace who are not living by faith, it doesn't purify them, it burns them. And they get hard and bitter and critical. They get angry at God. A faith that can't be tested, can't be trusted. And when you're in the school of faith, you've got to expect to be tested.

And remember the purpose for all of this is that we might be a blessing to the whole world. In Genesis 12, the Lord said to Abraham, "I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed." That's a remarkable thing. Here's one man, one woman in Ur of the Chaldees, God calls them out, sends them to Canaan and says, "You are going to bless the whole world." It's almost laughable, but not when faith is involved. God can take your steps of faith, God can take your gifts of faith, God can take your prayers of faith, God can take your words of faith and touch a whole world. That's the wonderful thing about walking by faith.

There are people in God's church today, their names have never been in the bulletin, let alone on the theater marquee or on the title of a book, the cover of a book. They're just unknown people, but they are touching a whole world because they're walking by faith. It's just a remarkable thing that God does. When Mary of Bethany came and anointed the Lord Jesus with that gift of faith, that very expensive gift. She was criticized for it, but Jesus said, "What she has done will be spoken about throughout the whole world." That must have shocked the disciples. Here's one little woman in a little house, in a little village, Bethany, in a little country, and she's going to touch the whole world? Well, she did. And so don't be discouraged. If you're living in the school of faith, you're going to be tested. But you're also going to be a blessing to the whole world. And someday when you get to Heaven, you're going to find out how much of a blessing you were. Don't give up. Let us not be weary in well-doing in due season, we shall reap if we faint not.

Now in Genesis 12 and 13, our first lesson was how to walk by faith. First, you learn how to walk. Faith is a walk, a day at a time, a step at a time. It means that we take one step and then God opens the next step for us. We take another step. God doesn't give us a detailed map of the whole route. We'd like to live life without any risk, wouldn't we? It would be so nice not to have any risks. But then there wouldn't be any thrills, there wouldn't be any growth. If we were pampered by God, we'd never grow. We'd be spoiled children. God doesn't want any spoiled children.

So God called Abraham and he said, "I want you to walk by faith." Faith brought him out, Genesis 12:1-4. You've got to step out of something in order to start walking by faith. Abraham had to give up his religion. It was a pagan, idolatrous religion to begin with. Had to give up his family. He had to give up all that he had, and by faith, he steps out, and his neighbors said, "Well, what is your forwarding address?" He said, "I don't know." "You mean you're going someplace you've never been?" "That's right." "Do you know where you're going?" "No." "Do you know how you're going to get there?" "No." "Are you sure you will get there?" "Yes, God has called me." God's callings are always God's enablings. Faith brings us out and faith brings us in. He brings us out that he might bring us in.

So he comes to the land, and in the land there he builds his altar and he pitches his tent. These two items are the mark of the pilgrim and the stranger. Because he was a pilgrim, he lived in a tent. Pilgrims are always on the move. Because he was a stranger, he built an altar. He was saying, "My citizenship is not here, my citizenship is in Heaven." That altar was his testimony, his witness to those around him, "I don't belong here. I'm on my way to my own country that my Father is preparing for me." Abraham walked by faith looking for that city whose builder and maker is God. Faith brings us out and faith brings us in and faith brings us back.

When Abraham got to the land, there was a famine. Isn't that strange? That God would lead him someplace where there was a problem. We have the idea that when you walk by faith, there will be no problems, no famines, no difficulties. No, this is where faith is tested. And he tests us in the place of blessing, in the place of obedience. Abraham wasn't tested by Sodom. Lot was, because Lot's heart was fixed on that kind of a life. Sodom was no problem to Abraham, but the famine was. And when the famine came, he went down to Egypt. I

n the Bible, whenever you go to Egypt, you go down, because Egypt is a picture of this world, this world's system with its bondage. He went down to Egypt, and there in Egypt, no tent, no altar, no word from God, no blessing. The blesser became a burden. He brought a curse upon the upon the family of Pharaoh, his household. They were plagued because of what Abraham had done. When a Christian gets out of the will of God, he is the source of trouble, not the source of blessing. He becomes a troublemaker, not a peacemaker.

A Christian out of the will of God can do more damage than an unsaved person. Abraham got out of the will of God and created all kinds of problems. David got out of the will of God and created all kinds of problems. And that can happen to us as well. But faith brings us back. Even if we have failed the Lord and failed each other, we can come back. Genesis 13:1, Abraham went up. He came back to where he had been at the beginning. Ah, there is his tent, there is his altar. He is reminded, "You are a pilgrim and a stranger in this land, and therefore you'd better start following the Lord by faith." Test number one, circumstances.

Now test number two, people. Lot had gotten a taste of Egypt, and Lot was now a wealthy man and the result is strife. Wealth does not always solve problems, it sometimes creates problems. There was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle, because there had been a famine in the land. And the Canaanites and the Perizzites were there with their cattle, and here we have strife. But you know, when there's a problem, you can either be a part of the answer or a part of throwing more fuel on the fire. Abraham was a part of the answer, wasn't he? He said, "We are brethren. Let's not strive, let's not fight. You you choose whichever way you want to go. You go to the right, I'll go to the left." And Lot lifted up his eyes and he chose that well-watered plain of Jordan because it was like Egypt.

The choices we make depend on the desires in our heart. What we love in our heart, we see out there in the world. And Lot saw Egypt. And he said, "Ah, I want that." And so Lot starts moving towards Sodom. Eventually he gets into Sodom. Then he's captured, but he goes right back and before long, Abraham is praying that Lot might be delivered. Well, does it pay to let others take first choice? Yes, it does, because God came to Abraham and said, "You lift up your eyes now," Genesis 13:14. But don't lift up your eyes in unbelief as Lot did. You lift up your eyes in faith. "I want you to look at this land. This land is yours. And your descendants are going to be like the dust that you see out there on the land. I'm giving it to you." And what does Abraham do? He just moves right on. Just keeps on going on by faith.

Faith brings us out, faith brings us in, faith brings us back. We face testing. Faith brings us through, and then faith brings us on. He pitches his tent and he builds his altar. It's rather interesting. You can trace the movements of Abraham by the altars he left behind. What will we leave behind as a testimony to others that we have walked with the Lord? Walking by faith, Genesis 12 and 13. Now warring by faith, 14 and 15. Abraham did not get involved in this war between the four kings and the five kings, because he was not a part of that confederacy. But when they came and told him that Lot had been captured, that changed the whole picture. Why do Christians get involved in these things? For the sake of the brethren. Abraham had no selfish motives. He wasn't interested in being a great hero. He didn't want any money from it. But he said, "My brother, not my nephew, my brother has been captured, and I'm going to go rescue him." And he did, by faith.

Now, how could he do that? Because God said, "This is your land." These kings had invaded his land. Furthermore, God had said, "Those who bless you, I'll bless, and those who curse you, I'll curse." And so as Abraham led his army out, he led them out by faith. This is the victory that overcomes even our faith. 1 John 5:4-5. Well, he rescued Lot, and he rescued all the other people.

And then along came another test. Not circumstances or people, but things. Here is a chance for Abraham to become superlatively wealthy. Out comes the king of Sodom, who says, "Give me the persons, give me their bodies, but you can keep all the loot." The world always wants your body. And Abraham said, "I don't want one thing from you. I'm not going to ruin my testimony, because we must be as watchful after the victory as before the battle." Andrew Bonar said that. "Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle." It's possible to win the war and lose the victory. And Abraham did not bow down to the king of Sodom. Instead, he brought tithes to the king of Salem, Melchizedek, a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How important it is for us not to depend upon the wealth of the world. Abraham said, "I don't want it. You're going to say you made me rich." The emphasis in Genesis 14 is on Abraham's hands. Before the battle, he had lifted up his hand to the Lord, Genesis 14:20, and he'd promised God he would not take anything. All he wanted was victory to rescue his brother. He lifted up his hand in dedication. Then he opened his hand to give the tithe to Melchizedek, and he opened his hand to receive the bread and the wine from Melchizedek to strengthen him. The Lord always gives to us what we need when we need it.

Finally, he closed his hand when the king of Sodom came along and wanted to make him rich. Abraham not only had eyes of faith that could see the future, he had hands of faith, and he knew how to take care of these things. Genesis 15, we have Abraham being tested on the inside. It's not circumstances or people or things, it's feelings down inside. Feelings of fear. "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." Fear is a good emotion if it's used properly. It's like fire in the furnace. Fire is a marvelous thing in the furnace. Get it outside the furnace, you have trouble. Fear can be used properly, and so can impatience. We can learn how to wait. And so can uncertainty. We can learn how to be sure as we walk with the Lord.

So just remember these three phrases, will you? When you're afraid, God says, "I am. I am your shield, I am your reward." When you are impatient, God says, "I will." And then we have Abraham getting somewhat impatient. "What will you give me? Where is this child you've promised?" Not unbelief, but impatience. And God says, "Now you look toward Heaven." Previously he'd said, "You lift up your eyes and look at the land." Now he said, "You look up to Heaven." He's going now from boundaries to horizons. When you learn how to respect boundaries, God will give you horizons. Abraham would not bow down to the king of Sodom. Abraham would not bow down and take anything from the world. And so God says to him, "Abraham, I can trust you now. Lift up your eyes and look. Count the stars." Of course, you can't do that. He said, "Your descendants will be as great in number as all these stars." And he believed in the Lord. And the Lord counted it to him for righteousness.

In Genesis 15, God helps Abraham overcome his own inner feelings. Abraham came and said, "God, I want to confess, I'm afraid those kings may come back." He said, "Don't be afraid, I am. I am." God said to Abraham, "I see your impatient, I will. I see your uncertain, I have. I have given this land to you." God made a covenant with Abraham. He didn't sign a contract, he made a covenant with Abraham. He said, "Abraham, this is what I am going to do." Abraham was asleep when all of this happened. It was purely of grace. And God said to Abraham, "Don't worry. I am, I will, I have. I will take care of you." How to war by faith. Genesis 16, how to wait by faith. Alas, he failed this test. He listened to his wife and he should not have done that. He should have been the the spiritual leader in his home. And he got himself and his home into trouble.

Well, God gives us the courage to face our problems and the wisdom to understand them and the strength to do what we have to do, and then the faith to trust him to do the rest. That's what happened in Genesis 16. You can't run away from your problems and you can't send your problems away. You've got to give them to the Lord. And graciously, the Lord worked and brought everything under control. How to walk and war and wait by faith.

[Interview]

Thanks for joining us. Now, let's drop in on a conversation with Back to the Bible CEO, Arnie Cole, and Bible teacher, Warren Wiersbe.

So, Warren, when it comes to faith, I remember myself as a new believer, something bad happened, and I wanted God to tell me why. Why did he let this happen? And it really started to trip me up. What about these circumstances where people just demand of God to tell them why?

Well, I think most of us have been through that. And one of the joys of victory over it is the peace that comes to your heart. The normal Christian life is a series of new beginnings. God does not owe me any explanation for anything. I saw an an article in the newspaper one day, it says, "Don't debate with a three-year-old." I thought, that's very wise. I wish I'd known that when we had some three-year-olds. But you see, God doesn't owe me an explanation. And if he did give me an explanation, I probably couldn't really understand it. We live not on explanations, but on promises. And so if God isn't working the way I think he should, I just get a hold of one of his promises. When God tells us in the Psalms or in the Epistles, who he is, what he does, he doesn't have to tell us how he does it or when he's going to do it. I still have things on my prayer list that I occasionally say, "Lord, are do you hear me say this?" I've been saying this for quite a long time. But eventually, the answer comes. In one of the churches, there was a particular situation that'd been around for a long time. And I didn't touch it, I didn't attack it, I didn't preach about it, I didn't do anything like that. I just prayed. Five years it took to get that situation straightened out. Because more important than straightening out the situation was straightening out the preacher. I needed to learn to wait.