Abraham - Walking in Faith - Part 1

Faith is always in response to God's word, faith demands separation from sin, and faith involves being a blessing to others.

And now let's pray together. Father, each time we open the Word, we realize our great need for the help of the Holy Spirit. He wrote the Word of God, he teaches us the Word of God, and he enables us to live what we learn. And so we ask now for the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, and may we receive the Word not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, and may this Word work in our lives. This is our prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

At the age of 75, Abraham was called by God to leave home and become a stranger and a pilgrim in a foreign land. Abraham was called to enroll in the school of faith, and he was in that school of faith for 100 years. We read in Genesis 12:1-4. Now the Lord had said to Abram, "Get out of your country, from your kindred 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 75 years old when he departed from Haran. Now we have more information about this from Stephen in Acts 7. Acts 7:2, Stephen says this, "Men and brethren, and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.' Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran, and from there, when his father was dead, he moved him to this land in which you now dwell."

Well, God wants us to learn the very same lessons that Abraham learned. We're going to be looking at five specific lessons in the school of faith. If you've not yet noticed them, get a pen or pencil and a piece of paper and write them down. There are five basic lessons in the school of faith that we are going to be studying in this series. First, we're going to learn to walk by faith. That's Genesis 12 and 13. Then we're going to learn to war by faith, Genesis 14 and 15. Abraham then teaches us how to wait by faith, and that's Genesis 16 and 17, how to work by faith, Genesis 18 and 19, and then how to worship by faith, Genesis 20-25, especially Genesis 22. Now, all of this begins with walking by faith. You say, "Oh, I want to learn how to war by faith." Well, you first learn how to walk by faith. "I want to learn how to work by faith, so that God blesses my work." Well, first you must learn how to walk by faith. And we learn this in Genesis 12 and 13.

You see, there are some very specific ministries of faith given to us in Genesis 12 and 13. What does faith do for us? Well, number one, faith brings us out. That's Genesis 12:1-4. Then faith brings us in. That's Genesis 12:5-9. Abraham came into the land of Canaan. Alas, he backslid and went down to Egypt, so faith brings us back. Genesis 12:10 through Genesis 13:4. Faith brings us out, faith brings us in, faith brings us back. Faith brings us through. Genesis 13:5-13. Abraham had a problem with his nephew Lot, and faith brings him through. And then faith brings us on. Genesis 13:14-18.

Well, faith brings us out. If we're going to walk by faith, we must understand some basic principles that are revealed in Genesis 12:1-4. Number one, faith is always in response to God's word. Faith is always in response to God's word. Now, the Lord had said to Abram, "Get out of your country." Faith is always in response to God's word. Romans 10:17, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."

Now, you'll recall that God revealed himself to Abraham when Abraham was a pagan, worshipping the moon goddess in Ur of the Chaldees. Number one, God's glory was revealed to Abraham. I don't know how this happened. I don't know how God revealed his glory, but Stephen tells us, "The God of glory appeared to Abraham." When Abraham saw the glory of God and realized how glorious was the true God, he wanted nothing more to do with idols or idol worship. Something happened to his heart. He he got a desire in his heart for that which God had to offer him.

You find this in Hebrews 11. I'd like to have you turn there. Hebrews 11 talks about the desire in the heart of Abraham. Hebrews 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, that is, the things that were promised, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return, but now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

Now Abraham lived in a very big, important city, Ur of the Chaldees, but the God of glory revealed himself to Abraham, and Abraham saw the glory of another city, and he lived on earth by looking for that heavenly city, looking toward the glory of God that he knew he would receive someday. So something happened to Abraham's heart. There was a desire in his heart for the glory of God and the things of God. And then something happened to his mind. He heard the Word of God, and God explained to him what he wanted him to do. Get out, go to the land I'm going to show you, and I'll take care of everything else.

You see, true faith involves the whole person. The mind understands the Word of God, hears it and understands it. The heart desires the things of God, and the will obeys what God commands. God gave him a commandment, "Get out of your country, leave your kindred, leave your father's house. I'll show you a land." "Where am I going, Lord?" "I'm not going to tell you till you get there." He marched right off the map. Nobody handed him a complete itinerary. He just walked by faith a day at a time, a step at a time. The sad thing is that Abraham didn't obey immediately. He took his family with him. He wasn't supposed to do that. They delayed at Haran. His father died, and then he was able to leave and to go and follow the Lord as he should.

But would you notice that faith involves obedience. Faith is always in response to God's word. My mind understands the message, my heart desires the blessing, and my will obeys. Hebrews 11:8, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going." God didn't hand him a road map. God didn't give him an atlas filled with maps. God said, "I'm going to bless you." Now, you do what I tell you, "Get out of your country, get away from your kindred and your father's house. I'm going to show you a land." Abraham obeyed God when he did not know where he was going. Abraham obeyed God when he did not know even what God was doing. You and I wouldn't do that, would we? We should follow the Lord by faith.

Notice that faith involves obedience. Faith is always in response to God's word. People have the idea that faith means believing in spite of evidence. That's superstition. He had all the evidence he needed. He saw the glory of God, he heard the Word of God, he was told the will of God. All he had to do was obey. What is faith? You better write this down. Faith is obeying God's word in spite of consequences and in spite of circumstances. Did you get that? Faith is obeying God's word in spite of consequences, he didn't know where he was going, in spite of circumstances. Some of his family members perhaps wanted to talk him into staying where he was. Now, real faith results in obedience. If we really believe what God has to say, we will obey him.

You'll notice that God did not give any explanations to Abraham. All he did was say, "I will, I will, I will, I will, I will," five times. "I will." If you will do one thing, "Get out, obey me, I will show you." That's God's guidance. "I will make you." Oh, that's the process of building character. "I will bless you," and he did. "And I'll bless those who bless you, and I'll protect you."

Now, you and I need to remember that faith is always in response to God's word. Are you spending time daily in the Word of God? People say, "Oh, I want my faith to increase." Well, then get into the Word of God. Where did Abraham's faith come from? Same place your faith has to come from, the Word of God. God does not give us explanations. God gives us promises. And I would rather live by promises than explanations any day. God didn't explain Abraham's whole life to him. He didn't hand him a complete itinerary. He said, "You go, take a step at a time, a day at a time, and I'm going to guide you. I will show you, I will make you, I will bless you." Are your ears open to the Word of God? Are your eyes open to the glory of God? Is your will obedient to the will of God? Faith is always in response to God's word.

Principle number two, faith demands separation from sin. Now, the Lord had said to Abram, "Get out! Get out of your country, from your kindred, from your father's house." Just get out. He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me. Get out. He called him alone according to Isaiah 51:2. Now he was separated from and separated unto. He was separated from sin, "Get out of your country," to a land I will show you.

Separation is twofold. It's negative, we leave that which is evil. It's positive, we cleave to that which is good. That's why Abraham had a tent and an altar. In Genesis 12:8 you find he pitches his tent and he builds an altar. Genesis 13:3-4. He pitches a tent and builds an altar. The tent says, "I'm separated from sin. I'm on the move. I don't I'm not going back to Ur of the Chaldees." The altar says, "I belong to God." Too many people are separated from sin negatively, but they aren't separated unto God positively. God brings us out that he might bring us in. "Get out of your country to a land that I will show you." You ought to mark Deuteronomy 6:23 in your Bible. Moses is speaking, and he says in Deuteronomy 6:23, "Then he, God, brought us out from there that he might bring us in." I like that. He brings us out that he might bring us in. There's the negative and the positive.

In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul writes about separation from sin. He tells us that we should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. And he has a lot of negative things to say. 2 Corinthians 6:14, he says, "What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? What communion has light with darkness?" That's the negative. Now, here's the positive. He says, "You are the temple of the living God." 2 Corinthians 6:16, "As God has said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them and be their God, and they shall be my people.'" Now that's the positive. "Therefore, come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. That's the negative. "And I will receive you." That's the positive. "I will be a father to you. You shall be my sons and daughters," says the Lord Almighty. Separation is negative and positive. God brings us out that he might bring us in.

Faith demands separation from sin. You say, "I'm not growing much in my Christian life." Well, is there a need for separation from sin? You see, Abraham was controlled by the future, not by the past. He was looking for that city whose builder and maker was God. He had his eyes on the future. He did not want to go back to that old life. By the way, if you are living in sin now and you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your savior, God is calling you. God is not willing that any should perish. God who will have all men to be saved. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. God wants to call you.

I notice that God called Abraham in middle age. He was 75 years old when God called him. Now we don't know exactly how old he was when he left Ur and went to Haran, but when he finally took off to walk by faith, to enter the school of faith, he was 75 years old. He died at 175. So, if you cut that in half, he was getting into middle age, wasn't he? You are never too old to start walking by faith. Principle number one, faith is always in response to God's word. Principle number two, faith demands separation from sin.

Principle number three, faith involves being a blessing to others. We don't walk by faith just so we can enjoy God. That's selfish. There is a brand of deeper life teaching today that upsets me. It's very selfish and self-centered. You can have victory, you can receive God's best blessing, but they never go on to say the purpose of this is to be a blessing to others. Notice what he says, "I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing." I can't think of anything more wonderful in all of this world than to be a blessing to somebody else. It's a great thing to get a blessing. It's a greater thing to be a blessing.

Now God blessed Abraham in many ways. Abraham was a blessing to his family. I like what God says in Genesis 18:19. He says, "I know that he's going to command his children and his household after him." He's going to be a blessing to his family. Are you a blessing to your family today? He was a blessing to his neighbors. Even though he had some problems with some of them, he was a blessing to his neighbors. He was a blessing to the whole nation of Israel. He was the founder of the nation of Israel. And Abraham has been a blessing to the whole world. He's been a blessing to me. As I've read the book of Genesis 12-25, I've learned so much from Abraham. He went through so much to teach me what it means to walk by faith. And even more than that, Abraham was the one God called to establish the nation that gave us the Bible, that gave us the witness of the true God, that gave us the prophets, that gave us the Lord Jesus Christ our savior. Oh, this man became a blessing. You say, "I want to walk by faith." Why? If you don't want to be a blessing to a whole world, then don't start walking by faith, because you'll only be miserable. Lay hold of these three principles now today. Faith is always in response to God's word, faith demands separation from sin, and faith involves being a blessing to others.

[Interview] Now, let's join Back to the Bible CEO Arnie Cole in the studio with Warren Wiersbe.

Warren, when we think of Abraham, we think of him being this amazing patriarch of faith. So it's surprising when you realize what Abraham was before God called him.

Well, he was an idolater. He lived in Ur of the Chaldees, and that was not some small bump in the road. Archaeologists have carefully investigated Ur of the Chaldees. Books have been written about it. Population, 360,000. That's a lot of people. Yeah, it is. And wealthy. They worshipped the moon goddess. And so when God called Abraham and appeared to him, that was an act of faith on the part of Abraham to sell everything and move out. But he did it. Ur of the Chaldees was generally very, very advanced. They have uncovered tablets, clay tablets, dealing with cube roots, mathematical things that you wouldn't expect. And of course, the the land around Ur of the Chaldees was um a lush, lush land. So, there was money, there was fame, there was power. Some of the houses they dug up had 14 rooms in them. My. So, he came out of wealth to walk by faith with the Lord. That takes faith. Yes, it does. But Abraham has been, because of the record in the Bible, one of the greatest examples of number one, salvation. How was he saved? By faith. Number two, making progress in the Christian life. How did he do that? By faith. Hebrews 11 makes that very clear.