Sermon Tone Analysis

The Call to Follow

Genesis 11:30-12:20

 

/“2 And Stephen said: “Brethren and fathers, hear me.

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Depart from your land and from your kindred and go into the land which I will show you.”

*Acts 7:2-3*/

 

/“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”* Hebrews 11:8*/

 

Faith Is My Commitment To Follow God:

/“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

*Heb.

11:1*/

 

1.

In Spite Of My *[IMPERFECTIONS]*!

 

/“Now the Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”/

*/Verse 12:1/*

 

Ú Abram Began To Follow God With An Imperfect Understanding:

*Joshua**: ”*/Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor;… they served other gods.”/

*/Joshua/**/ 24:2/*

 

Ú Abram Followed God With Imperfect Obedience:

/“Terah took Abram his son and Lot …, his grandson…and Terah died in Haran.”/

Vs31-32

 

Ú Abram Followed  God With An Imperfect Morality:

*To Sarai:* /“Say you are my sister…”/

 

 

2.

When Life’s Odds Are *[STACKED]* Against Me!

 

/“Now Sarai was barren; she had no child”.*

11:30*/ & /“Abram went, as the Lord had told him…”/ */V 12:4/*

 

/“7Be strong and of good courage.

Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him; for *there is One greater with us than with him*.

8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.”

And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”

*2 Chronicles 32:7-8*/

/ /

/ /

3.      Because I *[TRUST]* His Promises!

/“2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”

*Vs 12:2-3*/

 

/“19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we preached among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No; but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.

That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God.

21 But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; 22 he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

*2 Corinthians 1:19-22*/

4.      Because I *[EXPERIENCE]* His Presence When I Worship!

 

/“7 Then the Lord *appeared to Abram*, and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”

So he built there an altar to the Lord, *who had appeared to him*.

8 Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.”/

*Vs 12:7-9*

 

/“1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wonderful works! 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 4 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually!”

*Psa 105:1-4*/

 

 

*A SIMPLE TEST OF YOUR FAITH*

/“5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith./

/Test yourselves.

Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you.”

*2 Cor.

13:5*/

 

My Faith Leads Me To Follow God

Please Circle One

 

Despite My Imperfections?                            *YES     NOT SURE     I’VE **LET GO OF MY FAITH*

* *

When Life Is Stacked Against Me                             *YES     NOT SURE     I’VE LET GO OF MY FAITH*

 

By Trusting God’s Promises In The Bible    *YES     NOT SURE     I’VE LET GO OF MY FAITH*

 

With Regular Worship In His Presence      *YES     NOT SURE     I’VE LET GO OF MY FAITH*

 

 

 

\\ Good morning family and welcome to two thousand and five.

In the last few months of 2004 the leadership has been preparing for the coming year, and from that work the elders are asking us to make commitment our theme for 2005.

This is a worthy theme and a challenge for us.

So I would like to begin this first lesson of 2005 by looking at Abram.

He was called to commitment through his faith to follow God.

Today I want to talk to you about “The Call to Follow”.

What must precede commitment is the willingness to trust or have faith.

Commitment without faith turns into sterile legalism.

Commitment without faith becomes a whip to drive people and not lead them.

We can literally work our selves into a stupor by being committed and actually accomplish very little for the kingdom of God.

If faith without works is dead then what is works without faith?

It is the worst kind of spiritual tyranny imaginable.

The book of James deals with faith without works.

In chapter two James says that Abraham showed his faith by his works or his commitment.

Paul in his epistles deals with works without faith, and says Abraham was justified without works of law, but by faith in God.

These are not contradictory thoughts, but are really complimentary to each other.

They stress that at the bottom of a biblical commitment lies faith.

In Acts 7 Stephen the first Christian martyr says, /“//2 //And Stephen said: “Brethren and fathers hear me.

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Depart from your land and from your kindred and go into the land which I will show you.”/

In Mesopotamia or what we know as Iraq began Abraham’s 110 year journey to follow God by faith.

From this first tentative steps in Iraq will emerge a man tempered by the very challenging path God led him on.

When Abraham encounters God he obeys because he has faith in him.

It is his trust in God that leads to commitment or obedience.

In reality we won’t take one step without faith.

It rarely snows in Arkansas.

But when I spoke to my mother at Christmas she told me she had not left the house for the past few days because of the snow and ice.

She has no faith in her ability to take one step without falling.

Without faith Abraham would have died in Iraq and not one of us would know who he was.

The writer of Hebrews says, /“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”/ Abram’s path to Canaan is his obedience in response to his assurance that God called him, and his conviction that an unseen hand guided him.

The most revolutionary moments in our lives are the times we act because of faith.

Abram committed himself simply because he believed.

The Hebrew writer says, /“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”/

My assurance that God keeps his promises and my conviction that he, though unseen, is the one who directs my path is central to my commitment to follow.

My faith springs from my encounter with God, and is never the cold impersonal legalistic forms of ritual.

Following God is not about keeping those forms, but is about a relationship with him based on his call, and my personal assurance and conviction of Him, of His power, and of His truth.

Abram’s life in Iraq was comfortable, civilized, and cultured.

He lived in a country that provided him everything but his relationship with God.

For that to happen God chose to meet and called him to follow.

And Abram chose to respond to God with assurance and conviction.

At this moment and in this worship hour God is choosing to meet and call you to follow him through his son Jesus.

We have a choice to follow or not to follow that call.

And so God gave us an example of faith in our father Abraham.

Let’s see what faith means to follow God from his life.

It may surprise you to know that the New Testament treats Abraham as the standard of faith.

Abraham did four things to set that standard for us.