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to Sunday school yes it’s that time today we are beginning a new series Patriarchs of the promise this is a 16we study of Genesis 12-50 which essentially is a record of the lives of Israel’s Patriarchs Abraham Isaac Jacob and Jacob’s sons Joseph especially now before we get into our first lesson of our new series I want to give you or I want to answer a few introductory questions about our new course and the first is why why this steady there’s actually a few ways I can answer that number one so that we as a church May grow in our Bible knowledge and theology especially when it comes to the foundational Book of Genesis if you’ve been with us for a few years you may realize that back in 2023 we started a new effort at surveying the whole Bible as a church moving through the Bible from the beginning starting in Genesis 1 we did the creation Foundation we did the consequences of sin which went brought us through Genesis 1:1 those two series and this is the next installment in that series of gradually building up our understanding and familiarity with the whole scriptures but number two another reason for this study is so that we may as a church grow in our skill of Bible study as we get more practice with what is called the inductive Bible study method now can anybody tell me what the inductive Bible study method isse byse it often does go verse by verse it’s a three-step method a simple three-step method for Bible study does anybody know what those three-steps are yeah Keith observe interpret that’s right observe interpret and apply it’s very important that when you study the Bible and I think many of you are familiar with this already that you capture what God originally said rather than what you only think he said or what you would like him to have said taking time to go through the proper process of Bible study will help keep you on track and that means before you come to any conclusions or applications as to how you should live your life you just take time to observe what’s in the text what are the details of the text and then build off of that now we’re going to explain more and we’re going to model more of this method throughout the course and as we do that hopefully that helps your own Bible study so that’s a second reason for this study but then there’s a third and that is so that we like the Patriarchs and the children of Israel after them to whom Moses originally wrote about the Patriarchs we might learn to trust and obey God even when the way forward looks hopeless or circumstances do not make sense and isn’t this the basic lesson that we need to to learn and relearn throughout our Christian lives indeed this was the subject of our previous Sunday Sunday school series on trusting God and during that series we made frequent reference to Genesis and the Patriarchs but now we’re actually going to study the lives of the Patriarchs in sequence so that we can see vividly what it looks like and why we should trust God so these two series are going to function well together I believe so multiple reasons why we’re going into this study all for your edification and for the glory of God now here’s the second question introductory question why the title Patriarchs of the promise well it has a nice alliteration but that’s not the only reason I chose it we might have expected Patriarchs of the promises plural because there are as we’ll see multiple promises given to the Patriarchs in these chapters of Genesis in truth though the scriptures sometimes describe the package of blessings or promises given by Sovereign Grace to Abraham and his chosen descendants merely as the promise so sometimes it we’ll talk about all the promises as simply the promise so maybe singular versus plural is not that big of a deal but I’ve chosen the singular because I’d like to emphasize that these Patriarchs were just early inheritors of the fundamental salvation promise that was announced before them and which would persist after them now you’ll see more of what I mean as we go through this is steady you’ll even see a little bit of that today but just know right now that these Patriarchs they are spiritual forefathers of the same salvation promise that we have come to enjoy and see fulfilled in Jesus Christ so in that sense they are Patriarchs of the promise singular one last question where are we going in this course as I said it’s 16 lessons on Genesis 12 to 50 and we’re using the answers Bible curriculum from Answers in Genesis to give us our fundamental orientation now number of you have heard of Answers in Genesis and even this curriculum before this is solid Bible teaching uniquely though with an apologetic emphasis Genesis is one of the most doubted books of the Bible not just in its first chapters but even as we go into the lives of the Patriarchs so it’s helpful to have a little bit of an apologetic Angle now I sent you an email of the specific lessons uh previewing the specific lessons of our study and you can see them again on the screen I won’t read all of those but this is where we’re going from now to approximately May 4th so we’ll be in this for a little while 16 lessons my co-teachers and I I’m not the only one teaching this course I once again have a few others with me I’ve got hostway penalo Ian pong and Mark twamley we look forward to going through these lessons with you in an engaging and interactive way hopefully also giving time to answer questions as part of each lesson okay so that’s what we’re looking at but enough introduction let’s get into today’s lesson which is lesson one God calls Abram now who’s Abram later called Abraham Abram was a particularly significant person in Redemptive history yet in many ways he was just like us we’re going to spend a number of L lessons looking at Abram Abraham and our first lesson is going to focus on God’s calling of Abraham Abram and we want to notice a few facets of that record how did Abram respond to God’s call why did God call Abram to what did Abram ultimately look forward in God’s call and how can Abram’s response and thinking instruct Us and how we ought to live today that’s basically our lesson outline and we’ll mainly be exploring one passage Genesis 11:27 to 129 to answer these questions but before we go there let me have a word of Prayer Lord God we thank you for the record of these Patriarchs this is written for our instruction I pray God that as we investigate that you would open our eyes to wondrous truths in your law and God that it wouldn’t just be something that expands our Bible knowledge or helps us make connections in the scriptures that’s valuable but something Lord that truly changes us so that we can become men and women of noticeable Faith as you cause these men and the women with them Lord to also become bless this time Lord for your name’s sake amen all right let’s go ahead and actually read the historical account that’s going to be the main part of our Focus today turn to Genesis 11 we’re looking at 20 or verse 27 of that chapter to verse 9 of the next chapter mostly we’re looking at Genesis CH 12 but keep connected the preceding context before we look at our new passage in the beginning of chapter 11 we have a record of the confusion at Babel the episode that took place the city in the Tower of Babel remember that’s not too long after the flood then what follows after that is a genealogy linking Shem Noah’s son to Abram so that’s presented as a historical record this wasn’t some myth okay there’s these mythical things that happen all right here’s here’s the new history no it’s just one orderly sequence presented as history the whole thing and our passage picks up right at the end of that linking genealogy so follow along now as I read Genesis 11:27 to 129 now these are the records of the generation of Tara Tara became the father of Abram nahor and haran and haran became the father of lot haran died in the presence of his father terara in the land of his birth Earth and er of the calans Abram and nahor took wives for themselves the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai and the name of nahor’s wife was milka the daughter of heran the father of milka and isca Sarai was baren she had no child Tara took Abram his son and lot the son of haran his grandson and Sarai his daughter-in-law his son Abram’s wife and they went out together from IR the calans in order to enter the land of Canaan and they went as far as haran and settled there the days of terara were 205 years and terara died in haran now the Lord and that’s the Hebrew name Yahweh there now Yahweh said to Abram go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great and so you shall be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed so Abram went forth as Yahweh had spoken to him and lot went with him now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haron Abram took Sarah his wife and lot his nephew and all their possessions which they had accumulated and the persons which they had acquired in Haron and they set out for the land of of Canaan thus they came to the land of Canaan Abram passed through the land as far as the site of sheim to the Oak of morah now the Canaanite was then in the land Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to your descendants I will give this land so he built an altar there to Yahweh who had appeared to him then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of bethl and pitched his tent with bethl on the west and I on the East and there he built an altar to Yahweh and called upon the name of Yahweh Abram journeyed on continuing toward the negative and we’ll stop there now let’s analyze this passage according to the inductive Bible study method what is step one again observe you’re asking the question what do I see so let’s do that let’s just make simple observations on the details of this text notice the relatives of Abram mentioned in this passage we have Tera his father nahor his brother Haron his other brother who dies in ER lot his nephew he’s the son of Haron Sarai his wife and half sister same father different mother and then we have milka the wife of nahor the daughter of Heron which means that she is both sister-in-law and niece to Abram does that feel like it’s too much to keep track of well here’s a little family tree that might help a tiny bit if you look at this closely you may notice that these immediate relatives of Abram they include some married close relations there’s more we’ll say about this or more we could say about this God eventually makes clear that he doesn’t want these types of relationships in Israel’s law it is forbidden these would be considered incestuous but it appears that God tolerated this in the early days of the world especially after the flood and babble and in many ways this is to be expected following Babel as families and tribes separated from one another they didn’t know anybody else they weren’t with anybody else they couldn’t understand the languages of other people and so they often just married within themselves this was somewhat common but it would become less common as time goes on now notice a little aside we’re told about Sarai what do we learn about her from the text she’s Barren besides the fact that she’s Abram’s wife we learned that she’s now that’s a big deal back then and it would be a big deal to Abram as we’ll see in later lessons now Tara so that’s Abram’s father Tara and his family go on a little migration notice where verse 31 in chapter 11 says they intended to go where to Canaan it says that they were moving from IR the calans to Canaan Now where’s ER some debate among Bible interpreters as to which ER is meant there were apparently multiple s back at that time most likely the ER referred to here was a decently large city in Calia which would be another reference to where the calans lived or southern Mesopotamia so if you can see on the map all the way in the right side of the screen in that picture you see ER in lower Mesopotamia now people have done archaeological excavations on this ancient city and they’ve une Earth the base of a huge zigurat there does anybody know what a zigurat is it’s kind of a stepped Tower or pyramid thing often with religious functions archaeologists have also discovered that religious worship in this city of ER in Mesopotamia it’s centered on the moon God nen so I think we can understand this is this is a pagan City it’s not following the true God but terara even though he sets out from ER in Mesopotamia Tera and those with him they don’t make it to Canaan from ER notice where they stop instead according to the end of verse 31 that is haran now this journey from ER to haran you see it there would have been about 600 miles you say oh that sounds like a lot but what does that really look like well to give you a rough estimate about how how far that is that’d be like walking from New Jersey to South Carolina it’s a decent walk now Haron like refers to what is later called haran with two RS in Assyria and it corresponds to ruins that are today in modern turkey you can see it you’re basically moving Northwest from ER along the rivers to what would be later Assyria now you might be wondering why did these Travelers not simply go west into Canaan why do they decide to go up why do they go Northwest does anybody know the answer okay so there’s water along the rivers but also if they TR decide to go west they run into the Arabian Desert which is not very easy to travel through and there’s a good chance you might not make it through so like most people in those times they didn’t go west they go up along the rivers and along the trade routes and then the intention is to go down this by the way is why later Empires whenever they’re invading Israel from which direction do they come usually the north because that’s the only way to get there unless you’re Egypt now the reason they don’t make it all the way to well no I I I’ll say it this way notice in verse 32 that Tara dies in haran at the age of wow Genesis 12 then opens with a sudden command from God to Abram to travel again and verse one relates several aspects of that command that Abram could have found difficult notice what God essentially says to Abram in verse one leave leave your country the land you know and have gotten used to leave your relatives the people you know and with whom you have lived for years the people who have been your support and allies leave your father’s house you’re no longer going to live under or follow your father’s or your older brother’s leadership and go to the place that I will show you and Noti he doesn’t tell him specifically where that is he just says go to the place what I will show you move in a certain Direction Hebrews 118 in the New Testament makes more explicit that Abraham did not know where he was going when he set out in response to God’s call so these are some commands with some perhaps unsettling implications but God also attaches to this command or this set of commands some profound promises and notice what they are in verses 2 to 3 we see a number of them he tells Abram I will make you a great nation and I will bless you I will make your name great I will make you a blessing and this next one is interesting people will be blessed or cursed based on how they treat you the ESV is actually a little bit more enlightening here than our present nasby 95 translation because we he we see this nice equivalent phrases the one who curses you I will curse the one who blesses you I will bless it’s not totally like that in the original Hebrew the ESV translation of uh the first part of verse three is I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse that’s a little bit more reflective of the original Hebrew because those latter two terms are not equivalent God says if they bless you I will bless them same word equivalent but if they so much as dishonor you literally in the Hebrew if they make you light if they treat you lightly or merely treat you contemptuously I will curse them and you don’t want to be cursed by almighty God he says even if they just treat you lightly I will curse them W and notice one other promise at the end of verse three God says and you I will cause all families of the earth to be blessed All Families all people not just Abram and his physical descendants now these are some pretty hefty promises in these two verses aren’t they what does Abram do in response to God’s call and promises he obeys and he sets out from haran now notice how old is Abram when he does this according to verse 4 chapter 12 he’s 75 years old and notice who and what Abram takes with him as he sets out anyone tell me he takes his nephew lot his wife Sarai and all that he had acquired in haran lots of possessions and people we say oh people well that could be acquired servants or slaves the word is the same in Hebrew for describing both of those so it may be that he actually acquired slaves or they were just servants but whoever he Acquired and whatever possessions he acquired he’s setting out with them in response to God’s call we hear then that Abel Trav Abram travels to Canaan specifically to sheam now sheam was a Canaanite town about 30 miles north of Jerusalem it’s kind of small on the map I don’t know if you’ll be able to see it but from Hermon to Sheen would have been a trek about 400 miles so not quite as long as the previous one this would be roughly equivalent from walking from South Carolina to Florida but he makes that Journey too and after Abram arrives at sheam we hear that the Lord appears to Abram and notice there’s an additional promise that God gives to Abraham in sheim and what is that promise he says the land the land where you currently are and the land in which the Canaanites currently live God says I will give it to you and your descendants Abraham or Abram so he promises the land so have you’ve been tracking how many different promises have has God given so far in this chapter that depends on maybe how how you decide whether certain commands are different or the same I’m counting seven or eight that’s a lot of promises either way notice what Abram does in response in verse seven he builds an altar there verse eight says that Abram builds another altar when he arrives what would later be called bethl that’s a site seven miles north of Jerusalem and Abram also calls upon the name of Yahweh there that’s a phrase that we do see a few other times in the Old Testament first appears in Genesis 4:26 also in the Psalms Abram calls upon the name of Yahweh Abram doesn’t stay in bethl though notice our passage ends with Abram journeying in verse 9 toward the neev and that’s just the southern desert area below what would later be called Judah the land of Judah we can make more observations but that’ll do for now having made these observations let’s now proceed to the second step of the inductive Bible study method which is what interpretation that’s why we’re asking ourselves what does it mean you want to take the details that you’ve observed the data you’ve gathered and now try and answer questions about the text that are not otherwise explicitly made clear I’ve got a number of questions here that relate through interpretation let’s look at them why did terara leave ER with Abram for Canaan this whole passage is about Abram and his being called by God to go to Canaan why does Tara leave for Canaan uh why are we told that Tara leaves for Canaan first Glenda that was question I wanted to ask Abraham If Abraham really understood the first call that he stay there and then move with his father and his whole family if did he understand the first call that’s what the question I wanted to ask did he understand the first call to move in chapter 11:27 and then waited for the second call in chapter 12 so I you know I would like to know what you have to yeah yeah so this is an interesting question right and it’s not one that’s totally made the answer is not totally made clear in our text however it’s worth bringing in another text in answer to this question we hear in the New Testament Stephen as he’s recounting the history of Israel to the Sanhedrin in Acts 7: 2 to4 notice what Steven says he says Hear Me Brethren and fathers the god of Glory appeared to Our Father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he lived in haran and said to him leave your country and your relatives and come into the land that I will show you then he left the land of the calans and settled in haran from there after his father died God had had him move to his country in which you are now living okay that’s interesting did you catch did you catch some details in what stevenh said according to Steph when did God first call Abram when he was in ER not in haran as we read in uh Genesis uh Genesis 11: 12 so it’s possible that when Abram received the call in ER that Terror was made aware of it and he says oh you’re going to leave all right I’m going to go with you or maybe Tara had his own reasons for moving and it just so happened to coincide with abr’s call but it’s possible that tera’s actions are influenced by the fact that God had called Abram even in ER but this goes to a second part of the your question Glenda my next question all right well if he was called in ER why do they stop along the way why do Tara and Abram settle in Haron from the text that we have the answer is not totally clear we can think of maybe some reasons it may be that while Tara was content to go along with Abram when he was first called an ER he decides he doesn’t want to go all the way and Abram he’s hesitant to leave his father and family behind they were content to live in haran all right Abram says well I guess I’ll I’ll stay here too it is notable that in God’s call to ABR in Genesis 12 God explicitly says in a couple different ways you got to leave your relatives you got to leave what you know you got to leave your family and go where I’m showing you so it may be that Abram was hesitant or it could be for more innocent reason it could be that Tara and maybe some of the other relatives that they still do want to go with Abram but we know that Tara dies in Haron maybe he fell ill and he was not able to go any further and Abram didn’t want to leave his father to just die alone he wanted to be there there until his father passed or maybe though God first called Abram in ER it was only to go a certain distance and Abram was waiting for more instruction maybe God had because as we read in Genesis 12 he says go forth to the country to the land from your country to the land which I will show you maybe he hadn’t given Abram more Direction and he was just waiting until God gave him more we don’t know possible possible different answers but from what we have in the text we can’t say for sure let’s move on to another question then why does AB keep moving around even after arriving in Canaan so it’s not like go to the land I’ll show you okay show up settle n it keeps on moving around why okay you might be a little tired of me saying this but we don’t can’t say for sure when uh from the data that we have in this text again it could be that he’s just following in God’s Direction though the text doesn’t say that God is telling him to move around in these different places this could be that Abram simply getting acquainted with the land Genesis 13 as we’ll see next time in the next lesson God says look over here look over there get acquainted with this land which I’m giving to you and your descendants so maybe he’s doing that we do know that there’s a famine coming at the end of chapter 12 so maybe this movement has to do with that but perhaps the answer is most simple and that is that Abram is someone who is a livestock owner and if you’ve got a lot of animals can you just stay in one place usually not especially not at that time you got to keep moving why you need New Pasture you need fresh pasture for your animals so Abram and his descendants they’re going to be moving around a lot probably simply because they got to take care of their animals but he’s in Canaan and his descendants will be too now here’s a here’s a question that we can maybe answer with a little bit more maybe was Abram a pagan was Abram a pagan idolator when God first called him you say DAV where did that come from where’s that question coming from well notice that with Abram here when he’s called there is no sort of descriptor that says and Abram was a righteous man more righteous than all others on the earth we did hear that kind of description earlier in Genesis we heard that with Noah we heard something like that with Enoch we’ll hear it other places in the scriptures if we look at um a parallel character job job’s not mentioned in Genesis but he seems to have been around either slightly before or even at the same time as Abraham he’s called a righteous man but there’s no descriptor like that for Abram when he’s introduced to us we also noted that IR was a pagan City that’s where he lived and and we hear the following in Joshua 2: 2:3 Joshua 2: 2:3 and Joshua is speaking to the people as they are about to enter the land and begin the conquest that God has called them to do and he says to them thus says Yahweh the god of Israel from ancient times your fathers live beyond the river namely Tara the father of Abraham and the father of nahor and they served other gods then I took your father Abraham from behind the beyond the river and led him through all the land of Canaan and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac now that’s interesting God through Joshua reminds the people that their forefathers Tara included and remember Tara is Abraham’s father Abram’s father they served foreign gods and in contrast to that God called Abram and his descendants out from that background so what does all this mean was Abram a pagan idolor when God first called him we can’t say for sure it seems his father was his family was likely he was too now it’s possible he was a Yahweh follower in the midst of a whole bunch of other people who weren’t but more likely he was just like his family and all the more reason why God would tell him it’s time for you to leave your family I’m calling you out to something different now if that is the case if likely he was just a pagan worshipper like all the others around him nothing particularly righteous or special about Abram why does God choose Abram why does God call him to go out why does God promise him such blessings and his descendants I’ll let you answer this question okay ultimately we can’t say for sure except there is one answer we can say this is Sovereign Grace this has to be Sovereign Grace it simply pleased God and His purposes to do this according to the Bible Abram did nothing to Merit God’s call or blessings he was likely a wicked idolator just like the rest of his family just like his neighbors but God decided to show undeserved favor to Abram and through him to the world from Abram God was going to bring forth a special people a people for God’s own personal possession a holy people a kingdom of priests witnessing to and interceding for all the peoples of the Earth but God was by no means obligated to do this nevertheless it pleased him to pour out undeserved love on some even Abraham and his descendants and the will through them to show forth his glory but this kind of action from God is not too surprising to us if we know the rest of the scriptures because isn’t this what God does with us and with all those with whom he has blessed his presence in Salvation why does God love you why has God SE fit to bless you give salvation to you was it because you had some Merit you were more righteous than all the peoples of the earth no you were just as hopelessly in sin as the rest whether it was self-righteous sin or obvious rebellious sin but to please God to love you to care for you to Mark you out as his possession to show his glory to you and through you and to pour out his blessings on you it’s the same it’s the same with Abram as with us another question what is the significance of Genesis 123b where it says God says to Abraham in you you all the families of the earth will be blessed what’s the significance of that phrase yeah Mark and the Salvation that would come through Christ as his descendant that’s right so Mark says this is foreshadowing Christ and the Salvation that would come through Christ as Abram’s descendant now Abram wouldn’t have known all of that the full significance of this phrase could not have been comprehended by Abram at that time but God was revealing partially his plans to Abram and for Abram that went beyond Abram that would come about in his descendants God was going to work good a astounding blessing for All Families of the world through Abram and this may remind you of a similar process uh promise that we’ll actually see later in Genesis 26 Genesis 264 God tells Isaac and in your Offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed now Offspring in The New American Standard is literally seed in Hebrew in your seed all the nations of the Earth shall be blessed now where have we already heard an important promise about a seed in Genesis that’s right Genesis 3:15 if there’s a Bible verse in Genesis that you want to know and maybe commit to memory that might be a good one Genesis 3:15 is so foundational sometimes called the Proto evangelium the First Gospel as part of God’s curse to the serpent God says in Genesis 3:15 and I will put emnity between you and the woman and between your seed the Serpent’s Seed and her seed he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel a lot of information uh not made clear in that initial statement except that there’s going to be salv deliverance from the serpent coming in the seed of the woman someday in the future but now we’re getting more information about that seed another promise connected to a coming seed that’s told to Isaac and in a way it’s told to Abram here little by little this is the way God chose to do it little by little his salvation his savior is being revealed in the Old Testament as Mark said as Christians at the uh f fillment of these promises we know who the seed is the promise seed of the woman the promise Seed of Abraham and the Patriarchs it is Jesus Christ Our Lord Abram didn’t know his name specifically or his identity specifically nevertheless from this statement from God to Abram we see that God’s plan was already in motion it was already moving forward and Abram had an important part to play in that plan now Abram responds to God’s call in heran and even in her with obedience he goes out as God calls him to do but why why did Abram obey God’s call he obeyed because he believed he obeyed because he had Faith now we haven’t yet come to the most um explicit and critical verse in describing what motivates Abram but in Genesis 15:6 it’s coming Genesis 15:6 here’s another really good verse for you to know from Genesis Genesis 156 describes Abram in response to a promise from God it says then he believed in Yahweh and he that is Yahweh reckoned it to him Abraham as righteousness by faith Abram believed God’s promises and obeyed God’s commands and it wasn’t Abram’s obedience it wasn’t his Holiness that therefore merited salvation or the blessings to him rather God considered him Justified and righteous on the basis of faith alone and even this Faith though was not from Abraham itself himself it is a gift from God as we know very well from that new testament verse set of verses Ephesians 28 and9 for by Grace you have been saved through faith and and this both the grace and the faith not of yourselves it is a gift of God so that no one will boast so Abraham obeyed because he believed God and God’s the one who gave him that Faith to believe but what exactly did Abraham have faith in was it that Abram was simply excited about the specific material blessings that God promised me because God does promise material blessings many descendants a great name a blessed life a land of call his own a Land for his descendants to call his own was it just for the this world blessings that Abram was so motivated and if so could not Satan lay the same charge against Abram as he lays against job God he only obeys you because you bless him materially take away these worldly blessings and Abram will curse you to your face what’s really at the heart of Abram’s faith the best way to answer these questions is to look at another passage so move from Genesis 12 to the book of Hebrews Hebrews 11: 8-16 now we’ve actually been encountering this section of scripture Lately from Pastor Bobby’s preaching Hebrews 11: 8-16 gives some clarification about what was going on in Abram’s heart even in his being called by God to go to another land now remember the book of Hebrews is written partly the Jewish Christians undergoing persecution many of these Jewish Christians are thinking about renouncing faith in Jesus and just returning to the old Judaism to escape suffering and perhaps death chapter 11 this Hall of faith in many ways it is a call to persevere by looking at the examples of many Old Testament Saints who had faith in God and Abram who’s called Abraham here here is part of that list now listen to what the writer of Hebrews says about Abram in verses 8-6 of 11 he says by faith Abraham when he was called obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going by faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise as in a foreign land dwelling in tense with Isaac and Jacob fellow Heirs of the same promise for he was looking for the city which has foundations whose architect and Builder is God by faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive even beyond the proper time of life since she considered him faithful who had promised therefore there was born even of one man and him as good as dead as that as many descendants as the stars of Heaven in number and inumerable as the sand which which is by the seashore all these died in faith without receiving the promises but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and Exiles on the earth for those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own and indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out they would have had opportunity to return but as it is they desire a better country that is a Heavenly one therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them notice a few things with me about this new testament passage we can’t make as many observations as um as we might have been able to with the time that we have but notice a few things here which promise of God to Abram is highlighted by the author in verses 8 to9 okay well before that particular phrase he mentions that he’s looking for uh he’s promised a land inheritance he was to receive going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance and then it talks about in verse 9 he lived as an alien in the land of promise so we just saw this in Genesis 12 right he gets to Canaan God says to you and your descendants I give this land that land is Promised he’s there but as you point out in Glenda you pointed out Glenda in verse 10 what does it say that Abraham was waiting for a city which has foundations whose architect and Builder is God so he’s in the land but he’s waiting for a different land and such a city is contrasted with the kind of living conditions that verse n mentions Abraham and his descendants lived on earth they lived in tents that’s temporary dwelling now did Abraham receive the promised land while alive no it was promised to him but it’s not like he became the owner of it then in verses 11 to 12 there’s a reference to another promise that God made to Abraham what’s that promise seed a seed I’m going to make you a great nation did Abraham receive that promise while alive yes he did in seed form yes you see the Promise on its way to fulfillment but no there was no Nation there was no great people that were now populating the land even though that’s what God promised him he had not received the promise in full instead we look at verse 13 while he and his descendants they did not receive those specific promises they didn’t receive the land they didn’t receive they had not yet become a nation what what was their attitude towards those promises they welcomed them from a distance and they confessed themselves to be strangers on the earth now look at verses 14 to 16 though Abraham was grateful for the Earthly promises what was it that Abraham was really looking toward what’s that Eric Homeland that’s right a a true home a better country a Heavenly country the country where God dwells and this is a critical point from the writer of Hebrews why did Abraham obey God he had Faith what motivated his faith Promises of Earthly blessing no it cannot be merely that because he never received them and therefore he would have abandoned God so what motivated Abraham then it was the sweet Prospect of going to God’s country God’s City or to say it another way the most exciting part of the promise Abraham gets in Genesis 12 is the one making the promise God has revealed himself to me he has set his favor upon me he has opened up a relationship with me I can know this God and one day I will be with him God did promise Abram great Earthly blessings but Abram saw by faith that there was greater treasure ahead and this ought to be very instructive for us let us apply personally the exhortation of Hebrews 11 to our ourselves especially as we keep Abraham in mind are you like Abraham would you like to be are you afraid to leave the familiar country afraid to leave the family that you know afraid to be apart from the world and have the world’s hostility directed towards you do you see the better country that lies before you the place where the God of all joy dwells Colossians 3 Colossians 3 1:5 says this therefore if you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God sit your mind on the things above not on the things that are on Earth for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God when Christ who is our life is revealed then you also will be revealed with him in glory therefore consider the members of your Earthly body as dead immorality impurity passion evil desire and greed which amounts to idolatry again more questions for you to think on do you seek the things above as Abram ultimately did is your mind set on things above on Christ on what things of the world have you set your mind have they become where you place your hope and joy if you to embrace the lifestyle of Abram or one of these other god- inheriting Heroes of Faith becoming a pilgrim and stranger on the earth what would have to change in your life and now one of the things that I’ve been really thinking about in part of this lesson is the uncertainty that lay before Abraham or Abram that’s one of the hardest things to deal with in life right even if you know the promises of God the fact that you don’t see them and you don’t know how things are going to turn out or when things are going to change or if they’re going to change that is a great testing of the soul but God has given you and given me just like he did Abraham his promises and ultimately his promise that he’s rep preparing a better country for us and he’s going to bring us there as Jerry Bridges mentioned in the trust in God book life is like we walk with a curtain before us that just gradually recedes as we move forward we can’t really see what’s on the other side of that curtain that is the way that life is we have to accept that but we can remember the God who is with us and guiding us all the way he will not fail to bring us exactly where we need to go and ultimately that is to himself as we Face uncertainty just like Abraham did we can obey God we can trust God but we can go to the place that he has to show us even if he’s only going to show us the way little by little truly Heaven mindedness eternity mindedness it ought to set us apart from the people in the world God has shown us that there is another country a better one where he is so gratitude must not be have as much fun as you can until it’s all over but instead prepare for the happiness that awaits us and welcome it now lay up Treasures in Heaven not on Earth pursue Deeds that will result in your joy when Jesus judges all your works not that which will simply burn up believe God that the happiest life lived is the one given up for Christ’s sake and for the gospel and the worst life lived is the one that sought to squeeze every ounce of happiness from the world and its passing Pleasures Abram understood this which is why he obeyed though he slipped at times as we’ll see he grew in his understanding just as we do but he he did have that fundamental conviction that we also ought to have the Heavenly country was the one really to get excited about well today we’ve seen God gracious call to Abram and Abram’s response by faith that looked beyond even the Earthly Promises to the goodness of God himself let’s now proceed to the last step of our method we have observe interpret what’s step number three apply application where we ask ourselves how does it work the scriptures are always meant to work out in a relevant and transforming way in our lives the question is how you want to think on that in the application Step In Truth we’ve already been talking about application a little bit I’ve been pointing out to you some application from this passage but let’s look at a few more questions before we conclude our lesson we know that God has promised to reward those who place their faith in him when can we expect to receive those rewards return When Christ returns is that the only time in a sense what you said about Abraham before was that God himself was the reward there’s a sense in which we can experience that now I think of First Peter 1 when it talks about that although we do not see him we love him and experience his presence yeah that’s right so this is an answer that kind of has two answers that don’t really or this is a question that has two answers that don’t really contradict so there is it is true that in some ways we experience the reward now even yes sometimes by God bringing about blessing in our circumstances to walk in the Lord’s way is the path of blessing But ultimately as as Mark said the essence of our reward is God we will experience the fullness of that reward only when we see Christ but we taste it in a way that is full even now because we have Christ in us we have god with us and we get to know and enjoy him as we soour through the world so it’s an already and not yet when we talk about the reward of God and believe me we must be motivated by the reward of God because that’s fundamental to Faith what does Hebrews say that going back to the passage so I don’t misquote it Hebrews 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek Him ultimately the reward of himself next question have you ever heard the expression you are so Heavenly minded that you are no earthly good is this a biblically grounded idea in light of what we’ve been studying today no why not we must be mind we must first see the things around us we must first see the the things that is happening around us and we said no this is only for time but then we look at the Heavenly things which will be Eternal so it’s it’s not a say I’m you’re too Heavenly minded you have to first see our surrounding and live in our surrounding only to and to please him then we can place our faith and that Heavenly promise that he has given to us yeah I think you you hit the essence of a Glenda we are commanded in the scriptures to be Heavenly minded so there’s there’s a very important part of the answer but that actually does have practical outworkings in the world now uh Danny I think I saw your hand as well did you want to say something Colossians okay yeah so Danny was going to quote Colossians again which says you need to put your mind on things above Mark you were going to say something yeah in reinforcement to what nenda said in Romans 8:24 that it says the hope that is seen is not hope but if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance we wait eagerly for it so it’s meant to the not seeeing is actually meant to fuel our perseverance in this life yeah so the not seeing the having faith and and not seeing the full outcome of it it yet that is actually a motivation for perseverance in this world that maybe a simple way to answer this question is those who blame Heavenly mindedness for lack of usefulness in the world they don’t really understand what Heavenly mindedness is or maybe the person doesn’t who seems to be acting in a Heavenly minded way if you are Heavenly minded you are actually going to walk wisely and obediently in the world if you aren’t doing that if you’re not being an ambassador for Christ if you’re not living in a in a loving and and spiritually productive way on the earth you haven’t really become Heavenly minded you don’t really understand uh the scriptures or your lord the way that you ought to that’s where so many supposedly spiritually minded people have gotten off course in the past where they just want to withdraw from the world now if you really want to draw closer to Christ it actually means being in the world not of the world that you are serving the lord in the world though even though you are not living the way that the world does one other question speaking of the world how does the world react to the idea of storing up Treasures in Heaven rather than seeking to build fortunes and seek Pleasures here on the earth generally they think that’s foolish especially in our culture that’s silly that’s wishful thinking why not pay attention to your feelings acknowledge reality for what it is it’s all over after you die you could only you should only focus on what you can gain in experience now the people of the world are often confused or even offended that we don’t do as they do but this should not surprise us because Jesus and the apostles told us that’s exactly the way it’s going to be I think of 1 Peter 41:5 1 Peter 41:5 I can’t read the whole thing but basically it the first part talks about arming yourself to suffer having given up the pursuit of the course of the Gentiles which you previously walked in and received no Prophet then it says in Verses 4 and 5 in all this they the Gentiles with whom you formerly caroused they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation and they malign you but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead we should be ready for this if we adopt the Abraham mindset which is really the mindset of Christ and all the people of faith we are not living for this world we’re living for the world to come the world is not going to understand this they’re going to ridicule this they’re going to be offended by this and they’re going to say no no no give up you’re too weird you’re you you got too far into that religion thing come back with us they don’t understand but they will give an account just as we will to him who will judge the living and the dead so let’s expect that let’s arm ourselves to suffer with perseverance for the sake of the reward that is coming after and the reward that we experience in part now by faith in Christ all right those are my questions couple minutes left comments or questions on today’s lesson Arthur yeah away yeah I I just wanted to um bring out the fact that you know when you think about any story know this being God’s story um when we talk about uh what it is we should be looking for we need to go back to Genesis and remember when God put Adam in even Genesis the Tree of Life as opposed to the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil we are in a time where the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil has an impact on each and every one of our Lives we haven’t really experienced what it’s like in a world where the Tree of Life in other words Jesus talked about eternal life that God gave him Authority it’s in I forgot which verse in the New Testament which says God has given authority over all people um to give eternal life to those um who trust and kind of adding to that that trust in God so it’s eternal life and what is eternal life to know God and to know Jesus and you can only do that um in the uh I I in this setting that God originally meant for man to live in and that setting is without evil in the world so um that’s what I look forward to um as a Christian when um when we will be in the presence of God and you know have we have eternal life now but yet we wait for its fulfillment yeah Arthur just to comment on your comment the idea that we can have joy in the Lord now yet we have no idea the heights of joy that are coming in the future in a world without sin in a world where we dwell visibly with Christ psalm 16 says that at God’s right hand our Pleasures forever more I sometimes remind myself when I see some nice thing in this world passing away like oh you know this this person is getting old and I can’t see them anymore or or this person just passed away or um the story is over and there’s no not going to be able to enjoy that anymore it’s like all of this is just little pictures of it’s going to be so much better later all the things that you’re like oh I’m sorry that ended God says wait till you see what I’ve got coming for you those those Joys won’t end and it’ll be at a much higher level because then we will know Christ in a way that we’ve never known him before and we will dwell in his new heavens and new earth one other comment or question yeah Cheryl so in response to you are so Heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good you know I was thinking about when when people were saying in the first century we’re looking for the kingdom we’re waiting for the kingdom and Jesus says it is here because he was there and and I think that now that we are indwell with his spirit so the kingdom really is here so granted like we don’t have the capacity because we’re still in our sinful flesh to completely like you said experience it I do think that probably we don’t live as if the kingdom has been deposited within us enough so it’s almost like we’re not that Heavenly minded if we keep thinking we have to wait mhm you know and we are waiting but you know it’s actually here yeah and I think if we live with that reality it’ll help us to endure you know yeah I that’s a good point you make Cheryl and it makes me think also of Jesus words in John which we’ve been studying over the last year where he says I give them eternal life presently not I will give them eternal life but I give it to them now you don’t have to wait until the the kingdom arrives to a sense enjoy the kingdom and be a part of the Kingdom you don’t have to uh wait until the coming of Christ to enjoy Christ you already have him and you uh amazingly by the spirit you are in Union with him and if as you say if we if we can learn to appreciate that more and more not only will that greatly affect our joy and peace but it will be part of enabling us to walk in Greater Holiness with the Lord now that’s this reality is not like a a switch that you flip where it’s like I’m totally not enjoying the kingdom or believing that I have Jesus Christ and now I totally do and everything’s easy it’s something that we grow in and that’s what we’re going to see with these Patriarchs Abraham Isaac Jacob they show amazing feats of Faith but they also show amazing feats of doubt and sin but God grows each one of them and by the time you get to the end of their lives you’re like wow what H what has God done how he brought them so far and guess what he’s doing that with us too and that’s what we pray for Lord help me be more like you I’m still going to sin and Lord I’m still going to repent and I’m still seek you more but Lord I know that the work that you’ve begun you’re not done with yet you’re going to continue to do it thank you God that you’re never going to leave me or forsake me bring me all the way until you bring me into your heavenly Kingdom that’s a good place to end our lesson let me close in a word of prayer next time we’ve got hostway who’s going to lead us in Genesis 13 with Abram and lot and look at how they end up splitting up all right let me pray Lord thank you for this time thank you for the encouragement of your scriptures I pray Lord that we would live with the right grasp of already and not yet so that we may enjoy you now and seek greater Holiness until you come but look with expectation and joy in the fullness that is to be Unleashed when you bring about your new heavens and new earth and you bring us into it in Jesus name amen thank you everyone