IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ABRAHAM - PART 3

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Vernon Hubbard
5 years ago
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1 I have spoken so far about Abram responding to God s call. Last Sunday evening I talked about building altars of thankfulness; altars of remembrance. Up to this point he has done well. There was a period of delayed obedience, but on the whole he has responded well. Abraham s story however, is not an unbroken record of success. Genuine faith, as exhibited by Abraham isn t a matter of moving forward without any problems, mistakes or difficulties. This passage we are about to read shows Abraham blundering into a major muddle. Genesis 12: Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine. As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, "Look. We both know that you're a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you they're going to say, 'Aha! That's his wife!' and kill me. But they'll let you live. Do me a favor: tell them you're my sister. Because of you, they'll welcome me and let me live." When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh's princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh. Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But GOD hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick. Pharaoh called for Abram, "What's this that you've done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she's your wife? Why did you say, Don Barry 2011 Page 1

2 'She's my sister' so that I'd take her as my wife? Here's your wife back--take her and get out!" Pharaoh ordered his men to get Abram out of the country. They sent him and his wife and everything he owned on their way. In these verses we have an episode that is anything but high, holy, noble or saintly. Abraham blunders into about as stupid a situation as you could possibly imagine. Each new move of faith will be tested and challenged in some way. These tests come, not necessarily because God is angry with us. He wants to root us more deeply in Himself. Trials, if we respond to them correctly, root us more deeply into God like the strong winds that blow on a tree and cause it to for more deeply than the one that is found in a more sheltered spot. Abraham s testing came in the form of a famine vs. 10. Remember that he lived an agrarian lifestyle so his livelihood depended on pasturing his flocks. When the rains failed his livelihood was severely threatened. His immediate source of sustenance was endangered. In the face of this trial and testing Abram packed up his possessions and rode his camel right out of the will of God. {Where you run to in times of pressure says a lot about you} There s no record of his seeking God about his decision. It seems that he took counsel from his fears alone. A natural catastrophe, followed by a wrong response leads to a personal catastrophe. Don Barry 2011 Page 2

3 What should he have done in the face of this famine? How are we to respond to the times of testing that come our way? God had appeared to Abram, He had confirmed the ownership of this land to him. He knew he was where God had called him. This being so, He should never have started looking towards Egypt for sustenance. Egypt wasn t an option. It was well outside the parameters where God had called him. When famines come, we need to ask questions that go deeper than simply; How can I avoid the pain and stress they cause? Too many believers flee before physical circumstances rather than search out spiritual reasons. Often when we encounter difficulties we run from them we change Churches, jobs, locations or spouses. If there s a famine in Canaan, we move to the nearest place that offers us relief. If that happens to be Egypt, then so be it! The problem for Abram was that God hadn t promised him Egypt, but Canaan. Egypt was well outside the frame of God s call on his life. Sometimes it takes more grace to stay in the land than it took to get there. Rather than simply run from physical circumstances, we should inquire of the Lord regarding spiritual reasons. Why is there a famine? Don Barry 2011 Page 3

4 Reasons vary. There were times in the Old Testament when famine was used by God as an agent of correction. It was an indication of His displeasure and a warning to repent. He often allowed famine to come along and act as barometer of the people s spiritual condition. The land became a mirror image of the people that lived upon it. 1. Kings 8: If there is famine in the land, if there is plague, blasting, mildew, locusts; if there are stripping locusts; if their enemy encircles them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness, any prayer, any supplication from any man of all Your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house, The Inner plague was followed by an outer plague. One was the cause and the other was the effect. To deal only with the outer circumstances was to miss the point of the lesson. Contrast Abraham s response with David s. 2 Samuel 21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. Don Barry 2011 Page 4

5 David inquired of the Lord. As a result there was correction, readjustment and finally an alleviation of the famine. At times famine isn t intended by God to be corrective. He isn t directly behind the circumstances trying to readjust us. It s just that we live in a broken world and these kinds of seasons happen. Even these times test our resolve to keep pursuing the will of God. They do test our commitment to the Word that God has spoken to us. Will you stay in the place of God s appointment? Will you look to some unholy, ungodly respite? Resolve is never tested during times of plain sailing. It is always tested in the storms of life. John 2:23 During the feast many believed on him. J.B.Philips translates, During the festivities No great resolve or commitment is required during festive times. Commitment and resolve are tested in times of famine. Abram headed for Egypt, driven by fear and anxiety. Perhaps he figured that God helps those who help themselves. That s worldly wisdom, not Bible philosophy. Don Barry 2011 Page 5

6 When he lost his faith, he lost his courage as well. Instead of moving from faith to faith, he ended up stumbling from expediency to to expediency. {The offspring of human expediency will always be an Ishmael but that is another lesson later in Abraham s life.} In Egypt we find him telling lies, squirming and manipulating to try and keep himself out of trouble. If it weren t for the interventions of God the situation would have become even more disastrous. God protected Sarai in Egypt. He needed to as she was the vessel through which the promised seed was to come. She was the channel of promise. You can see the strategy of the powers of darkness in this situation. While we have him in Egypt, we will destroy the means by which the future promise will flow. The enemy isn t just producing confusion in the present; they are seeking to contaminate future possibilities as well. God steps in and extricates them from Egypt s grasp. Abram was driven to Egypt by fear, now he is driven out by rebuke and shame. Quite a paradox had developed that was a strong indication that he was outside of the will of God. In Genesis 12:2 the Lord had said, I will make your name great and you shall be a blessing. Don Barry 2011 Page 6

7 What kind of blessing was Abram to Pharaoh and his household? When they were battling with apparently life-threatening plagues, did they feel blessed? I imagine that it would be a blessing they would gladly have gone without! When we operate within the will of God, it s natural for blessings to overflow on those around us. But if you and I start muddling outside the will of God, that blessing dries up and only barrenness remains. Rather than being a blessing to those around us we become a dry well with nothing to offer but disillusionment and disappointment. We become a hindrance to lost people finding God rather than a help. There s no record of Abraham building an altar in Egypt. There s no growth in grace in this place. He finally makes his way back to Canaan. It was a costly detour. Genesis 16:3-4. So Sarai, Abram's wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. Abram had been living ten years in Canaan when this took place. He slept with Hagar and she got pregnant. When she learned she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress. While in Egypt, Hagar joined Team Abraham. Don Barry 2011 Page 7

8 What a disaster one that plagues the family of Abraham to this day. Also, Lot possibly never recovered from his time in Egypt. He later chooses to live in Sodom because it reminded him of Egypt. {Genesis 13:10 Lot looked. He saw the whole plain of the Jordan spread out, well watered (this was before GOD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), like GOD's garden, like Egypt, and stretching all the way to Zoar. } How does all this relate to us? Times of famine come to all of us. I m not talking about a shortage of physical bread. It can be Relational famine. Financial famine. Ministry opportunities. Physical health. Our response when these times come is crucial. Where do you run to? Don t simply run before physical circumstances. Search out spiritual reasons. If God doesn t indicate the need for repentance and realignment, and He will if there is a need, then recognize that this test is about your resolve to follow God in both the festive times and the famine times. Don Barry 2011 Page 8

9 {Trouble isn t always a proof that you are out of the will of God. On the contrary, it may prove that you are in it.} Don t run to Egypt for relief. Going to Egypt means adopting attitudes, expectations and resources of this world s ways and thinking outside the parameters of God s call to you. Maybe a physical move to escape a problem. A change of city, church or even country. E.g. Jonah. Maybe temporarily suspending principles you know God has called you to walk in for example tithing in the face of financial pressure or famine. Entering into a shady business deal to stave off financial famine. Dating or marrying a non Christian to gain some imagined relational security or companionship usually with disastrous results. Sometimes when we can t flee physically, we simply flee mentally. We escape the unpleasant reality of the famine by retreating to some arena in our life where we allow fantasy and unreality to rule us. A mental Egypt where life somehow seems more bearable. Even though we know such thoughts are wrong, we justify them by saying At least I m not doing anything wrong. Jesus nailed this area by saying, If you do this in your mind, then you have actually done it. Endless movies, videos, TV soaps. Don Barry 2011 Page 9

10 Constant round of social activities. Alcohol, overeating, or anyone of a dozen other analgesics that Egypt offers to dull the pain of the famine in our hearts. UNREALITY CAN NEVER SET YOU FREE; ONLY THE TRUTH CAN DO THAT. You need to understand that while you linger in your Egypt not only is there confusion in your present, but the powers of darkness will attempt to contaminate you so your future possibilities are at least detoured, if not destroyed. The Beatles used to sing a song caned, Get Back. One of the lines said, Get back to where you once belonged... Get back to where you started from and call on the name of the Lord. He has the resources and He s not unwilling to release them. He won t release them to you while you re in Egypt. You need to be in the place of His appointment. {Not always geography, but definitely always obedience.} Don Barry 2011 Page 10

NOMADS SERIES WEEK THREE: LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES PASTOR JOHN MCKINZIE

NOMADS SERIES WEEK THREE: LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES PASTOR JOHN MCKINZIE How many of you have made mistakes in your life? We all have. Here are some lessons we can learn from Abram. Here are our three sermons