When It's Hard To Believe God

When It's Hard To Believe God, Abraham Series – Part 7, Genesis 18:1-15

Genesis 18:1-15

“And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on- since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." 10 The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."                   

- Genesis 18:1-15

God Desires Covenant Relationship

God Desires Covenant Relationship, Abraham Series – Part 6, Genesis 17:1-27

Genesis 17:1-27

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,  2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."  3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,  4 "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.  5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.  6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.  7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.  8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."  9 And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.  10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.  11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.  12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,  13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.  14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."  15 And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."  17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"  18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"  19 God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.  20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.  21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year."  22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.  23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.  24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.  25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.  26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.  27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him."                                

- Genesis 17:1-27

God's Faithfulness To The Unfaithful

God’s Faithfulness To The Unfaithful, Abraham Series – Part 5, Genesis 16:1-16

Genesis 16:1-16

16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
    and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
    because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
    his hand against everyone
    and everyone's hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

A Righteousness By Faith

A RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH, Abraham Series – Part 4

TEXT:

“After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."  2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"  3 And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir."  4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir."  5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."  6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.  7 And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess."  8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"  9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."  10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.  11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.  12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.  13 Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.  14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.  15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.  16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."  17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.  18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,  19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,  20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,  21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites." 

Genesis 15:1-21

“Who Blesses Your Life?”

“WHO BLESSES YOUR LIFE?”, “Abraham” Series – Part 3, Genesis 14:14-24

TEXT:

“When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.  16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.  17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).  18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)  19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;  20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.  21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself."  22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,  23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'  24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share."

- Genesis 14:14-24

A Different Kind of Life

“A DIFFERENT KIND OF LIFE, “ “Abraham” Series – Part 2

TEXT:

“Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.  11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,  12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.  13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake."

- Genesis 12:10-13  

“So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.  2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.  3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,  4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD.  5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,  6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,  7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.  8 Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.  9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left."  10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)  11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.  12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.  13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.  14 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,  15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.  16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.  17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."  18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.”

- Genesis 13:1-18

When God Calls

“WHEN GOD CALLS,” “Abraham” Series – Part 1, Genesis 11:27-12:9

Note of Correction: Within the sermon, Seth was said to be the son of Noah. This was wrong. Seth was the son of Adam. Shem was the son of Noah. “Seth” was said by mistake.

TEXT:

“11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans.29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.31 Terah 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 forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.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 dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.8 From there he moved to the hill country 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 upon the name of the LORD.”- Genesis 11:27-12:9

Our Redemption

Our Redeemer, “Ruth” Series – Part 9, Ruth 4:1-22

TEXT:

“Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, "Turn aside, friend; sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.  2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.  3 Then he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.  4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, 'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you." And he said, "I will redeem it."  5 Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance."  6 Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it."  7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.  8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," he drew off his sandal.  9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.  10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day."  11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,  12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman."  13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.  14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!  15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."  16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.  17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.  18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,  19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,  20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,  21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,  22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.”

- Ruth 4:1-22