Walking by Faith

Thank you, man.

If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

One thing I love about the Word of God is that it is truth.

It speaks it clearly, and even when it's not pretty or fun,

even when you don't agree with it, it still speaks the truth.

It's filled with biographies, among other things, of men and women,

and it shows and tells the truth.

Oliver Cromwell was a 17th century English statesman.

And a hero.

And he was known for his authenticity and his frankness.

And it is told that one day he set for a portrait to be painted of him.

And he told the painter this.

Mr. Lilly, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me

and not flatter me at all,

but remark all these roughest roughness, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me.

Otherwise, I will never pay a farthing for it.

Ugly or not.

And in reality, all of our lives have some ugly in them.

The biographies of the Word of God shows warts and all.

It tells us after Noah trusted the Lord so faithfully

and built an ark in a desert before it ever rained.

Went on that ark with all those animals.

When he came off that ark, he went to the vineyard.

And he enjoyed himself too much.

It tells us that David was in the wrong place at the wrong time

and made wrong choices.

It tells us that Paul was very wrong before he became very right.

And thank God for Peter.

If you've ever said anything stupid in your life and wish you hadn't,

you thank God for Peter.

And if you don't know that you've said anything stupid, well, pitiful.

But anyway, because we all have.

And Abraham in that same way is known for his soul-stirring faith, but.

And over the next few weeks together,

we're going to look at Abraham

and look at what it means to walk by faith.

The steps of his faith.

Along with, because Scripture puts it there for us,

his buts along the way.

Because not only does he deal with those,

but so do we.

I want you to imagine, if you will,

you're in the desert.

You are parched in the desert.

You look around and there's little hope around.

You're getting very dry and you are needing relief

and you just want a sip of water more than anything else.

You'd give all you had just for a drink of water

and you look around and you see a water pump.

A water pump there and hanging from the pump is a canteen.

And that canteen, thank God, is filled with water.

And there's a sign on it.

And the sign reads,

beneath your feet

is all the fresh, cool water you'll ever need,

but the pump will not work

unless it's primed with water.

And the canteen

contains exactly enough water

to prime

the pump.

Sure enough, you open the canteen

and there's water

in the canteen.

What do you do?

How old's that note?

Who wrote it?

Are they reliable?

A canteen full of water

sure wouldn't feel good right now,

but a well,

whoo!

What do you do?

If you trust the sign,

do you pour your life away?

Abraham

had a lot of decisions

like that.

Tough decisions.

Do you keep what's in the hand

or do you go after what's in the bush?

Abraham believed

the promises of God.

He is the quintessential model

of faith

even though

he did not come

from a strong heritage of faith.

The passage we look at today

says that they were in

in Or

and the reality is

he was raised there

and Stephen tells us that

in the book of Acts.

And Or was known

for their idolatry

particularly

worshipping

a moon god

ironically

named Sin.

And it is a sin

to worship

a moon god.

Joshua tells us

that he and his family

he

he and the family

that raised him

worshipped

other gods.

So it was not like

Abram

went looking for God.

No, God came

to him.

And what we know

most about him

is his obedient faith.

we know him

because of his faith.

However,

I will tell you

from the get-go

it was far from perfect.

It was strong faith.

It was an imperfect faith.

But it is here

and God's word

gives it to us

as we march

through his life together

so that we can learn

from it.

Not just the high points.

And thank God

not just the low points.

But we can learn

from all of it.

And so today

I want us to look

at the call

upon Abram's life.

That was his name

early in his life

and God changed it.

The call that was

placed upon him

and if you're like me

when you hear somebody

talk about a call

put upon somebody

you may think

if you're old fashioned

like me

you may think

of a call

upon a preacher's life.

That God's called

somebody to the ministry.

God's called

and that is true

and I believe in that

and I believe

that God put his hand

upon me

and I believe

he revealed it to me

so clearly.

It was a burning bush

type experience for me

and anytime you get down

on Monday morning

I go back to the call

of the Lord Jesus

that he placed

upon my life

and I believe

the reason why

I do what I do

and why I continue

to do it now

right at 30 years later

is because God

placed a call

upon my life.

So I don't back up

upon that at all

but the reality is

God's put a call

on all of our lives

in some form or fashion.

It's not all for the same thing

but he's put a call

upon all of us

and he wants us all

to walk

in faithful obedience

following

whatever it is

that he's put there

before us

and how we do it

may be very different

but

we're to do

what he would have us

to do.

but I'll tell you

the walk

of faith

is where it's at.

Genesis chapter 12

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 1

says this

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.

Don't read over

that too quick.

I want you to hear

what the Lord told him.

Go from your country

from your kindred

not just the family

you don't like

I mean all of them

and your father's house

and I'm not going to tell you

where to go yet

to the land

that I will show you

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.

I will bless

those who bless you

and him who dishonors you

I'll curse

and in you

all the families

of the earth

shall be blessed.

So Abram went

as the Lord

had told him

it's a good one

to underline

if you're an underliner

and lot with him

he was 75 years old

when he departed

from Haram.

God told him

to leave

everything

as he knew it

and he did

and

he don't always

tell you

to leave

everything

that you got

to be obedient

but he can

but there are

some characteristics

of Abraham's

walk of faith

that is similar

to us

when God leads us

and I want you

to get that

this morning

to walk

by faith

you have

this I have to

you have to

walk out

of your comfort zone

you can't stay

where you're comfortable

and go with God

God

does not always

require you

to leave your country

but he might

he don't always

require you

to leave your people

but he might

he don't always

call you

to leave your

livelihood

but he might

but to walk

by faith

he will always

lead you

out of your

comfort zone

you cannot

stay where you

are

and go with

where God

would have you

you can't do

both

some folks

need to change

where they are

some folks

need to change

who they're

hanging out with

some folks

need to change

what they're

doing

Abram had to

do all

of that

everyone

does not

have to do

all of that

but I will

assure you

that walking

with God

will take

you out

of your

comfort zone

you cannot

stay

where you

are

and go

with where

God

would have

you to go

when you

surrender

your life

to the Lord

Jesus

it's a

no holds

barred deal

there's no

territory

of your

life

that is

off limits

to the

Lord

if you're

in complete

obedience

to following

him

and you're

walking

by faith

now I will

be clear

about something

God's not

going to tell

you to leave

your spouse

and God's

not going to

tell you to

abandon

your kids

and if you

come to me

and tell me

that's what

God told me

to do

I'll tell

you wrong

God's not

going to tell

you to forsake

all matters

of sins

that's not

what God

does

as a matter

of fact

it's a

pretty good

sign

when you

see somebody

getting a

scurry

and make

a lot of

quick rash

decisions

that they

can't stick

to

that they're

off course

kind of like

a proverb

it's not

not exactly

a promise

but it's a

good wise

saying to

understand

that when

things get

a little

chaotic

God's not

in the

chaos

need to

take a

break

swallow

and a

breath

and a

prayer

and see

where you're

at

he will

challenge

you though

he will

he will

touch on

the things

in your

life

that we

consider

untouchable

he will

unsettle

the waters

of your

life

he will

rock

your

world

Vance

Havner

put it

this way

he said

Abraham's

tent

knew no

secure

foundations

only

pegs

driven

in the

desert

sand

I think

we have

to ask

ourselves

how deep

are my

pegs

driven

how set

am I

in my

ways

how set

am I

in what

I want

how open

am I

to follow

the Lord

because to

go with

God

you've got

to walk

out of

your comfort

zone

and walk

by faith

it is

a walk

by faith

not only

that but

to walk

by faith

we have

to trust

what God

has for

us

you have

to trust

him

God

has

much

more

in store

for Abraham

than he

could ever

imagine

but he

he could

not get

it where

he was

he had

to move

out of

his comfort

zone

and trust

God

and that's

a prerequisite

of the

Lord

you know

what a

prerequisite

is

it's

in college

if you

take

one

class

after

another

sometimes

if you

take

English

102

you have

to have

English

101

and they

won't let

you in

that class

until you

followed

that

God

has

prerequisites

in our

life

and the

prerequisite

that he

has in

our life

is steps

of faith

lead to

promises

but we

have to

follow

those

steps

but you

have to

trust

God

and what

he has

for us

now let's

go back

for just

a moment

and let's

see where

Abram

came from

because

Genesis 11

Genesis 11:31

verse 31

and 32

says this

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

now

let me

pause

there

if you

know

anything

about

Old

Testament

history

you may

have

heard

of the

Chaldeans

or if

mispronounced

the Chaldeans

whatever you

want to

call them

but you

may have

heard of

them

they are

a ruthless

bunch

godless

known

for it

they're not

just hanging

out there

that's where

they're from

so we're

not talking

about a

saintly

godly

heritage

here

we're talking

about somebody

who's lived

in the

enemy's

land

and been

one of

them

he travels

out

to go

to the

land of

Canaan

but when

they came

to Haran

they settled

there

if you're

an underliner

that's a good

place to

underline

they settled

there

the days

of terror

were 205

years

and terror

died

in Haran

so I want

you to get

this

they started

on their

way to

where God

would do

a mighty

work in

their life

but they

didn't get

there

they stopped

halfway

they stopped

at Haran

which would

look like a

good place

to stop

it's a good

stopping point

when we

would travel

from Mississippi

to South

Carolina

again and

again

after they

built

Buc-ee's

outside of

Birmingham

it's a good

place to

stop

you know

not only do

you have

250 gas

pumps

you got

the cleanest

restrooms

in America

and they are

cutting brisket

all the time

it's a good

place to

stop

Haran felt

like that

it's like

the Buc-ee

that's going

too far

but anyway

it felt

like that

it was

thought of

as a

promising

land

in itself

now I want

you to get

this

Abram didn't

leave his

father he

brought some

family with

him

and he

stopped

halfway to

where he

was supposed

to go

and interestingly

enough

Haran was a

key city

on a trade

route

influenced by

the surrounding

cities of

Damascus

and Nineveh

and it was

probably a place

of abundance

and an

opportunity

to be rich

good place

to stop

it was also

one of two

key places

of worship

for those

who worshipped

the moon

god

I've already

told you about

that before

whose name

was

five of

you are

listening

sin

there were

two main

spots

Ur of the

Chaldeans

and Haran

and that was

where the two

temples were

for the moon

god's sin

and that's

where they

stopped

chapter 12

sounds like

the call of

god came

to him

after they

were already

in Haran

but that's

not really

the case

Stephen

in his

powerful

gospel

oriented

speech

in Acts

Acts 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

tells us

that God

told Abraham

to leave

before he

ever left

Ur of the

Chaldeans

so Abram

did not

leave his

family as

he was

told

and then

he only

went

halfway

to where

God

led him

and he

probably

had some

mixed

motives

along the

way

they

stopped

at Haran

a supposedly

prosperous

place

but ironically

the meaning

of the word

in Hebrew

Haran

is parched

so what

he thought

was promising

was not

it was actually

parched

dry

and spiritually

fruitless

now to me

Haran

symbolizes

when we

do it

our way

when we

go with

God

just long

enough

to where

it starts

to get

uncomfortable

or when

we go

with

God

just

enough

when

we're

going

to

worship

instead

of

worshiping

and there

is a

difference

it's that

religion

without

change

instead

of life

changing

religion

it's

doing

things

halfway

and I'm

not going

to tell

you

what my

high school

football

coach

called

that

it's

not

getting

it

done

and let

me be

very

clear

I

believe

anything

that we

do

individually

for the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

we

shouldn't

do it

halfway

we ought

to do

it all

the way

and pick

his first

Baptist

church

as a

church

of Jesus

Christ

committed

to the

cause

of

Christ

I

don't

think

anything

we

do

ought

to

be

halfway

I

believe

he

deserves

our

best

and I

believe

anything

we

put

our

name

to

we

ought

to

give

it

everything

we

got

for

the

honor

and

the

glory

of

God

amen

amen

I'll

let

you

sign

up

in

the

foyer

never

go

halfway

with

God

it

will

not

be

fruitful

it's

not

like

you

get

half

the

fruit

no

no

no

you

miss

out

it's

not

fruitful

you'll

spend

way

too

much

time

in

unfruitful

territory

and

Abraham

did

not

leave

Haran

until

he

was

75

years

old

he

stayed

there

too

long

folks

once

his

father

was

gone

he

moved

on

sometimes

the

things

you

dread

the

most

frees

you

up

the

most

sometimes

the

transitions

in

your

life

that

you

absolutely

dread

are

the

very

things

that

God

can

use

to

propel

you

to

the

next

level

anybody

that

is

more

important

to

you

or

whose

opinion

weighs

out

more

than

the

influence

of

God

is

an

idol

to

you

and

it

is

not

that

person's

fault

even

though

they

may

enjoy

being

in

that

position

it

is

not

that

person's

fault

it

is

your

fault

because

we

have

to

give

up

those

idols

we

must

remove

our

own

idols

to

get

to

the

place

that

God

would

have

us

to

be

in

order

to

be

used

of

God

we've

got

to

walk

by

faith

and

the

only

way

we

can

do

that

is

to

step

out

of

our

comfort

zone

and

to

trust

God

for

what

he

has

for

us

and

then

also

to

let

God

have

his

way

in

our

life

now

somebody

is

going

to

tell

me

afterwards

about

the

sovereignty

of

God

I

agree

he

can

do

anything

he

wants

and

that's

true

but

he's

a

gentleman

and

he

doesn't

force

his

way

he

gives

us

a

chance

he

initiates

it

and

gives

us

a

chance

and

when

we

follow

it

he

blesses

our

lives

he

told

Abraham

who's

called

Abram

here

he

said

when

you

do

this

verse

2

and

3

says

and

I

will

make

you

a

great

nation

and

I

will

bless

you

and

make

your

name

great

so

that

you'll

be

a

blessing

I

will

bless

those

who

bless

you

and

him

who

dishonors

you

I'll

curse

and

in

you

all

the

families

of the

earth

shall

be

blessed

what

God

tells

him

sounds

impossible

because

the man

is 75

years old

he has

no

children

and

his

wife

has

been

barren

and

he

lives

in

a

barren

parched

land

not

exactly

great

but

God

says

I'm

going

to

make

you

a

great

nation

but

God

says

I'm

going

to

bless

you

but

God

says

I'll

make

you

a

blessing

God

does

the

work

when

we

walk

by

faith

he

also

spoke

of

protecting

him

he

also

spoke

of

blessing

people

through

him

if I

understand

that

correctly

all the

families

of the

earth

shall

be

blessed

that

sounds

like

us

folks

that

we're

blessed

because

somebody

thousands

of years

ago

walked

by

faith

with

God

none

of that

is

possible

until

we

surrender

go all

the way

with the

Lord

and

when

we

do

the

potential

is

beyond

our

imagination

but

you

say

but

pastor

I

would

commit

but

I

don't

know

what's

coming

I

don't

know

that

I

can

you

know

the

only

one

that

knows

what's

coming

is

the

one

who

will

lead

you

to

follow

him

and

he's

also

the

one

that

will

empower

you

to

do

whatever

he's

asked

you

to

do

and

if

you

don't

know

if

you

can

I

will

clearly

tell

you

you

cannot

nor

can

I

that's

why

God

said

you

will

be

a

blessing

I'll

make

you

a

blessing

I'll

do

the

blessing

and

I'll

make

you

great

it

is

not

until

we

sacrifice

our

ways

for

his

that

we

ever

tap

into

what

God

really

has

for

us

and

I

will

tell

you

in

Haran

Abraham

didn't

tap

into

it

it

wasn't

until

there

was

a

death

and

a

transition

that

Abram

really

found

his

next

level

that's

a walk

of

faith

not

that

you

know

what's

on

life's

path

ahead

of

you

but

that

you

know

the

one

that

promises

that

he'll

level

your

path

the

one

that

promises

he'll

straighten

your

path

the

one

that

promises

he'll

light

your

path

not

that

you

know

what

tomorrow

holds

but

thank

God

that

you

know

who

holds

tomorrow

and

that

you

can

trust

him

today

for

whatever

tomorrow

may

hold

there

was a

letter

a note

more so

found in

the office

of a young

pastor in

Zimbabwe a few

years ago

and it

said this

I'm part

of the

fellowship

of the

unashamed

I have

the Holy

Spirit

power

the die

has been

cast

I've

stepped

over the

line

the decision

has been

made

I'm a

disciple

of his

I won't

look back

I won't

let up

I won't

slow down

I won't

back away

or I won't

be still

my past

is redeemed

my present

makes sense

my future

is secure

I'm

finished

and done

with low

living

sight walking

smooth knees

colorless

dreams

tamed

colorless

dreams

and tame

visions

worldly

talking

and cheap

giving

and dwarf

goals

I no longer

need

preeminence

prosperity

position

promotions

praise

or popularity

I don't

have to be

right

or first

are tops

are recognized

are praised

are regarded

are rewarded

I now live

by faith

I lean in

his presence

I walk

by patience

am lifted

up uplifted

by prayer

and I labor

with power

my face

is set

my gate

is fast

my goal

is heaven

my road

is narrow

my way

is rough

my companions

are few

my guide

is reliable

and my mission

is clear

I cannot

be bought

compromised

detoured

lured away

turned back

deluded

or delayed

I will not

flinch

in the face

of sacrifice

hesitate

in the presence

of the enemy

pander at the

pool of popularity

or meander

in the maze

of mediocrity

I will not

give up

shut up

let up

until I have

stayed up

stored up

prayed up

paid up

preached up

for the cause

of Christ

I am a disciple

of Jesus

I must go

till he comes

give till I drop

preach till all I know

and work till he stops me

and when he comes

for his own

he will have no problem

recognizing me

my banner

will be clear

they found that

in the desk

of a young

pastor in Zimbabwe

after he was

martyred for his

faith

God does not

want you

to die for him

he wants you

to live for him

and the only

way to do that

is to walk

by faith

go

and he'll

guide you

come

and he'll

lead you

with every

head bowed

and every

eye closed

I want to ask

you this morning

what is it

that's holding

you back

from giving

God

your very

best

primarily

has there

ever been

a time

in your

life

when you

surrendered

your life

to the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

when you

said

Lord

I know

that I'm

a sinner