Alright, let's take our Bibles
and I'd like to read the verses that I'd like to deal with tonight. Genesis chapter 12, I want to
read verses 10 and I want to read through the fourth verse
of chapter 13. Genesis chapter 12 and verse
10. The scripture says, and there
was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to
sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land. And
it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt,
that he said unto Sarai his wife, behold, now I know that thou
art a fair woman to look upon. Therefore, it shall come to pass,
when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, this
is his wife, and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my
sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul
shall live because of thee. And it came to pass, that when
Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman, that
she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw
her and commended her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken
into Pharaoh's house. And he had treated Abram well
for her sake. And he had sheep and oxen and
he asses and men servants and maid servants and she asses and
camels. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh
and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and
said, what is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst
thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou she
is my sister? So I might have taken her to
me, to wife. Now therefore behold thy wife,
take her and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men
concerning him, and they sent him away, and his wife, and all
that he had. And Abram went up out of Egypt,
he and his wife, and all that he had, and lot with him into
the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle,
in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from
the south, even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had
been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai, unto the place
of the altar, which he had made there at the first. And there
Abram called on the name of the Lord." Let's pray together. Our Father, as we call on you
this evening, we're so thankful that we have the privilege to
be able to meet together, to meet in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I pray that you'd be pleased
to bless our services. Bless them, Lord, to your glory
and for the good comfort of your people. For Christ's sake, we
ask these things. Amen. We read this passage of Scripture
many times, but 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 says, all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be perfect, that is, fresh and complete,
throughly furnished unto all good works. The prophets were moved, the
prophets and the apostles were moved by the Spirit of God to
pen the scriptures. And these men that penned, they
did not speak or write from their own heart. But they delivered
what they received of the Lord. They wrote as they were moved,
holy men, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Therefore, all of the Scriptures
are profitable. for all of the purposes of a
believer's life. These scriptures meet the very
foundation of our need. And all of our instruction, all
of our correction, all of our reproof is found in the scriptures. They're suitable for every case. Now, I pray that the Lord teach
us through this passage of scripture tonight of the believers walk. God's mercy to God's people for
his glory our good. Now, the scripture declares that
Abram had come into, he had come unto the land of Canaan. That's what verse 5, latter part
of verse 5. Into the land of Canaan they
came. He passed through or he passed
over the land unto the place called Sycam, to the plain of
Morah. And the Canaanite, verse 7, Scripture
says, was in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram
and told him the land that you're looking at. The Lord had told
him, he said, I'm going to show you the land that I'm going to
give to your seed. And so here was Abraham having
been spoken to by the Lord, and the scripture says that he built
an altar, verse 8, unto the Lord, and he called upon the name of
the Lord. Well, traveling through the land,
the scripture says he moved unto a place on a mountain where a
city, Bethel, was on his west side and Hai, or Ai, a city that
we'll consider later, was on the east. Bethel means the house
of God and Hai means A heap of ruins. So here was Abram on a
mountain. He could see these two cities.
A picture of the believer. Two natures. The house of God. Know you not that you are the
temple of the living God? And also, Hai, or Ai, a heap
of ruins. Man in his best state. Altogether,
vanity. Well, being in that place, and
beholding those cities that were representative of the two natures,
there he built an altar unto the Lord, calling upon the Lord,
and the scripture says then he left. And it says, verse 9, and
Abram journeyed going on still toward the south. Now, verse
10 is where we're going to start considering these scriptures
tonight. We're going to take up where we left off. And I do
pray that the Lord teach us, because there's great instruction
In this event that's getting ready to be considered, we're
going to consider the truth of a believer's life. A truth of Abram's life that
is an exact account. This scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and it happened. But this is an event that was
never mentioned in the New Testament. concerning Abram. The scripture sets forth that
this man was a man that believed God. Abram believed God. The scripture declares that he
was a man who was called the friend of God. A man that was
justified by faith. His name later is going to be
changed to Abraham, which means father of a great multitude. Now right now, his wife is barren. He's getting up in age. And so
here's this man, and we're going to see the life of a believer. The life of a man known and loved
of God. A man that believes God. A man
that walks by faith. A man, the scripture says, when
God told him what he was going to do, bless him, give to him,
give to his seed. The scripture says, in the New
Testament, he staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory unto God. That's what the scripture says
about him. That's what God said about him. Now we're going to,
we're going to consider what happened. And the amazing thing
about this passage of scripture, the Lord is going to show us
what we are as being born in Adam. And we're going to behold
who God says we are as being found in Christ. The scripture declares that the
faith of God's elect, hold your place right there, turn to 1
Peter 1, 1 Peter 1. The faith of God's elect is always,
ever going to be tried. Now I want you to listen to this
first description before we go into this passage for a few minutes.
I read a portion of this scripture a lot, but I want to read verses
3 to 9. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3, blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. wherein ye
greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are
in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of
your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be found under praise and
honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom, having
not seen, ye love. in whom though now ye see him
not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full
of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation
of your souls." Now here's Abraham, considering everything that the
scripture says concerning Abraham. Hebrews chapter 11, by faith,
by faith, by faith. Abraham staggered not, he wavered,
he didn't, at God's promise. Now, Abraham is going to be set
forth in these scriptures right here, teaching us some things
about ourselves. True faith, which Abraham possessed,
always has its trials, always. It's never to be imagined that
a true believer will ever find his walk through this world to
be what men usually set forth as just smooth sailing. No mention is made in the scriptures
that we were looking at, getting ready to come into verse 10. There's no mention made that
the Lord instructed Abram to go into Egypt. There was a famine
in Canaan. But knowing that the Lord was
ordering all things for God's glory and the good of His people.
Now, I'm telling you, this instruction that all Scripture is given by
inspiration of God is profitable for instruction. reproof, for
correction. We need to hear what happened
to this man. What happened to him? I want
you to look at this trial that he was in. Abram, by the good
pleasure of God, was allowed to go into Egypt. And the scripture
says in verse 10, there was a famine in the land and Abram went down
into Egypt to sojourn there, to reside temporarily. That's
what it means. It doesn't say that he made any
plans to stay there, but he was permitted of God that he might,
by example, discover something of his own weakness, and at the
same time, discover the unwavering faithfulness of God and God's
omnipotent hand of deliverance to the objects of his mercy.
The scripture says in verses 11 to 13, it came to pass when
he was come near to enter into Egypt that he said unto Sarai,
his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to
look upon. Therefore, it shall come to pass
when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, this
is his wife, and they will kill me. but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my
sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul
may live because of thee. Now, we're going to find out
in chapter 20 of this book, this happens again. It's not the first
time that this happened. Well, we'll just consider this
for just a few minutes. Now, the trials that Abram would
suffer and suffer according to the good pleasure of God for
the learning of all God's people. Here is one that truly sets forth
what we are by nature. We're sinners. We're sinners. God's people are sinners. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Paul said, of whom I'm chief.
sinners. And what Abram said to Sarai,
his wife, it did have some truth to it. You know, we looked at
that in Genesis chapter 20. We learned from the words of
Abram, verse 12, when Abram said to Abimelech, the king, we'll
look at later, but this is what he said. He said, Abimelech called
him down and said, why'd you say that? You said she was your
sister. And Sarah was confederate to
it. She was in agreement with it.
Here's what he said. He said, indeed, she is my sister.
She's the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother.
And she became my wife. So of truth, in the midst of
what happened to Abram, We see ourselves, we're frail creatures
of the dust. He was a man, he had passions,
he was fearful. He said, they'll kill me, you
tell them you're my sister. Of a truth in the midst of seeing
ourselves as frail creatures of the dust. We can say by the
grace of God, I am what I am. Paul the Apostle said in Romans
7.18, For I know that in me, that is in my flesh. And this
is all God's people. We're all born in Adam. There's none good. No, not one.
Paul the apostle said, I know in me that is in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform
that which is good I find not. But let's learn something fresh
here from Abram's experience. We are going to struggle with
the old man until we leave this world. We're going to struggle
until the Lord is pleased to deliver us from the body of this
death. And it never fails, the fear
of man bringeth a snare. They're coming into Egypt. And
he says, you're a beautiful woman. Sarah, they figure at this time,
was somewhere 65, 70 years old. And Abram told them, he said,
you're a fair woman to look upon. They're going to look on you.
And they're going to say, that's his wife, they're going to kill
me. Say you're my sister. The Lord warned his hearers in
Luke chapter 12. I'll read this for you. Luke
12, verses 4 and 5. Talking about fear. Fear of man
brings a snare. I say unto you, my friends, be
not afraid of them that kill the body. And after that, have
no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom
you shall fear. You fear him which after he hath
killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear
him. Fear him. This flesh is weak. We're weak. But in the midst of this great
trial, we learn also that our Lord toward the vessels of his
mercy will never, no never, no never forsake his own. The Lord had promised Abram his
blessing and his hand of mercy and compassion would be found
upon this man an object of his affection. And God's Word never
fails. It never wavers. There's no shadow
of turning with the Lord. I will bless thee. I will have
mercy on whom I'll have mercy. The Messiah was going to come
into this world through the bloodline of Abraham. Abraham and Sarah would have
a son of God's promise. And therefore the wrath of man
would be restrained toward Abram. And the Lord's will would surely
be done. And even in Abram's weakness,
God's Word stands sure. It would be well, he said in
verse 13, say I pray thee thou art my sister that it may be
well with me for thy sake and my soul shall live because of
thee. And it would be well for Abram's
sake. It would be well for the Messiah
would come through the scriptures as the Lord had declared. Just
let us remember this. Aren't you glad that Almighty
God rules and overrules? Even in our frailty, even in
our weakness, the Lord's ways are not our ways. God Almighty
took aloud that which we would question, but really, are we
not just as guilty? Is there anything that we've
done that we can say, I can truly say I was consistent right there?
It all worked for our good. All things work together for
good. Even our frailties, I've said
before, if it happens to fall under the category of all things.
All things, when we behold the marvelous truth, of God's people
being hedged about by the omnipotent power of God, thanks being to
him, I'll never forsake you. I'll never leave you. Look at
verses 14 to 20. And it came to pass that when
Abram was coming to Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman, that
she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw
her, commended her before Pharaoh, And the woman was taken into
Pharaoh's house, and he entreated Abram well for her sake. And
he had sheep, and oxen, and asses, and menservants, and maidservants,
and she-asses, and camels. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh
and his house with great plagues, diseases, because of Sarai, Abram's
wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and
said, what is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst
thou not tell me she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, she's
my sister? So I might have taken her to
me to wife. Therefore behold thy wife, take
her and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men
concerning him. They sent him away and his wife
and all that he had." All that could be said of this event,
of this we can be sure, by the trial of our faith, The Lord
of heaven proves both the reality of our frailty, but the reality
of our faith, the weakness of it. Though Abram feared for his
life because of Sarai's beauty, The Lord hedged them both about
and the Lord would keep His own. Song of Solomon 412, a garden
enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain
sealed. God's people are kept. They're
kept. Ministering spirits sent to those
that are heirs of salvation. God people are hedged about,
as when Satan came to the Lord, and the Lord said, if you consider
my servant Job, perfect, upright, shoes evil. And Satan said, well,
nothing happened to him, you got him hedged about. You remove
your hand off of him, and he'll curse you to your face. You know
what happened, Lord? Here is a picture, a type, this
is what we are by nature. God says, Abram wavered not. Abram believed God. Abraham believed
God. And it was counted unto him for
righteousness. Oh, the mercy of God to behold
us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and not in Adam. Oh, how God protects his weak
creatures of the dust. If he left us to ourselves, surely
we'd destroy ourselves. But the Lord graciously protects
and keeps and guides his own as the great shepherd of his
sheep. Lastly, I want you to consider
with me for these last few moments the evidence. I can see what we are by nature.
I see what Almighty God has done for us in keeping us, and hedging
us about, and protecting us. But I want us to look in these
last few verses, the first four verses of chapter 13, the preserving
and sustaining grace of God. The Scripture says in Abram,
verse 13, after the king of Pharaoh in Egypt told him, he said, get
out, get out. Abram went up out of Egypt. he and his wife, and all they
had, and lot with him into the south, back into the land of
Canaan. And Abram was very rich in cattle,
in silver, in gold, and he went on his journeys from the south,
even to Bethel, unto the south where his tent had been at the
beginning between Bethel and Hai, unto the place of the altar
which he had made there at the first, And there, Abram called
on the name of the Lord. In the midst of Abram's trials, I can't even imagine the thought
that would go through his mind, the struggles. The Lord teaches us what we are.
as he teaches us who he is. But here we behold the surety
that faith given from above never fails. Never fails. The Lord told Peter concerning
Satan desiring to have him that he might sift him his wheat.
But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. Do you know
why? We still continue to believe
tonight, all God's people. Why? Because the Lord prays that
our faith fail not. You think we're that strong?
You think we're that, you know, got that much intestinal fortitude
and ability? Peter said, I'll never, I'll
never, I'll never, I'll never do that. The Lord says, before
the cock crows, Twice. You'll deny me three times. The gifts of God are without
repentance. What does that mean? God doesn't
take them back. The Lord chose Abram for his
own. The Lord called him to himself. Christ redeemed him. The Spirit
of God called him out of darkness, gave him faith to believe, and
therefore, true faith perseveres. We just read that. We're kept
by the power of God through faith. Does God's people waver? Do we stumble? Yes. But do we stay down? No. The
Lord will lift us up. Heads to bow. We continue not
because of our strength, not because of our faithfulness,
but because of His faithfulness and His strength and His will. But look at this. Look at the
analogy here. In verse 10, what did Abram do? There was a famine in the land
and Abram went down into Egypt. What did he do in 13.1? He came up out of Egypt. The Lord lifted him up. And that's
what he does to us. He went up. A great indicator
of the mercy of Almighty God. He went up out of Egypt. That
is, he ascended. He was caused to be carried up. I love that part of that definition.
Caused to be carried up. He went up. brought up as the
Lord directed him. He went into the south, the southern
part of Canaan. And then it says in verse two,
and Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Now that
word rich right there, we see the blessing of God upon Abram
in the material blessings that he had. He acquired some things. I don't know how long he was
there, but I know this, that they treated him greatly for
Sarai's sake, I know that. The Lord blessed him. Even in
his fear and his doubt, you tell him you're my sister, don't tell
him you're my wife, he'll kill me. In spite of us, in spite
of us, the Lord blesses. The Lord blesses. I will bless
you. Blessing, I will bless you. But
he was very rich in cattle. But there's something else to
be noticed about that word that I found. The word rich there
actually means heavy or weighty. He was rich as far as the abundance
that he possessed. But that word rich is from a
root word that includes the meaning honorable. He was honorable. Honorable. I read that and I thought to
myself, being found in Christ, knowing what we are in Adam,
but being found in Christ, the Lord said, you're honorable.
You're honorable. Lord, as you say it is, it is.
Lord, in myself, I see no good thing. Abram knew. He knew the blessings
that the Lord had bestowed. He knew the deliverance that
the Lord had given him. He knew. If it was left up to
me, Abram, we would. We'd completely, completely messed
up. But here's Abram. The Lord brought
him up, showed him himself, showed him what he was. Showed him something
of who the Lord is. And then took him up out of Egypt. These last two verses, look what
happened. Look where the Lord brought him back. I made me think
about that prodigal son, you know. Made me think about Peter,
made me think about me. When the Lord is pleased to lift
us up, bring us back, bring us to a fresh knowledge of what
we are by nature. And shows us something. of his
kindness and compassion. Here's where he came back. Verse
3, went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto
the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between
Bethel and Hai, unto the place of the altar, which he had made
there at the first. And there Abram called on the
name of the Lord. I think about that scripture
here. He'd gone down into Egypt, over in Isaiah 31, 3, woe unto
them that go down into Egypt. Woe unto them. God brought him
out. And the Lord allowed him, by
grace and mercy, to go back to the place where God had blessed
him. He came back to that place between
Bethel and Ai, where that altar was. And there it says, and he
called on the name of the Lord. Can you imagine the heart of
thankfulness, appreciation, the blessing? The blessing of saving
grace, guiding grace, preserving grace. Now he's back in the land
of God's promise and the Spirit of God brings to light that glorious
blessing of worship. I was glad when they said to
me, let's go to the house of the Lord. Let's go there. And
it says, Abram called on the name of the Lord. To call on
the name of the Lord is to, by regenerating grace, power, it's
to come by faith in heart, call on the name of the Lord. It's
more than just a word, it's a heart. To come in heart as a needy sinner. casting ourselves upon him for
mercy, believing him, trusting him. All that the Father giveth
me, they shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. The Lord allowed him to come
back to that place where God had met with him. He built an
altar there, and he called on the name of the Lord. I pray
God bless these words to our heart, thankful that the Lord
would show us ourself but show us Him and His faithfulness to
keep us in spite of us for His glory and our good.