Open back with me to John 8. Our Lord, we've been going through
this chapter and our Lord has been talking to some Pharisees. And back in verse 33, they started
talking about Abraham. And we're gonna look a little
bit at Abraham tonight. In verse 33, They said, they
answered him, we be Abraham's seed, and we're never in bondage
to any man. How sayest thou you shall be
made free? Started talking about Abraham, and they've continued
talking about Abraham through the end of the chapter. And our
Lord proves a point to these Pharisees that they're not the
children of God because they don't do what Abraham did. Verse
39, They answered and said unto him,
Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, if you
were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. Our Lord has written so much
about Abraham. So much about Abraham. I looked
it up in the concordance. I was curious. Now let's think
about this. If our Lord says something one time in His Word,
it is bound for all of eternity. And there are different people
like Ruth, I love Ruth so much, who are mentioned in one particular
place or maybe a couple of times. But think about this, Abraham,
the Lord wrote about Abraham in Genesis Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles,
2 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians,
Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter. Our Lord loved Abraham. This
is my favorite part. Turn with me over to Isaiah 41. Isaiah 41, look at verse 8. But thou, Israel,
art my servant. Jacob, whom I have chosen, the
seed of Abraham, my friend." My friend. The Lord said, Abraham
is my friend. I want that to be said about
me so badly. I want God to say he's my friend.
Go with me back over to John 8. Now, our Lord is telling these
Pharisees some things. And in verse 48, He says, Well,
they said, Then answered the Jews and said unto him, Say we
not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil? A Samaritan
was the enemy of Abraham's seed. And one commentator said this,
and I love this, Go ahead and read verse 49. Jesus answered,
I have not a devil, but I honor my father and you do dishonor
me. He never responded to the fact that they accused him of
being a Samaritan. And one of the commentators said
it's because he traded place with some Samaritans. And he didn't say a word. Isn't
that beautiful? But he said, I have not a devil,
But I honor my Father, and you do dishonor me. And I seek not
mine own glory. There is one that seeketh and
judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. This is what
the Lord told him. If a man will keep my saying, he'll never see
death. Verse 52, Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that
thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead. and the prophets. And thou sayest, If a man keep
my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than
our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom makest thou thyself? Who do you think you are?" Verse 54, Jesus answered, If
I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father that honoreth
me, of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known
him, but I know him. And if I should say I know him
not, I shall be a liar like unto you, but I know him and keep
his saying." They said, who do you think you are? They're proven
by their response that they do not believe God. I mentioned
this morning that we ended our Bible study talking about believing.
And then the message was on believing. And tonight, we're going to look
at believing. And it's all come about at the
same time. But they proved by their response
that they don't believe God. That's the whole issue right
here. They do not believe God's word. That's the whole issue.
Look at the end of verse 40. Our Lord said, This did not Abraham. This did not Abraham. What sayeth
the scripture? Abraham believed God. And the scripture also says,
everybody who believes God is called a child of Abraham. That's
what Galatians 3.7 says. Everybody who believes God is
a child of Abraham. Now I want us to look at the
faith of Abraham. That's what I want us to look
at, the faith of Abraham. But before we do, I want to make
it clear that faith is a gift of God. It is a gift of God. It does not exist in a center. We said this this morning. It
does not exist in a center until God gives it to that center.
God is the author of it and God is the finisher of it. And all
the glory goes to God for faith. Every bit of it. But it is a
gift that is given. It is a gift that is given. Faith
is experienced. It is wrought in a sinner. It's
real. Faith is real. Now go with me
over to Romans 4. And this is talking about Abraham.
Romans 4. And as I studied this, I was
extremely convicted at my lack of faith. And I was extremely
encouraged. And I hope that that will be
the case for all of us here. Romans 4, verse 20, it says,
talking about Abraham, it says, He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief. When Abraham was 75 years old,
God told him to leave his land, leave his house, leave his possessions,
leave his family, leave his friends, leave his religion. God said,
leave every bit of it. And you know what Abraham did?
He believed God. He left. He obeyed. of Abraham's own doing, he had
a son named Ishmael. And this is what God said. Now,
let's enter into the real man for just a minute, Abraham. He
had this son, Ishmael, and this is what God told him. Cast him
out. Can you imagine the devastation
of that? Really, cast him out. But you know what Abraham did?
He believed God. And he cast him out. He sent
him away. Then God gave him Isaac. And God told Abraham. God said
this to Abraham. This was God's word, okay? This was God's word to Abraham.
He said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. And then God said, Now I want
you to kill that boy. In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Now kill him. You think Abraham understood
all that? Why is this happening? What did he do? He believed God. That's convicting to me. He believed
God. Turn with me over to Hebrews
11. Hebrews 11 verse 17. It says, By faith Abraham, when
he was tried, offered up Isaac. And he that had received the
promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was
said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting that
God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence
also he received him in a figure. Do you know what he believed? God said, In Isaac shall thy
seed be called. That's what God said. And then
God said, Kill him. You know what Abraham believed?
God is able to raise him from the dead. If I kill him, if I
obey God, God is able to raise him from the dead. That is faith. Faith says God is able. That's faith. God is able. Why was Abraham called God's
friend? He believed God. He was a gift. He was a gift. God gave that to Abraham, but
buddy, did he believe God? He believed God. Now, back over
in Romans 4. Go back with me to Romans 4. Verse 20 says, He staggered not
at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith. He didn't just have a head faith,
he acted on it. He was strong in faith. James
said, faith without works is dead. God told Abraham not only would
he provide for him, but he said he would prosper him. And it came time, so many things
took place, Abraham, came time for he and Lot to separate.
And he told Lot, you take, you know, they both had cattle. And
he said, you take whatever land you want. And Lot said, okay,
I think I'll take all the good parts. And I'll leave you all
the rocks for your cattle. And Abraham said, that's fine. That's no problem. That's faith. God is able. How are we going
to survive? God is able. Lot, he went to Sodom and then
he was taken captive. Some kings came in and they took
Lot and his family and his possessions and they took all the goods of
Sodom captive and Abraham rescued him. He had 300 and something
servants in his house who were not warriors, they were servants
in his house. And he gave them all a sword,
and he said, let's go get lot. And they slew kings, and they
slew armies, and he brought every bit of that back. And the king
of Sodom was so grateful, he tried to make him rich. He wanted
to give him all kinds of riches, and Abraham said, I'm not going
to take a dime, lest you should say, I have made Abraham rich. Well, Abraham, you went out not
even knowing where you're going. You don't even know what your
future holds. Don't you think you could use a little money?
No. God is able. The Lord will provide. That's faith. That is convicting
to me. That's convicting. Verse 20 says,
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Abraham was not proud
of his faith. There is no pride in faith. None
at all. Faith says, I can't. That's what faith says. If a
person wants to be very clear on faith, they say, I can't. God can. That's faith. He gave all the glory to God.
He went to sacrifice his son. And he told the men who were
traveling with him, they all went out for him to sacrifice
Isaac, and he told all those men that were traveling with
him to stay where they were. He said, I and the lad, we're
gonna go worship God. And Isaac said, where's the lamb? And he said, my son, God will
provide. God will provide. That's faith. Verse 21 says, And being fully
persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Abraham was fully persuaded that
what God had promised, God was able to perform. Now, to my shame,
and I suspect to all of our shame, I'm going to expose all of us
here. We always have to have something
as a backup, don't we? Something to fall back on, just
in case God doesn't do what He says He'll do. Isn't that true? Now, I'm going to believe God
as long as I can. I'm going to hold out as long
as I can. But when the time comes to pull the trigger, I'm going
to have something in my back pocket just in case. Just in
case. God made Abraham fully persuaded
that God will do what he said he will do. That is the gospel. Here's the gospel. God will do
what he said he will do. verse 21, being fully persuaded
that what he had promised, he was able also to perform, and
therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness. Now here
is the question. What produced so much faith in
Abraham? He was strong in faith, right?
What produced so much faith in Abraham. Hebrews 11 says, Faith
is the substance, and that word substance means confidence. What
gave Abraham so much confidence? Go with me back over to John
chapter 8. John 8, look at verse 56. Our Lord said, Your father, Abraham,
rejoiced to see my day. And he saw and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him,
Thou art not yet fifty years old. You're not even fifty years old.
And hast thou seen Abraham? Have you physically seen Abraham?
Verse 58 says, Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Before Abraham was, I am. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. What gave Abraham so much confidence?
Abraham saw Jesus Christ. If a man will ever see Jesus
Christ, everything else goes away. Religion
goes away. I've seen Christ. Everything goes away. What gives
a person confidence? I have got to have Christ. Paul said, I press toward the
mark. I've got to have Him. Once a
sinner sees Christ, there's nothing else. Everything else pales. He saw Jesus Christ. Now turn
with me over to Acts chapter 7. Acts chapter 7, look at verse
1. This is Stephen preaching. Then
said the high priest, Are these things so? And he said, Men,
brethren, and fathers, hearken! The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham. when
he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charon, and said
unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
and come into the land, which I shall show thee. The God of
glory appeared." Who was that? Hebrews 1 says, Christ is the
express image of God. If anybody is going to see God,
you know who they have to see? Jesus Christ. The God of glory
appeared. Jesus Christ came. He stopped
Abraham in his tracks. And Abraham, he was a 75-year-old
idol worshiper. And he singled him out. He chose
him. And he opened his eyes and he
opened his ears and he called that man out. Why did Abraham
go? It's because he saw Jesus Christ. The God of glory appeared. He saw Jesus Christ. Christ came
to him. He saw the day of Jesus Christ
right there. Now go with me over to Genesis
chapter 18. Genesis 18, this is Abraham.
Verse 1 says, And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre. And he sat in the tent door in
the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and
looked, and, lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them,
he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself
toward the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I have found
favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Verse 9 says, And they said unto
him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to
the time of life, and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And
Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind him. Now Abraham
and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with
Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within
herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my
Lord, being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham,
Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of surety bear a child
which am old? Is there anything too hard for
the Lord? Is there anything too hard for
the Lord? Now who was that standing right
there in front of Abraham? The Lord. And who is the Lord? Jesus Christ. Abraham heard God's word. He heard God say, you're going
to have a son. So Abraham added his own work to God's word. And God said, cast out your own
works. Cast them out. Is anything too
hard for the Lord? What he's saying is, stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord said, Abraham
saw my day. Not his own, he saw my day. Now
this is amazing. This was a a wonderful revelation
for me. Hold your place right here in
Genesis and go with me to Hebrews 7. We mentioned when Abraham rescued
Lot, he went and slew all those kings. Hebrews 7 verse 1 says,
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the
Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter
of the kings, and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth
part of all, First being by interpretation. Now here's what this is saying
so far. This man Melchizedek, he's the priest of the Most High
God. He blessed Abraham and Abraham
tithed to him. Okay? Now, this man Melchizedek,
first being by interpretation, this is who this man is. Look
at verse 2. King of Righteousness. Melchizedek is the King of Righteousness. You see that capital K? And after that also, Melchizedek
is the King of Salem, capital K. And Salem is interpreted,
it goes on in verse 2 to say, which is King of Peace. Melchizedek is the capital K,
King of Peace. He is the King of Righteousness
and He is the King of Peace. Now look at verse 3. This man
Melchizedek is without father. The man who met Abraham had no
father. Without mother. Without descent. That means pedigree. Family tree. Having neither beginning
of days. This man Melchizedek never started. nor end of life. He's never going
to end. Now, who is this? That's Jesus Christ. That's Jesus Christ in the flesh,
before He came in the flesh. That's Christ incarnate right
there. Alright, now go with me to Genesis 14. Genesis 14. Now, in the Old Testament, every time they worshipped God,
every time they praised God, every time they desired a blessing
from God, they made a sacrifice, right? They had sacrifice on
top of sacrifice on top of sacrifice. They killed an animal. And that
was the priest's job. They brought these animals to
the priest, and the priest killed the animal and made a sacrifice, okay? Offered
these sacrifices on behalf of the people. Now look at verse
17, Genesis 14, verse 17. It says, now here's Abraham coming
back from this slaughter, and the king of Sodom, went out to
meet Abraham after his return from the slaughter of Kedor Laomer
and of the kings that were with him at the Valley of Shavuot,
which is the Kingsdale, and Melchizedek, king of peace, king of Salem,
brought forth bread and wine. He brought him bread and wine.
Isn't that amazing? That is the New Testament. Listen to this. As often as we
eat this bread and drink this cup, we do show the Lord's death
till He come. That's the New Testament. You
know what Abraham saw right then and there? Jesus Christ. And he said to him, I am the
sacrifice. I am the sacrifice. That is why
Abraham, with absolute confidence of faith, said to his only son, when that boy said, Dad, I see
the wood and I see the fire, but where is the lamb? Abraham
said, My son, God will provide himself. He is the lamb. That's why Abraham
kept walking. We don't have a lamb, dad. It's
okay, son. God will provide himself. He believed God. Abraham believed
God because he saw Jesus Christ. And you know what? He was glad. He was glad. Go with me back
over to John 8. John 8 verse 56 says, Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham? Yes, he has. Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. But Jesus hid himself and went
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by." It has got to be given to believe, doesn't it? Here was
the same Christ who came to Abraham, standing right in front of these
Pharisees, and he told them the truth. And they all picked up
stones to throw at him. It has got to be given to believe.
Lord, cause us to believe. Cause us to believe. Just like
you did for Abraham. Cause me to believe. All of his
apostles said, Lord, increase our faith. Increase our faith. That means give me more of Christ.
Let me see more of Christ. If I can look at Christ and know
God can. That's all I need. That's all
I need. All right, I hope the Lord will
bless that. Let's stand together.