If you place there Genesis chapter
11, we have in this chapter the call
of Abraham. God calls Abraham out of the
land of Ur of the Chaldees. He calls him out of idolatry.
That's where he called Abraham from. I'll show you this here
in a little bit. On Genesis, these first 11 chapters,
12 chapters I guess we could say, we have three beginnings. There's three major beginnings
in these first 12 chapters. We have the beginning of the
human race in Adam. God created Adam and Eve. Told
him to multiply and replenish the earth. And we have the beginning
of the new world after the flood through Noah and his three sons. And here in this chapter, we
have the beginning of God's chosen race, chosen Israel, the nation
Israel. He's going to raise up this one
man and out of this one man is going to come this nation of
Israel. especially spiritual Israel. He's the father of all
those who believe, the scripture says. It seems as if after the
Tower of Babel and God scattered or confused their language and
they scattered throughout the earth and began to form their
nations, that God leaves the Gentile world. He leaves them
in darkness because of their unbelief. because of their idolatry. And now he zeroes in on this
one man. I never really saw Romans chapter 1 in reference to what
happened after the Tower of Babel. But let me read you something
over here in Romans chapter 1. It just never really dawned on
me. In verse 18, listen, it says,
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men who hold to truth and unrighteousness,
because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God has shown it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse, because that when they knew God,
Noah Even before the flood, Noah offered sacrifices. Noah kept
a true worship. And then after the flood, Noah
did the same. Noah kept a true worship, the sacrifices that
God told him to offer. Because when they knew God, they
glorified Him not as God. They left Him. They left the
true worship of God, and they left God. Neither were thankful,
but became vain in their imaginations. And their foolish heart was darkened,
professing themselves to be wise. They became fools and changed
the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image and made like
a corruptible man, into birds and four-footed beasts and creeping
things. Wherefore, God also gave them up. It just kept getting
worse. Now look at us. Now look at us. But God gave them up. But He
didn't give all up. He didn't give Abraham up. God
hasn't let people that He has not given up. And He's not going
to give them up. Now this starts back really in
chapter 11. I have to go back there to really
pick up on this story. Now in chapter 11, verse 31. And Terah took Abram, his son,
and Lot, the son of Haran, his son's son, Sarai, his daughter-in-law,
his son Abram's wife, and they went forth with them from Ur
of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan. And they came
into Haran and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two
hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. The call came to Abraham. Now it mentions Terah here as
though he took the family in that direction. But the call
came to Abraham. God called Abraham. And then
no doubt that his father and the family there did not want
to let Abraham go. They didn't want to let him go,
so they packed their bags and they went with Abraham. They
went with him all the way to Heron. When God called Abraham,
along with his family, they were in idolatry. They were in idolatry. I wanted to show you this. before
I go on, before I forget it. In Joshua chapter 24, let me read
verse 2. Here is the state of Abraham
and his family before God told them. And Joshua said unto all
the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, your fathers dwelt
on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the
father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other
gods." They were idolaters. That's what they were, idolaters.
So God calls Abraham. And so Abraham's father, they'd
all want to go with Abraham. They want to follow him. So they
packed their bags. And they take off. The call was
to Abraham. Like Noah, Abraham found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. That's whom God called. And the
evidence of him finding that grace is this. God called him.
God called him. Called him to himself. Called
him to repentance. Called him to faith. A man will
never be effectually called of God without first finding grace
in his sight. If God calls A man, if he calls
a sinner, you can be sure of this, that sinner has found grace
in his sight. He has God's favor. He has God's favor. And this
call that came to Abraham, it was a call from God. God called
him God Almighty, the God of glory. You know, that's only
mentioned about three times in the Scripture. God of glory. Psalm 24, that's the reason I
read it to you. Who is this King of Glory? He
speaks here that the God of Glory appeared to Abraham. That's what
Stephen said in Acts chapter 7. The God of Glory appeared
to our father Abraham. The God of Glory is the same
as the King of Glory who is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a
pre-incarnation of Christ. He appeared to Abraham, the Lord
Jesus Christ, appeared to Abraham and called him. It was a particular
call. He called Abraham. Just as He
calls everyone whom He saves, He calls them with a particular
call. Like He did Lazarus. He didn't
just say, Come out of the grave. He said, Lazarus, come out of
the grave. It's a particular call. And He appeared to Abraham. He revealed Himself to Abraham
and Abraham believed Him. If God calls a man, God will
reveal Himself to that man, and that man will believe. That man
or woman, they'll believe, just like Abraham. Just like Abraham
did. It will be the same faith of Abraham. He believed God.
And the call was effectual. It says in verse 4, he departed.
He departed as the Lord had spoken unto him. And it was powerful.
It had to be a powerful call for him to pack his bags and
leave his home. He was 75 years old. He left
his home and left a lot of friends and whatever his occupation was,
he left it. He dropped everything and left. Of course, the sad part is a
lot of the family hung on and went with him. And they never
did come to faith either. Abraham's life was a life of
faith. He's called the father of the
faithful. He's called the Father of all
those that believe. Abraham did not see miracles.
He did not see some miracles that Lot saw when the Lord walked
on this earth. He was given a command to leave
his father's house. He was given a command to leave
his country. And God promised to bless him, and he did it. That was a trial. You know, right
from the get-go, it was a trial of faith. Abraham, I want you
to pack your bags, take your wife, and I want you to go to
a land that I'll show you. He didn't even tell him where
he was going to go. He just headed out of town. Headed out of town. Did not know where he was going
to go. He just took God at His word. Faith is nothing but absolute
confidence in God. is taking God at His Word. That's what it's doing. It's
just stepping out on faith. That's what He did. He stepped
out on faith. And in thee, here's the Gospel message. This is a
hint of Christ. In thee shall all families of
the earth be blessed. All families. Gentiles, Jews,
people of all tongues and nations. All of them will be blessed in
thee. That is, through thy seed, the Lord Jesus Christ. We know
that in Christ, All families of this earth have been blessed. You just look through the history
of the family. If someone hasn't believed the gospel in that family,
look in that family and see where an infant has died. Or a child. You look in that family. I had
a great aunt that had fourteen children. Seven of them died
in childbirth. And to my knowledge, and I knew
her up to the time she passed away, she didn't believe the
gospel. Her husband didn't believe the gospel. That family, that
family that I know there, did not and does not believe the
gospel. But there are seven children there blessed in Christ with
the Lord. I'm convinced of that. And I
will make thy name great. Is there any greater name other
than the Lord Jesus Christ? Other than Christ, is there any
greater name than Abraham? Everyone knows who Abraham is.
You can go through the world over and everyone knows who Abraham
is. I'll make thy name great. One
man, a nobody, a man who was in idolatry, called out thousands
of years ago. And everybody knows who this
man is. They know He's the Father. They talk about the faith of
Abraham. All of them know Him. And I tell you this, Abraham
is an example of sovereign grace. He had brothers and sisters,
but God called Abraham. I have brothers and sisters.
I have four sisters and two brothers. Not all of them believe the Gospel.
Very few of them believe. Only one of them actually professes
to believe. James, it comes down here. God's grace is sovereign. God
saves whom He will. He saves whom He will. He called
Abraham and He saved Abraham. And Abraham was called to leave
a place. This happens every time. Here's
what he was called to do. Separate. Separate. Abraham, you're going to leave
your country. You're going to leave your family. You're going to leave all this
behind. He's called to separate. God calls every one of his children
to separate. Abraham had to separate from
his natural family, from the friends he had made, because
God was going to use him. God was going to bless him. God
made a covenant with him. The seed is going to come through
him. We cannot We cannot love the
world in Christ too. It's not possible. You cannot
love the world in Christ too. That's what it says over in 1
John 2, chapter 2, verse 15-16. We are a called out people. Abraham was called out. Called
out of the land of Ur, of the Chaldeans. That was right next
to Babylon. He was called out there. We are
a separated people. God has separated us from the
world. We are a peculiar people, a purchased
people. That's who we are. Although we
live in the world, we are not of the world. Not at all. Look
over 2 Corinthians chapter 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 6, I believe
it is. Look in verse 17. Well, let me go back up to 14.
Verse 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God. As God hath said, I will dwell
in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." God's
people are truly a separated people. He separates them. He said, He'll separate the sheep
from the goats. And He first does that when He calls us by
the Gospel and in regeneration. He makes a difference. He made
a difference between the Hebrews and the Egyptians. And God can
only bless us in the way of obedience. We'll see this here in a minute. proves to be a sinful man. He proves to be just like me. We read and speak of the faith
of Abraham. Over in Hebrews 11, in the Hall
of Fame of Faith, it speaks of Abraham in verse 8. His faith
is going out. It says here, and I want you
to catch this. He departed out of Haran. That means parched. God did not tell Abraham to stay
in Haran. You know, he stayed there for
almost five years. For nearly five years he stayed
there. Abraham's father, Terah, calls
him to stay in Horan. I call it Horan. It's Horan or
Heron, but I'll call it Horan. I'm used to doing that. But his
father caused him to stay there in that place. That place, Horan,
is situated by the Euphrates River. Do you know what's between the
Euphrates? I mean, you know what's between
Horan and Canaan? You know what was between those
two places? A desert. His father was like, I ain't
going to cross that desert. Now, I've come this far with
you, son, but I'm not going to cross that desert. And for five
years, he stopped. You see, you go over and read
Hebrews. Look over here in Hebrews chapter 8. This is God's grace. Here's God's grace. He covers
our sins. He blots out our sins. But over in Hebrews chapter 11,
in Hebrews chapter 11, I think I said 8, but Hebrews chapter
11, In verse 8, by faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out
into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed, and he went out not knowing which he went. It doesn't say
anything about him holding up in Horan, does it? God blotted
out that sin. He just didn't bring it up here.
But he hesitated. He halted. Abraham halted. He obeyed. I don't know if you
can say it this way. He obeyed halfway. which is not
a bad at all, but he got to that place and because of his unbelieving
father and the family that went with him, he held up. He held
up. They could go with him for a
while. You know, Abraham talked about God and the sacrifices
and, you know, God revealed Himself to him. He understood the Gospel. And they followed him for a while.
But when it got to the desert, When it came to going across
that desert, he said, oh, it's just a little too much. And you know what God did? He
killed Terah. He took the life of Abraham's
father. Abraham, you're going to Canaan
if I have to take his life. And that's what he did. Because
after he took his life, what did Abraham do? He packed up
and went to Canaan. God had to kill his father in
order to make Abraham leave his father's house to do what he
said. Abraham just could not leave
them there. So God took care of the matter. He took care of it. He killed
him. You know what the name Terah means? It means delay. His father delayed him. He delayed him is what happened.
The Lord will do whatever is necessary to bring His children
to Canaan. Now, He'll do what's necessary
to bring His children home, to bring His children to the Promised
Land. He'll do what's necessary to fulfill His purpose. That's
why we need to hold loosely to all these things. We need to
hold loosely to them. I'm sure Abraham's father didn't
want to go across that desert. He didn't want to make that journey.
The trial of faith is difficult. And true faith will be proved
and false faith will be revealed to be what it is. False faith. Abraham's faith is tried from
the very start. He used to leave his family. He used to go across this desert
to Canaan. He used to go to a land that
God would show him. He used to do that. I want to
show you something that's going to be in the Sunday school lesson.
I was reading over this last night, and I think it fits here. Let me see. Verse 29, Paul says, But this
I say, brethren, the time is short. In 1 Corinthians 7, verse
29, But this I say, brethren, the time is short. It remaineth
that both they that have wives be as though they had none. And they that weep as though
they weep not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoice
not, they that buy as though they possess not. Nothing, nothing
comes before Christ. Nothing, our relationships, our
husbands and wives, our children, nothing is to come before the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he's saying here
in these verses. And they that use this world as not abusing
it, for the fashion of this world passes away." Abraham held on just a little
too tightly to his family. He says here, the
time has come. We don't put these things before
Christ. Nothing. Nothing in this life
comes before Him. Nothing in his life comes before
worshiping him. Not at all. Now, Abraham heads for Canaan. There in verse 5. But it takes a lot with him. Was Lot ever a blessing to Abraham? God called Abraham. So when he
leaves Iran, he takes Lot with him. Lot's herdsman gets in a
scuffle with Abraham's herdsman. They have to split. So Lot takes
the well-watered plains of Jordan. You know what happens down in
Sodom and Gomorrah. And then another time, he gets
captured and Abraham has to go pick up the sword and go fight
and bring him back. He was never a blessing to Abraham.
God called Abraham alone. He called Abraham. Here's Abraham's response to
God's call. It was slow. It was slow. But it was obeyed. It truly was
obeyed. Now it says in verse 6, He passed
through the land of Canaan. It's like He walked through the
land of Canaan and He came to Sikkim. which means shoulder
strength, means strength, under the plane of more, which means
instructions, instructions. Only, listen to this, only as
we obey God, only as we obey God do we find strength and instructions. That's only when we obey God
do we find strength and instructions. And it says here, and the Canaanites
was in the land. The Canaanites. The cursed of
Ham was in the land. In this world you shall have
tribulations. The Canaanites will always be
in the land. You will always have tribulation. Sin is still in us wherever we
go. We'll always have trouble either
outwardly or inwardly. We'll always have trouble. And
there will always be a struggle between the flesh and the spirit.
It will always be. Always. But after that, in verse 7, And
the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, Unto thy seed will
I give this land. And there built he an altar unto
the Lord who appeared unto him. This is the first time the Lord
appeared to Abraham after he left Ur of the Chaldees. He didn't appear to him in Haran
because he was not supposed to hold up there. He didn't appear
to him there. Only in obedience Will the Lord
appear in mercy? Only in obedience. Now Abraham
builds an altar. He builds an altar. He didn't
build one in Ur. He didn't build one in Aram.
He builds an altar here in this land of Canaan where God told
him to go. And there he builds an altar.
He knows that God can only be worshipped through a sacrifice. He knows that the only true worship
that there can be is through a sacrifice. It's only through
the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ crucified, can we worship God. Only in Christ can we worship
God. Only in His sacrifice can we
worship God. Only in Him can we receive any
blessing. Any blessing. Only through Christ. Only when we truly separate from
the world can we have true fellowship with God. That's the only time,
when we truly separate from the world to Him. And it says, He removed from
tents unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his
tent. Abraham lived in a tent. Abraham
did not build cities. He was looking for a city which
had foundations. whose builder and maker is God. But he traveled in a tent. When
God called him from Ur, he left his house, he left his family,
he left that comfortable place and he lived in a tent. Having Bethel on the west, this
is interesting, and Hai on the east, And there he built an altar
unto the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord, communed
with God, fellowshiped with God. He removed his head from the
fence. And Bethel was on the west and Hai was on the east.
You know what Bethel means? House of God. You know what Hai
means? A heap of ruin. A heap of ruin. Isn't that just like it? House
of God on the right, and ruin on the left in this world. In this world, here's what we
have. We have like this tonight. We
have worship. We've come into this place to
worship and commune with God and to read His Word. But we've
got to go back out there. We've got to go back out to Haiyai.
We've got to go back out in that place of ruin In this world,
you will always have that place of ruin around you. You'll never
get rid of it. And I thought today, do we not
have in us the new nature in which God dwells and the old
nature in which sin dwells? Do we not have that in us? And
with us, we do. And the two things that are mentioned
here about Abraham, the altar on which he sacrificed and worshipped
God, which represents the Lord Jesus Christ and his tent. His tent that he dwelt in says
this, this is not my home. This is not our home. I heard Henry say this many times
over the years, don't drive your tent pegs too deep. Don't drive
them too deep. Everybody's got to die. Everybody
has to leave. We have to do it. So he lived
in a tent and traveled around. And you know he was not given
any inheritance in that land. He didn't own one plot of ground.
God gave it to his seed. Abraham was looking for a city.
He was looking for something that God built. That's what he
was looking for. And then here, Abraham proves
himself to be a man again. Look what he does. Abraham journeyed
going on still toward the south, 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. Did God tell Abraham to do that? Did He say, Abraham, go down
into Egypt? He didn't do that. Abraham left
Bethel. He left the place of worship.
He left the place where he communed with God and he went down, because
of this famine, he went down and trusted the arm of the flesh.
That's what happened. Look over in Isaiah 31. Look at this in verse 1. Woe
to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses,
and trust in chariots, because they are many, and in horsemen,
because they are very strong. But they look not unto the Holy
One of Israel, neither seek the Lord. That's what Abraham did. He went down to Egypt. And then what does he do? He gives up his wife. His faith is tested here again,
and he failed. And we do like to speak of the
faith of Abraham and the things that he accomplished, but right
in the beginning here, he failed. He went down to Egypt. Instead of trusting God to supply
his need, instead of seeking the Lord, he looked to the arm
of the flesh. And then he gives his wife. I
can't imagine this. But it would probably surprise
us how fast we would do it if our life was on the line. If Abraham would do it, don't
you think we wouldn't do it? If God would draw back his hand,
it would be amazing what we would do. And he gives up his wife to this
heathen king. That's almost unimaginable, isn't
it? Sarai, his wife, beautiful woman,
apparently. And he does it to save his life. Here is the man of great faith,
and here's a coward to save his life. The only thought that crossed
my mind when I looked at that is that we are truly forgiven
for Christ's sake. We are truly forgiven for Christ's
sake. What a lot we are. And I'm so
glad that God rules over all, aren't you? He plagued Pharaoh
and he plagued that house, it says, with great plagues. He
didn't allow him to touch that woman. He didn't allow it. And old Pharaoh said, why did
you tell me she's your sister? Why didn't you tell me she was
your wife? Now take your wife and get out
of here. And Pharaoh commanded his men
concerning him, and they sent him away and his wife and all that he
had. They didn't want any of it. They said, get out of here.
Take everything, lock, stock and barrel and get out of here.
And I want you to look at the first four verses of the next
chapter. Abraham goes to Egypt. He didn't inquire of God about
it. Went down to Egypt during his famine because he trusted
in the arm of the flesh. Got down there and gave up his
wife to save his life. God protected her, gave her back,
they sent him out. And Abram went up out of Egypt,
he and his wife and all that he had, and a lot with him into
the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle,
silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from
the south even to Bethel. to Bethel, to the place where
his tent had been at the beginning between Bethel and Haiah. He
went back to the place. He went back to the house of
God. He went back to where the altar was. He went back to where
he had communion if he had just stayed there. If he had just
stayed there. Let us learn something here.
Let us learn something. If Abraham had just stayed right
there and trusted the Lord, Sarah wouldn't have had to have been
put through that. Abraham wouldn't have. But you know what? God
had this written and He allowed it to happen so that you and
I can see that salvation is all of God and it's all of grace
to every last one of us. He went and says in verse 4,
unto the place of the altar, that place that represents Christ,
that altar represents Christ who is our altar, which He had
made there at first. And there, what happened? Abraham
called on the name of the Lord. Let's stay where Bethel is. Let's
stay where the Word of God is preached, where God is revealed,
where Christ is honored. And in every situation, let's
go before Him, not some arm of the flesh, We start wringing
our hands. What are we going to do? How
are we going to make it? Trusting God. How are we going
to make it? We're going to trust the Lord.
We're going to trust Him. Okay, Cecil.