3. Abram\u2019s Journey of Faith<\/p>\n
Gen_12:4-9; Gen_13:1-4, Gen_13:14, Gen_13:18<\/p>\n
There is a path to be found, and God alone can find it; so if we would find the path we must find God by being found by Him.<\/p>\n
1. The Departure of Faith\u2014Gen_12:4. Abram \u201cdeparted out of Haran,\u201d the half-way place of compromise, and this was \u201cas the Lord had spoken to Him.\u201d Faith\u2019s authority and action is always based upon what God says\u2014Rom_10:17. Obedience is the act of faith. When we will what God wills, we show our faith.<\/p>\n
2. The Destination of Faith\u2014Gen_12:5; \u201cThis land\u201d (Gen_12:7). \u201cThey went forth\u201d to \u201cCanaan,\u201d and \u201cinto the land of Canaan they came,\u201d and there \u201cJehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.\u201d The land was God\u2019s gift of earthly possession to Abram and his seed. God has given to faith \u201call spiritual blessing in Christ\u201d (Eph_1:3). See how many blessings are mentioned in Ephesians 1, and \u201cname them one by one.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. The Worship of Faith. Three times we read of Abram in connection with an altar, and in three different relations. First, when Jehovah gave Abram the land\u2014Gen_12:7; second, when he was restored after his backsliding into Egypt\u2014Gen_14:4; and third, as he progressed on his journey\u2014Gen_14:18. The altar, in its typical meaning, is worship founded on sacrifice. The Cross of Christ\u2019s sacrifice is the basis of God\u2019s giving\u2014Rom_8:32, the plea for restoration\u2014Heb_9:13-14, and the spur to progress in Christian life and service\u20142Co_5:14-16. The only place where we can worship God is in and at the Cross of Christ\u2019s atoning sacrifice. We cannot worship Him if we are in the Egypt of the world and lack heart separation to Him. The altar and tent are not mentioned as long as Abram is in Egypt\u2014see Gen_12:9 to Gen_13:4.<\/p>\n
4. The Declension of Faith. Abram \u201cwent down into Egypt,\u201d and when he had \u201ccome into Egypt\u201d he compromised with Sarah, caused Pharaoh pain, told a lie about Sarah, and was sent away by the Egyptians\u2014Gen_12:10, Gen_12:14, Gen_12:17, Gen_12:19, Gen_12:20. When a child of God gets out of communion with the Lord, he will often do what a man of the world would scorn to do. Our faith will wane if we are not watchful, even as a plant will languish for want of attention. A musty room means the exclusion of light, sun, and air, and a declining faith will cause the whole spiritual life to be lacking in the warmth of love, the light of knowledge, and the air of the Spirit\u2019s life-imparting grace.<\/p>\n
5. The Vision of Faith\u2014Gen_13:14-16. The Lord told Abram to \u201clook,\u201d after he was separated from Lot. Lot was the man who looked on the plains of Jordan\u2014Gen_13:10, and soon was in Sodom. He followed the eyes of his inclination, but Abram followed the direction of the Lord. When we see things at the Lord\u2019s bidding we always find a blessing; but when we look with the eyes of self-will we are courting a bane. To see the Lord is to see things in their true light\u2014Heb_11:27. To see things truly there is a needs be for the heart to be clean, the hands right, the spirit possessed by Christ, and the soul dominated by the Spirit.<\/p>\n
6. The Journey of Faith. There are seven stages in the journeyings of Abram.<\/p>\n
From the Ur of idolatry to the Haran of compromise\u2014Gen_11:31.<\/p>\n
From the Haran of compromise to the Canaan of blessing\u2014Gen_12:4, Gen_12:5.<\/p>\n
From the Canaan of blessing and the \u201cMoreh\u201d of conflict to the Bethel of prayer\u2014Gen_12:6-8.<\/p>\n
From the Bethel of prayer to the \u201cgoing and journeying\u201d (margin) to \u201cthe south\u201d of bordering on the Egypt of the world, and to the Egypt of straitening\u2014Gen_12:9-20.<\/p>\n
From the Egypt of backsliding to the Bethel of restoration\u2014Gen_13:1-4.<\/p>\n
From the Bethel of restoration to the Hebron of fellowship\u2014Gen_13:18.<\/p>\n
7. The Advance of Faith. When the Haran of compromise is left, the Egypt of the world is abandoned, and Lot is cut off; then Abram is able to \u201clook\u201d with God into His purpose for him, and to \u201cwalk\u201d through the land, and dwell with the Lord in the Hebron of fellowship\u2014Gen_13:14-18. Hindrances gone, faith advances. When faith advances in the ways of God, it enjoys His word and keeps on in fellowship with Him.<\/p>\n
By: DR. F. E. MARSH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
3. Abram\u2019s Journey of Faith Gen_12:4-9; Gen_13:1-4, Gen_13:14, Gen_13:18 There is a path to be found, and God alone can find it; so if we would find the path we must find God by being found by Him. 1. The Departure of Faith\u2014Gen_12:4. Abram \u201cdeparted out of Haran,\u201d the half-way place of compromise, and this … Continue reading “0005. 3. Abram\u2019s Journey of Faith”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25797\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}