1
00:00:04,220 --> 00:00:06,040
Genesis chapter 11.

2
00:00:15,530 --> 00:00:17,970
We were considering the last few verses here

3
00:00:17,970 --> 00:00:26,920
of this chapter where we saw that God

4
00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:36,900
called Abram from that land of idolatry, Ur

5
00:00:36,900 --> 00:00:43,960
of the Chaldees, and from there he brought

6
00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:50,420
him out, and we saw that he didn't

7
00:00:50,420 --> 00:00:55,480
initially come to the place where God wanted

8
00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:56,100
him to come.

9
00:00:58,940 --> 00:01:04,099
Because his father took charge of that movement,

10
00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:11,320
out of Ur of the Chaldees, and it

11
00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:14,780
says in Genesis 11, verse 31, that Sarah

12
00:01:14,780 --> 00:01:20,000
took Abram, his son, and Lot, the son

13
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:20,580
of Haran.

14
00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:25,480
And they set out, verse 31, the last

15
00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:27,000
middle of it, it says, to enter the

16
00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,260
land of Canaan, but they went as far

17
00:01:30,260 --> 00:01:33,300
as Haran, and settled there.

18
00:01:34,220 --> 00:01:36,240
And we saw there how it is possible

19
00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,680
for people to be called by God to

20
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:47,220
a particular task or ministry, and we can

21
00:01:47,220 --> 00:01:49,420
apply that to our own lives, that God

22
00:01:49,420 --> 00:01:54,920
may call a person to a particular task,

23
00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:56,500
a particular calling.

24
00:01:56,500 --> 00:02:01,900
It's possible that he can miss that if

25
00:02:01,900 --> 00:02:09,300
he allows his relatives to interfere in God's

26
00:02:09,300 --> 00:02:10,340
calling for his life.

27
00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:14,140
This is why Jesus, when he laid down

28
00:02:14,140 --> 00:02:17,580
the conditions of discipleship, the very first thing

29
00:02:17,580 --> 00:02:19,660
that he mentioned was that if a man

30
00:02:19,660 --> 00:02:23,180
wants to be my disciple, he must hate

31
00:02:23,180 --> 00:02:28,090
his father, mother, and wife, and children, and

32
00:02:28,090 --> 00:02:28,910
brothers and sisters.

33
00:02:30,090 --> 00:02:33,350
Otherwise it's impossible to be a disciple of

34
00:02:33,350 --> 00:02:33,590
Jesus.

35
00:02:33,890 --> 00:02:35,990
We find the Old Testament is full of

36
00:02:35,990 --> 00:02:37,110
many examples of this.

37
00:02:38,310 --> 00:02:42,470
How right in the beginning, Eve tempted Adam

38
00:02:42,470 --> 00:02:44,490
to sin, and Adam sinned because of his

39
00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:44,890
wife.

40
00:02:46,050 --> 00:02:52,250
And here how Abram missed out, for some

41
00:02:52,250 --> 00:02:56,110
time anyway, on God's best because of his

42
00:02:56,110 --> 00:02:56,590
father.

43
00:02:57,990 --> 00:02:59,530
We need to see this very clearly.

44
00:03:00,850 --> 00:03:03,430
We looked at Acts chapter 7 last time,

45
00:03:03,690 --> 00:03:05,930
and we saw this verse that it was

46
00:03:05,930 --> 00:03:09,830
that God called Abraham.

47
00:03:09,830 --> 00:03:15,730
We read in Acts 7, verse 2, Stephen

48
00:03:15,730 --> 00:03:17,890
saying, The God of glory appeared to our

49
00:03:17,890 --> 00:03:22,270
father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before

50
00:03:22,270 --> 00:03:26,070
he lived in Haran, and said to him,

51
00:03:26,170 --> 00:03:29,190
Depart from your country and your relatives.

52
00:03:29,190 --> 00:03:30,450
You see that?

53
00:03:30,570 --> 00:03:33,550
That's the condition of following the Lord.

54
00:03:34,490 --> 00:03:35,750
And come into the land that I will

55
00:03:35,750 --> 00:03:36,130
show you.

56
00:03:36,190 --> 00:03:36,890
And he departed.

57
00:03:37,750 --> 00:03:39,750
And he settled in Haran, verse 4.

58
00:03:40,650 --> 00:03:43,810
From there, after his father died, God removed

59
00:03:43,810 --> 00:03:45,950
him into this country from which you are

60
00:03:45,950 --> 00:03:46,430
now living.

61
00:03:47,490 --> 00:03:49,990
Think if his father had not died, Abraham

62
00:03:49,990 --> 00:03:52,390
would have stayed there a little longer.

63
00:03:54,470 --> 00:03:56,690
It is right for us to love our

64
00:03:56,690 --> 00:03:57,150
parents.

65
00:03:57,450 --> 00:03:59,090
It is right for us to honor them,

66
00:04:00,310 --> 00:04:04,330
and to always speak respectfully to them, about

67
00:04:04,330 --> 00:04:07,530
them behind their back, always respectfully.

68
00:04:08,470 --> 00:04:11,790
Never to speak evil to them, or evil

69
00:04:11,790 --> 00:04:12,450
about them.

70
00:04:13,470 --> 00:04:16,649
Provide for them financially, care for them in

71
00:04:16,649 --> 00:04:18,209
every possible way.

72
00:04:18,790 --> 00:04:23,250
But never, never, never to allow them to

73
00:04:23,250 --> 00:04:26,170
hinder us from doing what God wants us

74
00:04:26,170 --> 00:04:26,570
to do.

75
00:04:27,510 --> 00:04:29,410
That is the teaching of God's word.

76
00:04:30,230 --> 00:04:32,110
And I think when we get to the

77
00:04:32,110 --> 00:04:36,930
judgment seat of Christ, we will discover, I

78
00:04:36,930 --> 00:04:40,210
believe there will be hundreds of thousands of

79
00:04:40,210 --> 00:04:45,850
believers who miss God's best, because they listen

80
00:04:45,850 --> 00:04:48,570
to daddy and mommy, they listen to their

81
00:04:48,570 --> 00:04:52,750
wife, they listen to their love for their

82
00:04:52,750 --> 00:04:54,790
children, or love for their brothers and sisters.

83
00:04:55,330 --> 00:04:58,030
Some think, and they miss God's best.

84
00:04:58,030 --> 00:04:59,190
It is not that they went to hell,

85
00:04:59,950 --> 00:05:02,170
but that there will be some regret in

86
00:05:02,170 --> 00:05:03,950
their life, that if they had been a

87
00:05:03,950 --> 00:05:06,990
little more wholehearted, they could have made much

88
00:05:06,990 --> 00:05:08,890
more use of the one life that God

89
00:05:08,890 --> 00:05:09,810
gave them on earth.

90
00:05:10,450 --> 00:05:13,210
And there are enough examples in scripture to

91
00:05:13,210 --> 00:05:15,250
warn us about that.

92
00:05:17,070 --> 00:05:21,170
And, turning back to Genesis 11, Sarah died

93
00:05:21,170 --> 00:05:23,890
in Haran, and the Lord said, now the

94
00:05:23,890 --> 00:05:27,290
Lord had said, that's the right translation there,

95
00:05:27,370 --> 00:05:29,150
chapter 12, verse 1, the Lord had said

96
00:05:29,150 --> 00:05:33,130
to Abraham, go forth from your country, and

97
00:05:33,130 --> 00:05:36,770
from your relatives, and from your father's house.

98
00:05:36,770 --> 00:05:41,950
Notice that complete break, from your country, from

99
00:05:41,950 --> 00:05:46,350
your relatives, and from your father's house, to

100
00:05:46,350 --> 00:05:47,890
the land which I will show you.

101
00:05:48,990 --> 00:05:51,150
That was the requirement in the Old Testament,

102
00:05:51,410 --> 00:05:53,010
and it is the requirement in the New.

103
00:05:53,010 --> 00:05:55,470
If you turn to the book of Hebrews,

104
00:05:55,690 --> 00:05:58,590
in chapter 11, we read there a commentary

105
00:05:58,590 --> 00:06:00,470
of the Holy Spirit on the act of

106
00:06:00,470 --> 00:06:01,330
Abraham there.

107
00:06:02,930 --> 00:06:08,680
Hebrews, in chapter 11, we read there about

108
00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:16,020
Abraham's faith, in verse 8, By faith Abraham,

109
00:06:16,220 --> 00:06:23,350
when he was called, obeyed, by going out

110
00:06:23,350 --> 00:06:25,110
to a place which he was to receive

111
00:06:25,110 --> 00:06:26,830
for an inheritance, and he went out not

112
00:06:26,830 --> 00:06:27,810
knowing where he was going.

113
00:06:29,170 --> 00:06:30,910
By faith he lived as an alien in

114
00:06:30,910 --> 00:06:34,250
the land of promise, because, verse 10, he

115
00:06:34,250 --> 00:06:36,790
was looking for the city which has foundations,

116
00:06:37,770 --> 00:06:39,590
whose architect and builder is God.

117
00:06:39,590 --> 00:06:43,490
Verse 14, For those who say such things

118
00:06:43,490 --> 00:06:45,190
make it clear that they are seeking a

119
00:06:45,190 --> 00:06:46,290
country of their own.

120
00:06:47,650 --> 00:06:50,230
And indeed, if they had been thinking of

121
00:06:50,230 --> 00:06:53,570
that country from which they went out, they

122
00:06:53,570 --> 00:06:55,550
would have had opportunity to return.

123
00:06:56,810 --> 00:06:58,730
But as it is, they desire a better

124
00:06:58,730 --> 00:07:00,290
country that is a heavenly one.

125
00:07:01,230 --> 00:07:03,910
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called

126
00:07:03,910 --> 00:07:06,710
their God, for he has prepared a city

127
00:07:06,710 --> 00:07:07,210
for them.

128
00:07:07,910 --> 00:07:13,230
We saw last Sunday that Jesus is not

129
00:07:13,230 --> 00:07:18,330
ashamed to call us brothers if we are

130
00:07:18,330 --> 00:07:20,490
desirous of being sanctified.

131
00:07:21,970 --> 00:07:23,910
That's the verse we looked at in chapter

132
00:07:23,910 --> 00:07:26,650
2, verse 11 of Hebrews, that Jesus is

133
00:07:26,650 --> 00:07:29,210
not ashamed to call us brethren, those who

134
00:07:29,210 --> 00:07:30,510
want to be sanctified.

135
00:07:31,130 --> 00:07:34,370
Now here it says, in Hebrews 11, verse

136
00:07:34,370 --> 00:07:36,730
16, that God is not ashamed to be

137
00:07:36,730 --> 00:07:39,810
called their God, because in the Old Testament

138
00:07:39,810 --> 00:07:42,510
God is called the God of Abraham.

139
00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:46,660
And there is a reason why God is

140
00:07:46,660 --> 00:07:47,780
called the God of Abraham.

141
00:07:47,940 --> 00:07:49,600
The reason is given us in this verse.

142
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,100
God is not ashamed to be called their

143
00:07:53,100 --> 00:07:59,340
God, because these people, verse 16 of Hebrews

144
00:07:59,340 --> 00:08:03,220
11, desired a heavenly country.

145
00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:10,380
They were not interested in an earthly country.

146
00:08:11,180 --> 00:08:15,340
Like Jesus said, My kingdom is not of

147
00:08:15,340 --> 00:08:16,080
this world.

148
00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,940
If it were of this world, My servants

149
00:08:19,940 --> 00:08:20,620
would fight.

150
00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:23,020
We need to understand that.

151
00:08:24,620 --> 00:08:28,900
That Abraham, though we read later on that

152
00:08:28,900 --> 00:08:32,100
he was very rich, he had much cattle

153
00:08:32,100 --> 00:08:34,620
and all that, yet his heart was not

154
00:08:34,620 --> 00:08:34,940
in them.

155
00:08:34,940 --> 00:08:38,200
And you see that particularly when a conflict

156
00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:39,960
arises with lots in the next chapter.

157
00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:42,120
You find that Abraham's heart is not in

158
00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,040
his wealth, which shows that he was desiring

159
00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:47,000
a heavenly country.

160
00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:48,620
It's amazing that way back there in the

161
00:08:48,620 --> 00:08:51,820
Old Testament it says that they were desiring

162
00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:57,500
a heavenly country, verse 16.

163
00:08:57,500 --> 00:09:01,160
Therefore, that's the reason, God is not ashamed

164
00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:02,280
to be called their God.

165
00:09:03,540 --> 00:09:05,540
And God is not ashamed to be called

166
00:09:05,540 --> 00:09:09,740
our God if He sees in our hearts

167
00:09:09,740 --> 00:09:13,900
that we desire another country.

168
00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,780
And there God searches all people's hearts.

169
00:09:19,140 --> 00:09:21,920
The Bible calls Him the searcher of all

170
00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:22,580
men's hearts.

171
00:09:23,900 --> 00:09:26,180
And I believe it is possible for any

172
00:09:26,180 --> 00:09:29,080
of us to have God call Himself the

173
00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:31,400
God of so and so.

174
00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,100
Put your name there instead of Abraham.

175
00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,080
But I don't believe that every believer can

176
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,240
put his name there.

177
00:09:40,820 --> 00:09:43,820
I don't believe that God is willing to

178
00:09:43,820 --> 00:09:46,340
be called by the name of every believer

179
00:09:46,340 --> 00:09:48,120
like He called Himself by the God of

180
00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:48,440
Abraham.

181
00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:53,600
Because the vast majority of believers are interested

182
00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:54,860
in earthly things.

183
00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:57,820
They fight for earthly things, they fight for

184
00:09:57,820 --> 00:10:00,640
property, they fight for their rights, they fight

185
00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:02,680
for position, they fight for honor in the

186
00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:04,840
earth, honor in the church.

187
00:10:05,660 --> 00:10:07,480
God is certainly ashamed to be called their

188
00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:07,820
God.

189
00:10:09,340 --> 00:10:11,660
I don't believe that God would ever be

190
00:10:11,660 --> 00:10:13,160
willing to be called the God of a

191
00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,600
man who fights for money, or property, or

192
00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,500
honor, or for his rights.

193
00:10:19,300 --> 00:10:22,860
God is ashamed, thoroughly ashamed, to be called

194
00:10:22,860 --> 00:10:23,820
the God of such a person.

195
00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:25,480
Even if that person says God is my

196
00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:27,160
God, he may say that, but God is

197
00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:28,940
ashamed to be called the God of such

198
00:10:28,940 --> 00:10:29,280
a person.

199
00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,000
But God is not ashamed to be called

200
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,400
the God of a man like Abraham, who

201
00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:35,000
responded.

202
00:10:36,580 --> 00:10:39,240
Very easy to look now and say, well,

203
00:10:39,300 --> 00:10:40,900
he should have been more wholehearted and given

204
00:10:40,900 --> 00:10:41,540
up his father.

205
00:10:42,300 --> 00:10:42,840
That's right.

206
00:10:43,260 --> 00:10:45,240
But remember, he lived in a time when

207
00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:46,520
there was so little light.

208
00:10:47,380 --> 00:10:49,020
There was no written word of God.

209
00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:51,760
Think of all the people who have much

210
00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:53,700
more light than Abraham today, who still don't

211
00:10:53,700 --> 00:10:56,500
do what Abraham did.

212
00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,000
He finally, anyway, broke free from his father

213
00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:01,260
and came to the land.

214
00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:02,780
But think of multitudes of believers who have

215
00:11:02,780 --> 00:11:04,320
got God's word and never seem to break

216
00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:05,260
free from their relatives.

217
00:11:06,180 --> 00:11:08,860
I really believe, brothers and sisters, that many

218
00:11:08,860 --> 00:11:11,660
of us may discover in the daily stand

219
00:11:11,660 --> 00:11:13,520
before the Lord that we missed on a

220
00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,740
lot that God had for us because of

221
00:11:16,740 --> 00:11:22,660
an undue attachment to carnal relatives who are

222
00:11:22,660 --> 00:11:23,740
not wholehearted.

223
00:11:23,740 --> 00:11:26,860
There may be relatives who are believers, but

224
00:11:26,860 --> 00:11:29,420
who are not wholehearted, and we are influenced

225
00:11:29,420 --> 00:11:32,440
by them, affected by them, and the result

226
00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:38,540
is that we just don't move to the

227
00:11:38,540 --> 00:11:40,280
place that God has for us.

228
00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:43,160
So that's something we must take seriously.

229
00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,820
The Lord said to Abraham, Genesis 12.1,

230
00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:49,700
Go forth from your country, from your relatives,

231
00:11:50,220 --> 00:11:52,280
from your father's house to the land which

232
00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:53,020
I will show you.

233
00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:56,320
And he did it, and God was not

234
00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:00,160
ashamed to be called his God, the God

235
00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:01,080
of Abraham.

236
00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,560
Here is an example for us to follow.

237
00:12:05,260 --> 00:12:07,260
And I will make you a great nation,

238
00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,920
I will bless you, and make your name

239
00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,420
great, and you shall be a blessing.

240
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:15,420
Here are two things.

241
00:12:16,700 --> 00:12:19,400
On one side, God says, I will bless

242
00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,560
you, and on the other side, he says,

243
00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:24,320
you will be a blessing.

244
00:12:25,220 --> 00:12:28,340
In other words, I will fill your life,

245
00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,220
and then your life will overflow in blessing

246
00:12:32,220 --> 00:12:33,660
to other people.

247
00:12:34,900 --> 00:12:37,020
Now that is the blessing with which God

248
00:12:37,020 --> 00:12:39,860
blessed Abraham when he called him out.

249
00:12:39,940 --> 00:12:41,900
Right at the beginning, before he told him

250
00:12:41,900 --> 00:12:44,360
anything about all the other purposes he had

251
00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:45,840
for him, the first thing he said was,

252
00:12:46,300 --> 00:12:48,020
if you will do all these things, if

253
00:12:48,020 --> 00:12:50,080
you leave your country and leave your father's

254
00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,480
house and leave your relatives and come to

255
00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:53,980
the land I'll show you, I'll do something

256
00:12:53,980 --> 00:12:54,300
for you.

257
00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:58,100
I will take the responsibility to bless you,

258
00:12:58,740 --> 00:13:00,740
and I will make you a blessing.

259
00:13:02,260 --> 00:13:04,680
And when you turn to the New Testament

260
00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:07,820
in Galatians chapter 3, we read that in

261
00:13:07,820 --> 00:13:11,580
the new covenant, we can receive the blessing

262
00:13:11,580 --> 00:13:12,120
of Abraham.

263
00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,140
This is why the study of Abraham's life

264
00:13:14,140 --> 00:13:17,500
is appropriate for us, because it says in

265
00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:22,900
Galatians 3 that Jesus redeemed us, verse 13,

266
00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,580
from the curse of the law.

267
00:13:26,180 --> 00:13:30,000
Galatians 3.13, becoming a curse for us.

268
00:13:31,580 --> 00:13:33,480
Now we thought that the curse of the

269
00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,120
law was physical.

270
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,360
Basically, you read that in Deuteronomy 28.

271
00:13:41,540 --> 00:13:45,780
Physical sickness, madness, blindness, poverty, getting into debt,

272
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:47,400
all types of things.

273
00:13:47,460 --> 00:13:49,180
You go through Deuteronomy 28 and you see

274
00:13:49,180 --> 00:13:50,080
the curse of the law.

275
00:13:50,700 --> 00:13:52,880
It says Jesus has redeemed us from that

276
00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:54,440
because he has become a curse for us.

277
00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:58,020
But it is not in order that the

278
00:13:58,020 --> 00:13:59,840
blessing of the law might come upon us.

279
00:13:59,900 --> 00:14:01,180
There's no word in the New Testament.

280
00:14:01,980 --> 00:14:05,280
There are blessings mentioned in Deuteronomy 28, but

281
00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:06,860
those are not the blessings promised to us.

282
00:14:06,860 --> 00:14:08,380
We are redeemed from the curse of the

283
00:14:08,380 --> 00:14:10,900
law, but not blessed with the blessing of

284
00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:11,240
the law.

285
00:14:11,420 --> 00:14:12,000
Notice that.

286
00:14:12,100 --> 00:14:13,540
We've got to read Scripture exactly.

287
00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:16,000
We are redeemed from the curse of the

288
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,000
law, verse 13, but the blessing that comes

289
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,640
upon us is not the blessing of the

290
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:25,380
law in Deuteronomy 28, but, verse 14, in

291
00:14:25,380 --> 00:14:27,500
order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of

292
00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:32,140
Abraham might come on the Gentiles.

293
00:14:32,140 --> 00:14:34,960
So that, and here is the blessing of

294
00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:39,340
Abraham, so that we might receive the promise

295
00:14:39,340 --> 00:14:45,150
of the Holy Spirit through faith.

296
00:14:45,870 --> 00:14:48,150
It's referring to the baptism in the Holy

297
00:14:48,150 --> 00:14:48,530
Spirit.

298
00:14:49,690 --> 00:14:53,610
What Abraham had in a very small way

299
00:14:53,610 --> 00:14:56,710
was going to be ours in the New

300
00:14:56,710 --> 00:15:01,130
Testament in fullness through the baptism and fullness

301
00:15:01,130 --> 00:15:02,130
of the Holy Spirit.

302
00:15:02,970 --> 00:15:04,950
And there we get an understanding of what

303
00:15:04,950 --> 00:15:08,590
this new covenant blessing in Abraham is, and

304
00:15:08,590 --> 00:15:10,470
what the power of the Holy Spirit is

305
00:15:10,470 --> 00:15:12,610
really meant to do and produce.

306
00:15:12,810 --> 00:15:18,190
That is, that God can say to us,

307
00:15:18,350 --> 00:15:21,330
like he said to Abraham, I will bless

308
00:15:21,330 --> 00:15:23,630
you and you will be a blessing.

309
00:15:24,670 --> 00:15:28,070
You see, we can try to make ourselves

310
00:15:28,070 --> 00:15:29,190
a blessing to others.

311
00:15:29,370 --> 00:15:32,150
There are a lot of Christians who try

312
00:15:32,150 --> 00:15:34,030
to make themselves a blessing.

313
00:15:34,630 --> 00:15:38,170
God didn't give Abraham a command saying, make

314
00:15:38,170 --> 00:15:39,790
yourself a blessing to others.

315
00:15:42,050 --> 00:15:44,790
I cannot make myself a blessing to others.

316
00:15:46,270 --> 00:15:49,090
There's a song we sing, Lord, make me

317
00:15:49,090 --> 00:15:49,650
a blessing.

318
00:15:49,930 --> 00:15:50,950
God can do it.

319
00:15:51,250 --> 00:15:52,130
I can't do it.

320
00:15:53,670 --> 00:15:56,450
And when I try to make myself a

321
00:15:56,450 --> 00:16:00,230
blessing to others, usually people who try to

322
00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:02,030
do that usually end up making a nuisance

323
00:16:02,030 --> 00:16:03,150
of themselves to others.

324
00:16:04,610 --> 00:16:08,070
But God can make us a blessing to

325
00:16:08,070 --> 00:16:08,490
others.

326
00:16:08,870 --> 00:16:10,150
And how does he do that?

327
00:16:10,790 --> 00:16:12,550
Only one way.

328
00:16:13,270 --> 00:16:15,070
And that is by filling us with the

329
00:16:15,070 --> 00:16:15,650
Holy Spirit.

330
00:16:17,070 --> 00:16:21,450
Then the word of God is fulfilled that

331
00:16:21,450 --> 00:16:24,270
Jesus, like Jesus told the woman of Samaria,

332
00:16:25,130 --> 00:16:27,130
that he would put a well inside her,

333
00:16:27,970 --> 00:16:30,270
which would spring up into everlasting life.

334
00:16:30,270 --> 00:16:32,570
That's the first part of that blessing.

335
00:16:33,010 --> 00:16:36,310
I will bless you so that you're filled

336
00:16:36,310 --> 00:16:38,950
with the Holy Spirit and you're never dry.

337
00:16:41,110 --> 00:16:42,710
That's the meaning of what Jesus told the

338
00:16:42,710 --> 00:16:43,230
Samaritan woman.

339
00:16:43,370 --> 00:16:45,110
If you drink from this well, you'll thirst

340
00:16:45,110 --> 00:16:45,370
again.

341
00:16:45,470 --> 00:16:47,090
You'll run dry and you'll let it come

342
00:16:47,090 --> 00:16:47,410
back.

343
00:16:47,410 --> 00:16:49,830
But the one who drinks from the water

344
00:16:49,830 --> 00:16:50,990
that I give him, I'll put a well

345
00:16:50,990 --> 00:16:53,550
inside him, a spring inside him, that'll never

346
00:16:53,550 --> 00:16:54,410
run dry.

347
00:16:55,150 --> 00:16:57,450
That's the meaning of being filled in the

348
00:16:57,450 --> 00:16:57,970
Holy Spirit.

349
00:16:59,270 --> 00:17:02,170
It's not God's will that his children should

350
00:17:02,170 --> 00:17:03,150
ever run dry.

351
00:17:05,230 --> 00:17:07,790
And the second part of it is what

352
00:17:07,790 --> 00:17:10,670
he said in John 7, that from this

353
00:17:10,670 --> 00:17:15,450
life would flow rivers of living water to

354
00:17:15,450 --> 00:17:15,970
other people.

355
00:17:16,069 --> 00:17:18,710
That means such a person would be a

356
00:17:18,710 --> 00:17:19,390
blessing to others.

357
00:17:20,650 --> 00:17:22,650
And this is the blessing of Abraham, which

358
00:17:22,650 --> 00:17:25,390
Galatians says, is for us through the Holy

359
00:17:25,390 --> 00:17:25,730
Spirit.

360
00:17:26,609 --> 00:17:29,570
I will bless you and you will be

361
00:17:29,570 --> 00:17:29,930
a blessing.

362
00:17:29,930 --> 00:17:33,170
In those two statements, we have a picture

363
00:17:33,170 --> 00:17:36,210
of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the

364
00:17:36,210 --> 00:17:39,410
blessing promised to Abraham, which is ours in

365
00:17:39,410 --> 00:17:39,930
the New Covenant.

366
00:17:40,630 --> 00:17:42,070
We can say that's our birthright.

367
00:17:42,930 --> 00:17:46,690
And therefore, we should never be satisfied until

368
00:17:46,690 --> 00:17:49,950
that is fulfilled in our lives.

369
00:17:50,810 --> 00:17:54,430
Every one of us, we know that Jesus

370
00:17:54,430 --> 00:17:57,010
spoke about those who are thirsty coming to

371
00:17:57,010 --> 00:17:57,210
him.

372
00:17:58,330 --> 00:17:59,630
Who are the thirsty ones?

373
00:18:00,270 --> 00:18:02,270
Those who are thirsty and saying, Lord, I

374
00:18:02,270 --> 00:18:03,110
want you to bless me.

375
00:18:05,170 --> 00:18:07,090
Bless me in such a way that blessing

376
00:18:07,090 --> 00:18:08,750
will overflow from my life to others.

377
00:18:08,750 --> 00:18:10,810
Who are thirsty for that?

378
00:18:11,830 --> 00:18:15,170
A person, for example, who is content that,

379
00:18:15,270 --> 00:18:17,630
you know, I have no sickness in my

380
00:18:17,630 --> 00:18:19,730
family, and my children are doing well in

381
00:18:19,730 --> 00:18:23,750
their examinations in school, and they're getting married

382
00:18:23,750 --> 00:18:26,350
off properly, and they've got good jobs by

383
00:18:26,350 --> 00:18:27,010
God's grace.

384
00:18:27,730 --> 00:18:29,330
He's got no thirst for anything.

385
00:18:29,410 --> 00:18:31,690
He's quite happy with what he's got, with

386
00:18:31,690 --> 00:18:34,410
a few material things that have been given

387
00:18:34,410 --> 00:18:36,930
to him and his freedom from sickness.

388
00:18:36,930 --> 00:18:37,850
He's quite content.

389
00:18:38,850 --> 00:18:40,730
Yeah, I don't believe that such a person

390
00:18:40,730 --> 00:18:42,590
can receive the blessing of Abraham, because Jesus

391
00:18:42,590 --> 00:18:44,310
said, if any man is thirsty, let him

392
00:18:44,310 --> 00:18:44,810
come to me.

393
00:18:45,750 --> 00:18:47,770
And think that what God promised to one

394
00:18:47,770 --> 00:18:48,250
man.

395
00:18:49,250 --> 00:18:51,890
If you were living in 2000 B.C.,

396
00:18:51,890 --> 00:18:54,850
around Abraham's time, that blessing was not for

397
00:18:54,850 --> 00:18:55,110
you.

398
00:18:56,330 --> 00:18:57,650
No, God said it to Abraham.

399
00:18:58,930 --> 00:19:01,670
But think that because we are living after

400
00:19:01,670 --> 00:19:05,410
the day of Pentecost, that every one of

401
00:19:05,410 --> 00:19:06,530
us can have that.

402
00:19:06,730 --> 00:19:07,910
It's not just for one person.

403
00:19:09,010 --> 00:19:12,510
Everyone who has a thirst and a faith

404
00:19:12,510 --> 00:19:15,510
to believe that what God did for Abraham,

405
00:19:15,710 --> 00:19:16,430
He'll do for me.

406
00:19:18,750 --> 00:19:21,970
Because it says in Galatians 3.14, that

407
00:19:21,970 --> 00:19:26,170
the blessing of Abraham might come on us,

408
00:19:27,350 --> 00:19:27,930
heathens.

409
00:19:28,070 --> 00:19:29,550
The word Gentiles means heathens.

410
00:19:30,410 --> 00:19:31,590
I'm one of the heathens.

411
00:19:32,470 --> 00:19:34,470
You're one of the heathens whom God called

412
00:19:34,470 --> 00:19:34,690
out.

413
00:19:35,830 --> 00:19:36,910
But it's not automatic.

414
00:19:37,650 --> 00:19:38,410
You can miss it.

415
00:19:38,970 --> 00:19:39,710
I can miss it.

416
00:19:40,670 --> 00:19:43,590
If I don't really thirst for it, if

417
00:19:43,590 --> 00:19:45,110
I don't have faith that God can do

418
00:19:45,110 --> 00:19:45,610
this for me.

419
00:19:46,550 --> 00:19:48,230
So we've got to take that seriously.

420
00:19:48,770 --> 00:19:51,230
I'll bless you, you'll be a blessing.

421
00:19:52,310 --> 00:19:56,350
I will bless those, Genesis 12.3, I

422
00:19:56,350 --> 00:19:59,150
will bless those who bless you, and the

423
00:19:59,150 --> 00:20:01,210
one who curses you, I will curse.

424
00:20:02,750 --> 00:20:06,250
And in you, all the families of the

425
00:20:06,250 --> 00:20:08,370
earth shall be blessed.

426
00:20:09,290 --> 00:20:11,410
And of course, we know that that was

427
00:20:11,410 --> 00:20:13,890
fulfilled because Jesus Christ came through Abraham.

428
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:17,060
Abraham's seed.

429
00:20:18,380 --> 00:20:20,840
And now it is being fulfilled through the

430
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,380
church, which is the body of Christ.

431
00:20:25,340 --> 00:20:27,560
We are now called the children of Abraham,

432
00:20:28,420 --> 00:20:30,280
who is the father of faith.

433
00:20:30,940 --> 00:20:33,340
And that's why the study of Abraham's life

434
00:20:33,340 --> 00:20:34,820
is so important for us.

435
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,980
Because turning back to Galatians, we see there,

436
00:20:42,220 --> 00:20:47,920
Galatians 3.29, first of all, Galatians 3

437
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:54,060
.16, now the promises were spoken to Abraham

438
00:20:54,060 --> 00:20:55,080
and to his seed.

439
00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:58,540
Galatians 3.16, and it does not say,

440
00:20:58,740 --> 00:21:02,080
and to seed, as referring to many, but

441
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,480
rather to one, and to your seed.

442
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:06,240
That is Christ.

443
00:21:07,140 --> 00:21:09,040
And we know that we are the body

444
00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:10,120
of Christ.

445
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,660
Therefore, verse 29, and if you belong to

446
00:21:13,660 --> 00:21:17,160
Christ, then you are Abraham's seed.

447
00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,580
Not seeds, but seeds.

448
00:21:22,780 --> 00:21:24,660
And connect that with verse 16.

449
00:21:25,260 --> 00:21:27,000
You see that what God has promised to

450
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,740
Abraham was fulfilled through Christ, not through the

451
00:21:29,740 --> 00:21:32,180
Jews, but through Christ.

452
00:21:32,260 --> 00:21:33,560
And if you belong to Christ, then you

453
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:38,200
are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise.

454
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,620
And we know that those who are Christ

455
00:21:43,620 --> 00:21:45,260
are those who crucify the flesh with his

456
00:21:45,260 --> 00:21:47,720
affections and lusts, as he says later on

457
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,040
in Galatians 5.24. And that's why we

458
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,160
see that what God promised to Abraham is

459
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,620
relevant to us who enter into the new

460
00:21:55,620 --> 00:21:55,920
covenant.

461
00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:58,800
Because this is for us.

462
00:21:59,300 --> 00:22:01,140
In you shall all the families of the

463
00:22:01,140 --> 00:22:01,760
earth be blessed.

464
00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:05,140
That applies to the church, which is the

465
00:22:05,140 --> 00:22:05,840
body of Christ.

466
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,480
In other words, it is God's will that

467
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,300
through the church others should be blessed.

468
00:22:11,940 --> 00:22:14,200
Families should be blessed.

469
00:22:14,900 --> 00:22:18,620
Think how Jesus told his apostles, when you

470
00:22:18,620 --> 00:22:22,320
enter a house, say, peace be to this

471
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:22,640
house.

472
00:22:23,980 --> 00:22:26,600
And if there is someone sick there, heal

473
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,420
that sick person, so that when you go

474
00:22:29,420 --> 00:22:32,580
away, those people are so thankful that you

475
00:22:32,580 --> 00:22:33,280
have come there.

476
00:22:34,340 --> 00:22:36,020
Think of that, my brothers and sisters.

477
00:22:36,140 --> 00:22:38,460
We may not have the gifts of healing,

478
00:22:38,660 --> 00:22:40,680
perhaps, but think that every one of us

479
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,980
can be a blessing to every family that

480
00:22:44,980 --> 00:22:45,740
we ever visit.

481
00:22:46,380 --> 00:22:50,100
Think of the stupidity of so many believers,

482
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:52,700
who all that they do when they visit

483
00:22:52,700 --> 00:22:56,920
another family is sit and gossip and spread

484
00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:58,580
the curse a little more in that home

485
00:22:58,580 --> 00:22:59,680
before they leave it.

486
00:23:00,980 --> 00:23:02,760
Talk all types of useless things.

487
00:23:03,220 --> 00:23:05,040
Perhaps have a quarrel with somebody in that

488
00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:06,680
house and then leave.

489
00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:08,620
That's not the blessing of Abraham.

490
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:09,720
No.

491
00:23:10,220 --> 00:23:11,860
That's the result of being under the curse

492
00:23:11,860 --> 00:23:12,360
of the law.

493
00:23:13,180 --> 00:23:14,620
When people were under the curse of the

494
00:23:14,620 --> 00:23:17,120
law, they fought, they quarreled, they had strife.

495
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:18,240
All types of things.

496
00:23:18,700 --> 00:23:19,940
Jesus has become a curse.

497
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:21,880
We are freed from all that.

498
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,180
Now, all the families of the earth are

499
00:23:26,180 --> 00:23:27,100
to be blessed through us.

500
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:28,680
I cannot visit all the families of the

501
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:28,880
earth.

502
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:30,940
You cannot visit all the families of the

503
00:23:30,940 --> 00:23:31,100
earth.

504
00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:32,960
But we can visit a few.

505
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:37,180
The ones we visit should be blessed.

506
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:39,360
They don't have to be just believers.

507
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:40,720
Anyone.

508
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:42,820
Think of that calling.

509
00:23:43,780 --> 00:23:45,600
Think that our life is to make such

510
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,120
an impression for God on the earth, that

511
00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:51,100
families are to be blessed just because one

512
00:23:51,100 --> 00:23:52,820
person enters that home.

513
00:23:53,660 --> 00:23:55,260
And they are thankful that such a person

514
00:23:55,260 --> 00:23:56,360
ever came into their home.

515
00:23:57,540 --> 00:23:59,900
My brothers and sisters, that's not the calling

516
00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:01,460
of some special group of people.

517
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:03,220
For every one of us.

518
00:24:03,780 --> 00:24:05,700
Because the blessing of Abraham is for us.

519
00:24:06,900 --> 00:24:08,100
So let's take that seriously.

520
00:24:09,020 --> 00:24:10,560
Genesis 12 verse 4.

521
00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:12,820
So Abraham went forth as the Lord had

522
00:24:12,820 --> 00:24:13,500
spoken to him.

523
00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:16,220
And we know that was after his father

524
00:24:16,220 --> 00:24:16,640
died.

525
00:24:17,100 --> 00:24:21,100
God had to deal drastically with him.

526
00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:24,100
But then finally he got him moving.

527
00:24:25,460 --> 00:24:30,780
I thought that what I see from here

528
00:24:30,780 --> 00:24:32,640
is how much God is dependent on a

529
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:32,900
man.

530
00:24:35,620 --> 00:24:38,540
And how, there's a phrase that came to

531
00:24:38,540 --> 00:24:40,760
my mind when I thought of Abraham.

532
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,700
And that's the phrase that's mentioned in Ezekiel

533
00:24:43,700 --> 00:24:49,020
22 and verse 30.

534
00:24:49,020 --> 00:24:52,560
Ezekiel 22 and verse 30.

535
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:59,180
It says, the Lord says, I searched for

536
00:24:59,180 --> 00:25:02,460
a man among them.

537
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:04,760
That is a phrase.

538
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,400
I searched for a man.

539
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,220
Which has been true of God's working in

540
00:25:13,220 --> 00:25:15,320
the human race in all generations.

541
00:25:16,540 --> 00:25:19,500
In Enoch's time, it was true.

542
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,420
God searched for a man and he found

543
00:25:23,420 --> 00:25:23,920
an Enoch.

544
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,880
In Noah's time, he searched for a man

545
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:29,740
and he found a Noah.

546
00:25:32,460 --> 00:25:35,580
And then in Nimrod's time and afterwards, in

547
00:25:35,580 --> 00:25:39,000
the subsequent generations, with all the world in

548
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,680
idolatry and rebelling against God, he searched for

549
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:43,100
a man.

550
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,480
Because the world was full of idolatry.

551
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,180
We read that in the book of Joshua

552
00:25:49,180 --> 00:25:56,240
and chapter 24.

553
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,080
Joshua 24 and verse 2 and 3.

554
00:26:03,260 --> 00:26:05,140
Joshua said to the people, Thus says the

555
00:26:05,140 --> 00:26:08,360
Lord, the God of Israel, From ancient times

556
00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:10,620
your fathers lived beyond the river, that's the

557
00:26:10,620 --> 00:26:13,360
river Euphrates, in Ur of the Chaldees, namely

558
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,740
Terah, the father of Abraham and the father

559
00:26:15,740 --> 00:26:16,320
of Nahor.

560
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:19,040
And they served other gods.

561
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:20,800
Abraham was an idolater.

562
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:23,800
We can say he was like a Hindu.

563
00:26:25,140 --> 00:26:26,380
Abraham was like a Hindu.

564
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,300
He was an idolater, worshipping many gods.

565
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:33,720
Then I took your father Abraham from out

566
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,280
of there and led him through the land

567
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:36,680
of Canaan.

568
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:39,120
They were idolaters.

569
00:26:39,580 --> 00:26:41,540
And in the midst of all these idolaters,

570
00:26:41,740 --> 00:26:45,680
God searched for a man whom he could

571
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:47,100
deliver from this idolatry.

572
00:26:47,220 --> 00:26:49,740
And we have seen that idolatry is more

573
00:26:49,740 --> 00:26:52,280
than worshipping images.

574
00:26:52,860 --> 00:26:58,820
Idolatry can be idolatry of people, of things,

575
00:26:59,380 --> 00:27:00,100
of a profession.

576
00:27:00,900 --> 00:27:03,220
And in the midst of all the idolatry

577
00:27:03,220 --> 00:27:05,260
there is in the world, God still says,

578
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,020
even today, I searched for a man.

579
00:27:11,730 --> 00:27:13,430
I believe he is searching for many men

580
00:27:13,430 --> 00:27:16,490
in many parts of the world today.

581
00:27:16,610 --> 00:27:18,250
But he is searching, searching.

582
00:27:19,650 --> 00:27:21,730
And in Ezekiel's time it says he found

583
00:27:21,730 --> 00:27:22,090
none.

584
00:27:23,590 --> 00:27:25,350
And in Abraham's time he searched.

585
00:27:25,830 --> 00:27:27,710
He must have searched before, but he never

586
00:27:27,710 --> 00:27:28,270
found anyone.

587
00:27:29,750 --> 00:27:33,190
But finally he found one in Abraham who

588
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:35,560
didn't have light.

589
00:27:36,460 --> 00:27:39,180
But there must have been something in Abraham

590
00:27:39,180 --> 00:27:42,340
that God saw with all his lack of

591
00:27:42,340 --> 00:27:44,600
light, that there was a responsiveness to God.

592
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,660
And that's the thing that encourages me, brothers

593
00:27:47,660 --> 00:27:48,140
and sisters.

594
00:27:49,020 --> 00:27:52,380
It is not light that God looks for.

595
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,600
Because all of us have much more light

596
00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:57,680
than Abraham had.

597
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:00,720
But we may not be as responsive to

598
00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,860
God as Abraham was.

599
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,320
So what if you've got more light, if

600
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:07,120
you're not responsive?

601
00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,020
God still has to leave us aside and

602
00:28:10,020 --> 00:28:10,980
says, I searched for a man.

603
00:28:11,260 --> 00:28:12,760
I'm not searching for a man who's got

604
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:13,440
a lot of light.

605
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:14,780
Light I'll give him.

606
00:28:15,220 --> 00:28:16,600
I'm searching for a man who will be

607
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,200
responsive when I call him.

608
00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:21,860
It's a very wonderful phrase that comes about

609
00:28:21,860 --> 00:28:22,820
Abraham later on.

610
00:28:23,340 --> 00:28:25,860
Whenever God says, Abraham, he says, here I

611
00:28:25,860 --> 00:28:26,120
am.

612
00:28:26,980 --> 00:28:27,620
Have you noticed that?

613
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,960
You'll see that in later chapters in Genesis.

614
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,220
The Lord called Abraham.

615
00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:33,880
Abraham said, here I am.

616
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,300
He didn't say, Lord, just wait, I've got

617
00:28:36,300 --> 00:28:37,220
something else to do now.

618
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:38,480
No, here I am.

619
00:28:39,460 --> 00:28:40,380
That was his attitude.

620
00:28:40,540 --> 00:28:41,800
A man who was responsive.

621
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:45,500
And that's the thing that encourages me tremendously,

622
00:28:45,660 --> 00:28:46,900
that there may be so many things on

623
00:28:46,900 --> 00:28:47,840
which we don't have light.

624
00:28:48,620 --> 00:28:49,500
It doesn't matter.

625
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:53,080
If we are responsive, God will lead us

626
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:53,480
on.

627
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:57,940
So we're not to glory in the fact

628
00:28:57,940 --> 00:28:58,960
that we have a lot of light.

629
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,760
Are we responsive when God speaks?

630
00:29:06,410 --> 00:29:08,150
And I believe it's in little things that

631
00:29:08,150 --> 00:29:09,530
he tests us.

632
00:29:10,630 --> 00:29:12,510
I think of people, for example, to whom

633
00:29:12,510 --> 00:29:16,750
God speaks about baptism, and they take years

634
00:29:16,750 --> 00:29:18,350
and years to think about it and finally

635
00:29:18,350 --> 00:29:18,650
obey.

636
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:25,180
We can say that such people, I mean,

637
00:29:26,020 --> 00:29:28,060
they may not go to hell, but it's

638
00:29:28,060 --> 00:29:29,820
very unlikely that God can ever do anything

639
00:29:29,820 --> 00:29:30,460
with such people.

640
00:29:31,580 --> 00:29:33,220
Or for that matter, in some other area,

641
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,620
God asks them to give up something, and

642
00:29:36,620 --> 00:29:38,220
they think about it and think about it

643
00:29:38,220 --> 00:29:39,320
and think about it and think about it.

644
00:29:40,300 --> 00:29:41,160
Don't give it up.

645
00:29:43,980 --> 00:29:47,120
I mean, we know that, for example, there

646
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:48,500
are people who say, I've got this bad

647
00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:49,740
habit and I can't give it up.

648
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:56,120
I heard of a man who, in another

649
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,420
country, who was a slave to smoking, and

650
00:29:59,420 --> 00:30:00,080
he became a believer.

651
00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:03,980
And he said he couldn't give it up,

652
00:30:05,180 --> 00:30:07,300
because he said, I've been a slave to

653
00:30:07,300 --> 00:30:08,140
it for so long.

654
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,060
Till one day he had some serious problem

655
00:30:11,060 --> 00:30:14,180
with his chest, and the doctor said, if

656
00:30:14,180 --> 00:30:16,340
you smoke cigarettes anymore, you'll die.

657
00:30:17,060 --> 00:30:18,100
And he stopped immediately.

658
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:19,440
How is that?

659
00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,040
The fear of death was more than the

660
00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:24,780
fear of God.

661
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:25,920
That was the reason.

662
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,720
And I believe with many believers, the fear

663
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:32,820
of death is more than the fear of

664
00:30:32,820 --> 00:30:33,120
God.

665
00:30:34,660 --> 00:30:37,380
For example, when some people are dying, they

666
00:30:37,380 --> 00:30:39,280
suddenly begin to confess all their sins and

667
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:41,320
make restitution and ask forgiveness.

668
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:43,160
They never did it in all their lifetime,

669
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:44,780
because they never feared God.

670
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:46,180
But now they're afraid of death.

671
00:30:48,420 --> 00:30:49,160
Fear of God.

672
00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,300
The fear of pain and sickness is more

673
00:30:52,300 --> 00:30:53,960
than the fear of God, because when sickness

674
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:55,860
and pain come, they begin to confess everything

675
00:30:55,860 --> 00:30:57,800
and set all things right, which they never

676
00:30:57,800 --> 00:30:59,660
did all the rest of the time, when

677
00:30:59,660 --> 00:31:01,480
they don't fear God.

678
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:05,840
So you see, God is always searching for

679
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:07,680
people who will respond.

680
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:10,300
Think of that.

681
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:12,940
Who will respond, who may not have so

682
00:31:12,940 --> 00:31:14,740
much light on so many things, but when

683
00:31:14,740 --> 00:31:16,920
God calls them to do something, they say,

684
00:31:16,980 --> 00:31:18,020
Lord, I'm going to do it.

685
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:20,380
If the fear of God doesn't do it

686
00:31:20,380 --> 00:31:21,720
in me, nothing else must do it in

687
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:21,920
me.

688
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,200
And there each of us can profitably examine

689
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:25,740
ourselves.

690
00:31:26,860 --> 00:31:28,520
Can the fear of death make us do

691
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,140
something which the fear of God will not

692
00:31:30,140 --> 00:31:30,340
do?

693
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:33,360
Then we are just like all the other

694
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:36,980
human beings in the world, who are just

695
00:31:36,980 --> 00:31:38,680
the children of Adam, who have no fear

696
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:39,120
of God.

697
00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:41,640
I believe that if we examine our lives,

698
00:31:41,740 --> 00:31:44,040
we shall discover how many things we would

699
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,960
do out of the fear of death, which

700
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:48,240
we wouldn't do out of the fear of

701
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:48,500
God.

702
00:31:49,820 --> 00:31:51,860
There are believers who do things out of

703
00:31:51,860 --> 00:31:54,620
fear of the government authorities, who wouldn't do

704
00:31:54,620 --> 00:31:55,760
the same thing out of the fear of

705
00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:55,980
God.

706
00:31:58,220 --> 00:32:00,540
They do something righteously because they're afraid they'd

707
00:32:00,540 --> 00:32:02,540
get caught, but they wouldn't do it righteously

708
00:32:02,540 --> 00:32:04,820
out of the fear of God.

709
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,520
And that's why God's search continues throughout the

710
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:09,040
world today.

711
00:32:09,260 --> 00:32:12,760
I searched for a man, God searching for

712
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,580
those who will respond like Abraham.

713
00:32:17,300 --> 00:32:18,440
Finally, Abraham moved.

714
00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,760
And Abraham took Sarah, his wife, Genesis 12,

715
00:32:21,780 --> 00:32:23,980
5, Lot, his nephew, and all their possessions,

716
00:32:24,700 --> 00:32:26,640
which they had accumulated, the persons which they

717
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:28,140
had acquired in Haran, and they set out

718
00:32:28,140 --> 00:32:28,940
for the land of Canaan.

719
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:31,360
Thus they came to the land of Canaan.

720
00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:36,040
I don't know why Abraham took Lot, whether

721
00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,740
Lot came along, because God's word was very

722
00:32:39,740 --> 00:32:42,240
clear in Genesis 12, 1, Go forth from

723
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:44,760
your country and from your relatives and from

724
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:45,560
your fathers out.

725
00:32:46,260 --> 00:32:48,960
Sometimes we can think that, yeah, surely God

726
00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:50,920
can't mean it so exactly.

727
00:32:51,340 --> 00:32:52,720
But He did mean it exactly.

728
00:32:53,980 --> 00:32:55,840
And who did Abraham go out with?

729
00:32:56,260 --> 00:32:58,600
He went with his father and with Lot.

730
00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:00,720
And we can see that those were the

731
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:02,260
two people who were the cause of problems

732
00:33:02,260 --> 00:33:03,140
in Abraham's life.

733
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,140
First of all, his father got him stuck

734
00:33:05,140 --> 00:33:05,680
in Haran.

735
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:13,980
And secondly, Lot brought strife into that family.

736
00:33:15,140 --> 00:33:18,420
So you see, sometimes we can think that

737
00:33:18,420 --> 00:33:20,960
we are wiser than God, but we're not.

738
00:33:21,660 --> 00:33:24,400
When God says, Go forth from your relatives,

739
00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:26,320
it's best to go forth from our relatives

740
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,220
and not try and modify it and be

741
00:33:30,220 --> 00:33:32,060
diplomatic and do it in some other way

742
00:33:32,060 --> 00:33:35,760
and end up in some halfway home, like

743
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,100
so many believers have ended up.

744
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,680
It says here he took his nephew, Lot

745
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:41,120
his nephew.

746
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:42,940
Well, God didn't stop him.

747
00:33:43,980 --> 00:33:45,420
But later on he had to be separated

748
00:33:45,420 --> 00:33:46,240
from him also.

749
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:47,820
Both were painful experiences.

750
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:50,880
He had to be separated painfully from his

751
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,660
father through death and painfully from his nephew.

752
00:33:53,860 --> 00:33:55,580
But God was determined to do something.

753
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,100
And if I don't do it the way

754
00:33:58,100 --> 00:33:59,640
God wants me to do it, in a

755
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,540
peaceful way right in the beginning, then God

756
00:34:01,540 --> 00:34:03,520
has to do it in a drastic way

757
00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:04,460
later on.

758
00:34:05,660 --> 00:34:08,520
So it's always best to obey God exactly

759
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,239
and implicitly right from the beginning.

760
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:16,780
And Abraham passed through the land and says

761
00:34:16,780 --> 00:34:18,440
the Canaanite was then in the land, verse

762
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:18,780
6.

763
00:34:19,100 --> 00:34:21,719
God had not yet determined to give this

764
00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:22,800
to the seed of Abraham.

765
00:34:22,940 --> 00:34:25,699
That was still more than 400 years to

766
00:34:25,699 --> 00:34:26,340
go for that.

767
00:34:27,179 --> 00:34:29,040
And the Lord appeared to Abraham and said,

768
00:34:29,179 --> 00:34:31,760
To your seed I will give this land.

769
00:34:32,940 --> 00:34:34,520
So he built an altar there to the

770
00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:35,139
Lord who appeared there.

771
00:34:35,219 --> 00:34:37,460
Notice it says there, the last part of

772
00:34:37,460 --> 00:34:37,800
verse 6.

773
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,280
The Canaanite was then in the land.

774
00:34:41,420 --> 00:34:43,080
And the Lord appeared to Abraham and said,

775
00:34:43,219 --> 00:34:45,100
To your seed I will give this land.

776
00:34:45,900 --> 00:34:49,219
And he built an altar there to the

777
00:34:49,219 --> 00:34:50,020
Lord who had appeared to him.

778
00:34:50,060 --> 00:34:51,380
That was his saying, Amen.

779
00:34:51,380 --> 00:34:52,780
I believe that.

780
00:34:53,020 --> 00:34:55,780
I built this altar to show that I

781
00:34:55,780 --> 00:34:57,620
believe that one day you're going to give

782
00:34:57,620 --> 00:34:58,380
this land to me.

783
00:34:58,440 --> 00:34:59,480
I'm a lonely man here.

784
00:35:00,020 --> 00:35:02,560
This land is flooded with Canaanites, massive giants.

785
00:35:03,180 --> 00:35:04,960
And Abraham was like a little pygmy before

786
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:05,620
these giants.

787
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,300
Lord, I don't know how, but I believe

788
00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:09,500
it.

789
00:35:10,260 --> 00:35:13,920
You see, that was the faith which later

790
00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:16,640
on his descendants called Joshua and Caleb had.

791
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,140
That when they looked at the Canaanites, they

792
00:35:20,140 --> 00:35:21,960
had the same faith that Abraham had when

793
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:23,040
he looked at the Canaanites.

794
00:35:23,140 --> 00:35:25,320
Remember, the first person to look at the

795
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:27,440
Canaanite giants was not Joshua and Caleb.

796
00:35:28,660 --> 00:35:29,560
It was Abraham.

797
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:31,940
Abraham was the first person to look at

798
00:35:31,940 --> 00:35:34,520
these Canaanite giants and to whom God had

799
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:35,720
said, I'm going to give you this land.

800
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:38,320
And he said, it's very significant, that statement

801
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:38,620
there.

802
00:35:38,980 --> 00:35:41,640
The Canaanite was then occupying that land.

803
00:35:42,580 --> 00:35:44,020
We can apply that to the flesh.

804
00:35:44,700 --> 00:35:46,120
We know that Canaan is a picture of

805
00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:46,500
the flesh.

806
00:35:47,060 --> 00:35:49,620
And the Canaanites are a picture of all

807
00:35:49,620 --> 00:35:52,060
the lusts that rule in the flesh.

808
00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:54,980
And to come to faith like Abraham is

809
00:35:54,980 --> 00:35:57,160
to hear God say to us, when the

810
00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,680
Canaanites are ruling the land, I will give

811
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:04,400
this land to you, to your seed, that

812
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:05,020
is to Christ.

813
00:36:06,300 --> 00:36:09,340
As we saw in Galatians 3, we've just

814
00:36:09,340 --> 00:36:10,660
got to build an altar there and say,

815
00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:11,640
Lord, I believe that.

816
00:36:12,700 --> 00:36:13,860
I believe you'll do that.

817
00:36:14,660 --> 00:36:15,680
I can't say how.

818
00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:17,100
I'm so weak.

819
00:36:18,020 --> 00:36:20,560
I'm just lonely, alone, with these massive giants

820
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:21,580
around me, but you'll do it.

821
00:36:23,020 --> 00:36:24,520
So we see that Abraham was the first

822
00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:26,200
person to do that, and Joshua and Caleb

823
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:27,400
just followed in his footsteps.

824
00:36:28,180 --> 00:36:30,220
Then he proceeded from there to the mountain

825
00:36:30,220 --> 00:36:31,660
on the east of Bethel and pitched his

826
00:36:31,660 --> 00:36:34,540
tent, and he built an altar there again

827
00:36:34,540 --> 00:36:36,220
and called on the name of the Lord.

828
00:36:37,900 --> 00:36:39,160
It's a very beautiful picture.

829
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:40,940
Abraham was always building an altar.

830
00:36:42,340 --> 00:36:44,020
And we have seen before that this altar

831
00:36:44,020 --> 00:36:46,140
is a picture of our presenting our bodies.

832
00:36:46,500 --> 00:36:48,480
Whenever you read an altar like this in

833
00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:51,480
Genesis, it's not referring to the sin offering,

834
00:36:51,780 --> 00:36:53,740
which came later on in Leviticus.

835
00:36:53,740 --> 00:36:57,460
It's referring to the burnt offering, which refers

836
00:36:57,460 --> 00:37:00,000
to Romans 12.1, present your bodies as

837
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:01,420
a living sacrifice to God.

838
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:04,240
Reading this in New Covenant terms, it means

839
00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:06,940
Abraham presented his body as a living sacrifice

840
00:37:06,940 --> 00:37:07,500
to God.

841
00:37:08,260 --> 00:37:11,540
And Abraham journeyed on, continued on toward the

842
00:37:11,540 --> 00:37:11,980
Negev.

843
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:13,480
Now there was a famine in the land.

844
00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:19,640
And we read here, it's very significant, I

845
00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,420
just want to mention one thing about the

846
00:37:21,420 --> 00:37:23,100
Lord appearing to Abraham in verse 7.

847
00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:28,360
It doesn't say that the Lord appeared to

848
00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:30,180
Abraham when he was in Haran.

849
00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:32,880
The Lord appeared to him when he was

850
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:35,640
in the Nur of the Chaldees and said,

851
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:37,380
go into the land which I will tell

852
00:37:37,380 --> 00:37:37,560
you.

853
00:37:37,980 --> 00:37:40,680
He came halfway to Haran and stopped there.

854
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:42,000
God never appeared to him.

855
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:45,100
God only dealt with him in judgment there

856
00:37:45,100 --> 00:37:47,000
by allowing his father to die.

857
00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:51,040
He brought him into Canaan and then the

858
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:51,880
Lord appeared to him.

859
00:37:51,940 --> 00:37:54,120
Which teaches us something, that when the Lord

860
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:57,600
has given us revelation at one point, until

861
00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,760
I move to that place to which God

862
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,120
has told me to move, until I take

863
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,780
that step of obedience which God has told

864
00:38:05,780 --> 00:38:08,720
me to take, I will not have further

865
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:09,240
revelation.

866
00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:12,480
That's the reason why many people stay without

867
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:12,940
revelation.

868
00:38:13,460 --> 00:38:16,620
Because there's something in their life which they

869
00:38:16,620 --> 00:38:17,240
haven't settled.

870
00:38:17,940 --> 00:38:20,220
Some restitution not made, somebody they have not

871
00:38:20,220 --> 00:38:21,000
apologized to.

872
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:23,800
Something, they've come halfway and got stuck.

873
00:38:25,850 --> 00:38:26,830
They are in a Haran.

874
00:38:28,550 --> 00:38:29,850
God has told them to go all the

875
00:38:29,850 --> 00:38:31,410
way and do that, they've done it halfway.

876
00:38:31,910 --> 00:38:32,650
They're stuck there.

877
00:38:33,250 --> 00:38:35,350
They'll never get further revelation until they move

878
00:38:35,350 --> 00:38:36,390
to complete obedience.

879
00:38:36,390 --> 00:38:40,130
Then the Lord appeared in Canaan to Abraham.

880
00:38:41,110 --> 00:38:43,110
And then we find a second test.

881
00:38:45,180 --> 00:38:47,340
That was a famine in the land.

882
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:49,500
That can be a test.

883
00:38:50,260 --> 00:38:52,160
That when God calls us to a place,

884
00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:53,880
we think the place should be all full

885
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:54,840
of comfort and ease.

886
00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:57,360
And we come to the place which God

887
00:38:57,360 --> 00:38:58,840
has called us to and we find that

888
00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:00,060
there are problems.

889
00:39:00,980 --> 00:39:01,920
There are difficulties.

890
00:39:02,620 --> 00:39:03,640
There is a famine.

891
00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,460
And when there is a famine, it is

892
00:39:06,460 --> 00:39:08,720
easy to lean to our own understanding and

893
00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:09,680
not trust in the Lord.

894
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:12,940
The question is, has God called me here?

895
00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:15,600
Yes, He has called me to Canaan.

896
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:18,120
Then famine or no famine, I must stay

897
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:18,400
here.

898
00:39:20,790 --> 00:39:22,070
But Abraham didn't do that.

899
00:39:22,370 --> 00:39:24,630
So Abraham went down to Egypt.

900
00:39:25,430 --> 00:39:27,290
And we'll discover that as a result of

901
00:39:27,290 --> 00:39:28,570
going down to Egypt, he got into a

902
00:39:28,570 --> 00:39:31,450
lot of problems which were worse than a

903
00:39:31,450 --> 00:39:31,670
famine.

904
00:39:32,730 --> 00:39:35,470
It would have been better to stay there

905
00:39:35,470 --> 00:39:36,290
and trust God.

906
00:39:37,170 --> 00:39:40,350
A lot of problems he got by going

907
00:39:40,350 --> 00:39:40,770
into Egypt.

908
00:39:40,870 --> 00:39:42,310
For example, when he came out of Egypt,

909
00:39:42,950 --> 00:39:46,670
he brought an Egyptian woman called Hagar with

910
00:39:46,670 --> 00:39:46,910
him.

911
00:39:47,990 --> 00:39:49,470
There would have been no Hagar in his

912
00:39:49,470 --> 00:39:50,850
life if he had not gone to Egypt.

913
00:39:52,230 --> 00:39:54,610
And through Hagar came Ishmael.

914
00:39:55,790 --> 00:39:58,590
Through Ishmael have come all the Arabs who

915
00:39:58,590 --> 00:40:03,610
have troubled the Jews all the centuries.

916
00:40:03,850 --> 00:40:07,090
Through Ishmael has come Mohammed and the Muslim

917
00:40:07,090 --> 00:40:11,130
religion that has troubled Christianity through the centuries.

918
00:40:11,310 --> 00:40:14,230
Just think of all the consequences that come

919
00:40:14,230 --> 00:40:17,070
out of one little step of disobedience.

920
00:40:17,070 --> 00:40:18,110
Of course, God forgives.

921
00:40:18,750 --> 00:40:21,190
Forgiveness, we can always repent and say, Lord,

922
00:40:21,290 --> 00:40:21,950
please forgive me.

923
00:40:22,390 --> 00:40:24,150
But the reaping is still there.

924
00:40:25,030 --> 00:40:28,550
Even though God forgives our sins, we still

925
00:40:28,550 --> 00:40:31,030
have to reap some of the consequences of

926
00:40:31,030 --> 00:40:33,390
our sins for a long time.

927
00:40:34,950 --> 00:40:37,790
And sometimes our children also, unfortunately.

928
00:40:39,270 --> 00:40:43,230
Abraham's children are certainly reaping the result of

929
00:40:43,230 --> 00:40:44,230
Abraham's folly there.

930
00:40:44,710 --> 00:40:48,590
Think how much depends on one little act

931
00:40:48,590 --> 00:40:50,470
of leaning upon our own understanding.

932
00:40:50,750 --> 00:40:51,790
There is a famine here.

933
00:40:51,910 --> 00:40:52,550
What shall I do?

934
00:40:53,010 --> 00:40:53,930
Go to Egypt.

935
00:40:54,130 --> 00:40:57,290
I hear there is plenty of food there.

936
00:40:59,010 --> 00:41:00,750
Go to that rich brother.

937
00:41:00,950 --> 00:41:02,490
Go to that influential brother.

938
00:41:02,630 --> 00:41:04,410
He will help you out of that.

939
00:41:05,090 --> 00:41:06,710
The point is, does God want you to

940
00:41:06,710 --> 00:41:07,070
go there?

941
00:41:07,950 --> 00:41:08,790
That is the point.

942
00:41:09,250 --> 00:41:11,010
Don't lean to your own understanding.

943
00:41:12,910 --> 00:41:14,910
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

944
00:41:16,690 --> 00:41:18,130
I'm not criticizing Abraham.

945
00:41:18,430 --> 00:41:19,190
I would never do that.

946
00:41:19,330 --> 00:41:20,570
I believe he had far more faith than

947
00:41:20,570 --> 00:41:21,050
a lot of us.

948
00:41:21,950 --> 00:41:22,910
He didn't have God's word.

949
00:41:23,010 --> 00:41:24,510
I'm saying we can apply this to us

950
00:41:24,510 --> 00:41:26,930
who have so much of God's word and

951
00:41:26,930 --> 00:41:27,730
learn something.

952
00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:34,040
When God calls us to a place, famine

953
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:35,940
or no famine, we got to stay there

954
00:41:35,940 --> 00:41:39,000
till he tells us to move.

955
00:41:40,620 --> 00:41:43,980
There is a saying that what God shows

956
00:41:43,980 --> 00:41:47,460
me in the light, I should not doubt

957
00:41:47,460 --> 00:41:48,440
in the darkness.

958
00:41:51,260 --> 00:41:54,920
To use an illustration, supposing I've got a

959
00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:57,380
hundred rupee note which I've examined very carefully

960
00:41:57,380 --> 00:41:59,420
in the light and I'm convinced that it

961
00:41:59,420 --> 00:42:00,440
is a true note.

962
00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:03,200
Afterwards in the thick darkness I take it

963
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:04,400
out and it doesn't look like a real

964
00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,740
currency note, I don't have to doubt it.

965
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:10,020
Because in the darkness, I cannot be so

966
00:42:10,020 --> 00:42:10,340
sure.

967
00:42:11,220 --> 00:42:13,760
There are times when God makes something very

968
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:14,640
clear to us.

969
00:42:15,860 --> 00:42:17,980
Later on, maybe some months later, some years

970
00:42:17,980 --> 00:42:24,900
later, there's famine, there's darkness, there's a storm

971
00:42:24,900 --> 00:42:25,860
and I begin to doubt.

972
00:42:27,140 --> 00:42:28,500
Has God really shown me that?

973
00:42:28,620 --> 00:42:29,680
That's what I've got to remember.

974
00:42:29,820 --> 00:42:31,140
What God has shown me in the light,

975
00:42:32,300 --> 00:42:33,620
let me not doubt in the darkness.

976
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:35,000
God has shown me in the light that

977
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:36,160
I must go to the land of Canaan.

978
00:42:36,660 --> 00:42:37,260
I go there.

979
00:42:39,700 --> 00:42:40,520
Famine or no famine?

980
00:42:41,620 --> 00:42:43,860
We see a very beautiful contrast to this

981
00:42:43,860 --> 00:42:45,200
in the New Testament in Acts of the

982
00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:46,480
Apostles chapter 16.

983
00:42:51,700 --> 00:42:55,500
In an earlier meeting once, we considered how

984
00:42:55,500 --> 00:42:58,060
when Jesus told the multitude to go away

985
00:42:58,060 --> 00:43:00,920
in Matthew 14 and then told the disciples

986
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:02,040
to go out in a boat.

987
00:43:02,560 --> 00:43:04,460
It says he compelled them to go in

988
00:43:04,460 --> 00:43:04,800
the boat.

989
00:43:05,340 --> 00:43:06,500
What did the disciples face?

990
00:43:06,820 --> 00:43:07,260
Do you remember?

991
00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:09,640
What did they face?

992
00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:11,020
A storm.

993
00:43:12,580 --> 00:43:13,640
A storm.

994
00:43:14,300 --> 00:43:16,680
When they obeyed Jesus, they faced a storm.

995
00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:19,660
What did Abraham face when he obeyed God?

996
00:43:19,820 --> 00:43:20,340
A famine.

997
00:43:22,140 --> 00:43:24,220
Is it the obedient people who have a

998
00:43:24,220 --> 00:43:24,960
comfortable life?

999
00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:25,920
No, sir.

1000
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:28,600
It's the disobedient people who have a comfortable

1001
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:29,060
life.

1002
00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:31,660
If Abraham had been disobedient and stayed in

1003
00:43:31,660 --> 00:43:32,960
Ur of the Chaldees, there was no famine

1004
00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:33,860
in Ur of the Chaldees.

1005
00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:36,660
If the disciples had been disobedient and stayed

1006
00:43:36,660 --> 00:43:38,020
on land, there would have been no storm

1007
00:43:38,020 --> 00:43:38,380
there.

1008
00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:42,040
It's the obedient who face the storms.

1009
00:43:42,220 --> 00:43:44,660
Here's another example in Acts 16.

1010
00:43:45,460 --> 00:43:48,080
It says here, a vision, verse 9, appeared

1011
00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:50,300
to Paul in the night, and a man

1012
00:43:50,300 --> 00:43:51,980
from Macedonia, that is a vision from God,

1013
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:54,280
saying, come over to Macedonia and help us.

1014
00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,640
When he had seen the vision, immediately we

1015
00:43:57,640 --> 00:43:59,640
sought to go to Macedonia, concluding God had

1016
00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:00,980
called us to preach the gospel there.

1017
00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:04,820
And the chief city of Macedonia was Philippi,

1018
00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:05,980
verse 12.

1019
00:44:07,420 --> 00:44:11,400
And when they came to Philippi, within a

1020
00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:16,860
short time, it says here, they were beaten,

1021
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:19,940
verse 23, and thrown into the jail.

1022
00:44:20,900 --> 00:44:22,080
How do you like that?

1023
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:26,280
For following a God-given vision that lands

1024
00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:26,980
you in a jail.

1025
00:44:28,460 --> 00:44:31,460
That's like the famine that Abraham faced when

1026
00:44:31,460 --> 00:44:32,140
he obeyed God.

1027
00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:34,680
That's like the storm the disciples faced when

1028
00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:35,420
they obeyed God.

1029
00:44:36,540 --> 00:44:38,860
A jail when he obeyed the vision and

1030
00:44:38,860 --> 00:44:39,600
went to Philippi.

1031
00:44:40,260 --> 00:44:42,640
But how did Paul and Silas respond?

1032
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:45,840
It says at midnight, verse 25, they were

1033
00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:46,200
praying.

1034
00:44:46,500 --> 00:44:48,100
If it had only been written they were

1035
00:44:48,100 --> 00:44:50,340
praying, we don't know how they would have

1036
00:44:50,340 --> 00:44:50,620
prayed.

1037
00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:53,740
Because there are various ways of praying.

1038
00:44:54,240 --> 00:44:55,560
Lord, why in the world have you put

1039
00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:55,920
us here?

1040
00:44:56,760 --> 00:44:57,020
No.

1041
00:44:57,180 --> 00:44:58,940
But it also says here, they were singing

1042
00:44:58,940 --> 00:45:00,000
hymns of praise.

1043
00:45:00,940 --> 00:45:03,360
Then we understand what type of prayer they

1044
00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:03,860
would have prayed.

1045
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:06,300
You can't sing hymns of praise, hallelujah, and

1046
00:45:06,300 --> 00:45:07,400
then say, Lord, why in the world have

1047
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:07,920
you put us here?

1048
00:45:08,100 --> 00:45:08,380
No.

1049
00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:12,540
When you say, sing hymns of praise, then

1050
00:45:12,540 --> 00:45:15,480
your prayer is, well, Lord, if this is

1051
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:17,140
why you brought us to Philippi, that's fine

1052
00:45:17,140 --> 00:45:17,660
with us.

1053
00:45:18,220 --> 00:45:19,080
We're quite happy.

1054
00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:21,080
Maybe there's some purpose here, and there was.

1055
00:45:21,500 --> 00:45:22,700
That was to save the jailer.

1056
00:45:24,140 --> 00:45:26,980
So, we see quite a contrast in the

1057
00:45:26,980 --> 00:45:27,480
New Testament.

1058
00:45:28,820 --> 00:45:31,340
And there we see when we receive the

1059
00:45:31,340 --> 00:45:34,080
Holy Spirit, how we can respond.

1060
00:45:34,780 --> 00:45:36,340
When there is a famine in Canaan.

1061
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:38,620
When there's a storm in the middle of

1062
00:45:38,620 --> 00:45:40,180
the sea after Jesus has told us to

1063
00:45:40,180 --> 00:45:40,580
go there.

1064
00:45:41,100 --> 00:45:42,840
When we're locked up in jail after we

1065
00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:44,800
have obeyed God and gone into our Macedonia.

1066
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:48,000
And that can have many applications in our

1067
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:48,280
lives.

1068
00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:51,440
We take a step of obedience, and lo

1069
00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:53,440
and behold, there's a storm in the family,

1070
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:56,160
and a storm at home, and a famine,

1071
00:45:56,580 --> 00:45:58,360
and all types of things.

1072
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,880
And then, I'm confused.

1073
00:46:02,940 --> 00:46:06,300
Then we can think of how Abraham responded,

1074
00:46:06,540 --> 00:46:08,880
don't go down to Egypt, and you may

1075
00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:10,400
get into all types of difficulties there.

1076
00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:14,160
Stay there, and say, Lord, I obey you.

1077
00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:18,760
And there, God will sanctify you in the

1078
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,180
midst of that famine, and that storm, and

1079
00:46:21,180 --> 00:46:23,860
that jail, and make you a blessing to

1080
00:46:23,860 --> 00:46:24,200
others.

1081
00:46:24,580 --> 00:46:27,340
Even though Paul and Silas got a beating

1082
00:46:27,340 --> 00:46:29,760
on their backs, the blessing of Abraham was

1083
00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:31,840
still fulfilled in their lives, because the blessing

1084
00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:33,960
overflowed from them to the conversion of the

1085
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:34,940
whole jailer's family.

1086
00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:36,820
And that's the important thing.

1087
00:46:37,220 --> 00:46:38,760
Whether we get a few strikes on our

1088
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:39,700
back doesn't really matter.

1089
00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,660
But Abraham went to Egypt because the famine

1090
00:46:43,660 --> 00:46:44,400
was severe.

1091
00:46:44,960 --> 00:46:46,200
And that can be a test.

1092
00:46:47,060 --> 00:46:48,840
When you pray and the famine doesn't go,

1093
00:46:49,800 --> 00:46:52,900
the situation doesn't ease up, but the situation

1094
00:46:52,900 --> 00:46:54,000
becomes more severe.

1095
00:46:54,940 --> 00:46:55,500
Think of that.

1096
00:46:56,200 --> 00:46:58,340
Here I am, great man of God, one

1097
00:46:58,340 --> 00:46:59,700
man whom God has called in the whole

1098
00:46:59,700 --> 00:47:00,260
world, Abraham.

1099
00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:01,860
I am the one to whom God has

1100
00:47:01,860 --> 00:47:03,220
given revelation in the whole earth.

1101
00:47:03,340 --> 00:47:04,860
God has chosen me, and I have obeyed

1102
00:47:04,860 --> 00:47:05,860
God, and I've come out of Ur of

1103
00:47:05,860 --> 00:47:07,540
the Chaldees, and I pray and pray, and

1104
00:47:07,540 --> 00:47:08,540
the famine doesn't seem to go.

1105
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:10,080
That's really humbling.

1106
00:47:11,180 --> 00:47:12,540
All you can do is put your mouth

1107
00:47:12,540 --> 00:47:14,020
in the dust and say, Lord, I can't

1108
00:47:14,020 --> 00:47:14,440
understand.

1109
00:47:14,960 --> 00:47:16,320
I'm not the great man of God I

1110
00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:16,900
thought I was.

1111
00:47:17,300 --> 00:47:19,220
I'm just a little creature, but I trust

1112
00:47:19,220 --> 00:47:19,440
you.

1113
00:47:20,420 --> 00:47:20,900
It's good.

1114
00:47:21,260 --> 00:47:22,400
It's good to put our mouth in the

1115
00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:23,920
dust, as Lamentations 3 says.

1116
00:47:24,260 --> 00:47:24,880
Then there's hope.

1117
00:47:26,900 --> 00:47:28,600
And it came about when he came here

1118
00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:30,460
to Egypt, here's the first problem that arose.

1119
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:33,080
Soon as you land in Egypt, there's problems.

1120
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:35,620
You know you're out of God's will immediately,

1121
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:38,940
as soon as you've followed your own reason.

1122
00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:44,020
He said to Sarah, his wife, he's already

1123
00:47:44,020 --> 00:47:46,580
begun to scheme, he's seen the Egyptians all

1124
00:47:46,580 --> 00:47:49,480
eyeing his good-looking wife, and he said,

1125
00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:51,820
see now, I know that you're a beautiful

1126
00:47:51,820 --> 00:47:52,180
woman.

1127
00:47:53,340 --> 00:47:55,440
And it'll come about when the Egyptians see

1128
00:47:55,440 --> 00:47:57,520
you, that they will say, this is his

1129
00:47:57,520 --> 00:47:59,140
wife, and they will kill me.

1130
00:48:01,500 --> 00:48:04,480
You see the selfishness of this man.

1131
00:48:05,660 --> 00:48:07,240
I mean, just like us, we have the

1132
00:48:07,240 --> 00:48:07,980
same flesh as us.

1133
00:48:08,540 --> 00:48:09,700
But they will let you live.

1134
00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:14,420
Please say that you're my sister, so that

1135
00:48:14,420 --> 00:48:15,740
it may go well with me because of

1136
00:48:15,740 --> 00:48:15,880
you.

1137
00:48:15,880 --> 00:48:17,760
I mean, didn't Abraham think that if you

1138
00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:19,260
go around saying this good-looking girl is

1139
00:48:19,260 --> 00:48:22,640
my sister, somebody will just say, alright, I'm

1140
00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:23,500
going to marry her.

1141
00:48:24,500 --> 00:48:26,040
And that would be common sense.

1142
00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:30,880
But there, he was so much thinking of

1143
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:33,100
preserving his own life, they will kill me.

1144
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:38,580
So I'm willing to risk my wife becoming

1145
00:48:38,580 --> 00:48:40,900
immoral, so that I can preserve my life.

1146
00:48:41,740 --> 00:48:43,780
It doesn't matter what happens to my wife,

1147
00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:44,920
so that I can preserve my life.

1148
00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:47,960
Now today, we won't act like that.

1149
00:48:48,700 --> 00:48:50,400
But we can act like that when it

1150
00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:52,700
comes to our inner self-life.

1151
00:48:53,620 --> 00:48:57,280
That to preserve my self-life, I'm willing

1152
00:48:57,280 --> 00:48:58,440
to let my wife suffer.

1153
00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:00,540
It's the same thing.

1154
00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:02,400
They will kill me.

1155
00:49:03,260 --> 00:49:04,160
I don't want to be killed.

1156
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:10,600
So, tell a lie that it may go

1157
00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:11,560
well with me.

1158
00:49:11,640 --> 00:49:12,320
Verse 13.

1159
00:49:12,900 --> 00:49:14,120
Please say that you're my sister, so that

1160
00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:15,120
it may go well with me.

1161
00:49:15,380 --> 00:49:16,720
You see, this is typical of the human

1162
00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:17,040
race.

1163
00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:20,520
That it may go well with me.

1164
00:49:20,720 --> 00:49:22,340
What about going well with you, Sarah?

1165
00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:24,160
Yeah, never mind that.

1166
00:49:24,540 --> 00:49:26,700
But that it may go well with me

1167
00:49:26,700 --> 00:49:27,920
because of you.

1168
00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:30,320
That I may live on account of you.

1169
00:49:30,900 --> 00:49:32,460
And came about when Abraham came to Egypt,

1170
00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:34,680
Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

1171
00:49:36,820 --> 00:49:38,240
I just want to mention something here.

1172
00:49:40,770 --> 00:49:44,690
That Sarah was 65 years old, and she

1173
00:49:44,690 --> 00:49:45,470
was so beautiful.

1174
00:49:46,990 --> 00:49:48,050
What's the secret of that?

1175
00:49:48,970 --> 00:49:50,630
I want to turn to a verse in

1176
00:49:50,630 --> 00:49:52,550
1 Peter chapter 3 in this connection.

1177
00:49:53,510 --> 00:49:54,970
1 Peter chapter 3.

1178
00:50:01,020 --> 00:50:03,060
1 Peter 3 verse 3 to 6.

1179
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:06,180
1 Peter 3 verse 3 to 6.

1180
00:50:06,180 --> 00:50:09,460
Let not your adornments, your wives, be external,

1181
00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:12,660
braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, putting on

1182
00:50:12,660 --> 00:50:12,940
dresses.

1183
00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:14,520
Let it be the hidden person of the

1184
00:50:14,520 --> 00:50:17,580
heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle

1185
00:50:17,580 --> 00:50:18,500
and a quiet spirit.

1186
00:50:19,300 --> 00:50:21,900
For in this way, verse 5, which way?

1187
00:50:22,580 --> 00:50:25,000
In this gentle and quiet spirit, in former

1188
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:28,160
times, the holy women also who hoped in

1189
00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:32,600
God used to adorn themselves, being submissive to

1190
00:50:32,600 --> 00:50:33,440
their own husbands.

1191
00:50:34,460 --> 00:50:40,540
Thus Sarah, thus Sarah had a beauty in

1192
00:50:40,540 --> 00:50:45,260
her life, as she obeyed Abraham, calling him

1193
00:50:45,260 --> 00:50:45,700
Lord.

1194
00:50:47,420 --> 00:50:49,200
And you have become her children.

1195
00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:55,300
Not only Abraham's children, wives, you can be

1196
00:50:55,300 --> 00:50:58,560
Sarah's children, if you do what is right,

1197
00:50:59,720 --> 00:51:01,960
without being frightened by any fear.

1198
00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:06,380
You know, there was a beauty in her

1199
00:51:06,380 --> 00:51:08,040
which was more than physical.

1200
00:51:09,440 --> 00:51:11,280
And when you see in 1 Peter chapter

1201
00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:12,940
3, you see that beauty was the beauty

1202
00:51:12,940 --> 00:51:15,060
of a submissive spirit.

1203
00:51:15,900 --> 00:51:20,100
Think that Sarah knew how to submit to

1204
00:51:20,100 --> 00:51:24,940
Abraham, without a commandment saying, wives, be submissive

1205
00:51:24,940 --> 00:51:25,420
to your husband.

1206
00:51:25,420 --> 00:51:28,780
And she had no scripture, but she submitted

1207
00:51:28,780 --> 00:51:31,420
to her husband calling him Lord.

1208
00:51:32,380 --> 00:51:33,060
Amazing.

1209
00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:36,960
And she is put forth as an example

1210
00:51:36,960 --> 00:51:39,260
for new covenant sisters.

1211
00:51:41,460 --> 00:51:43,820
It's not only Abraham, Sarah is also put

1212
00:51:43,820 --> 00:51:45,960
forth as an example.

1213
00:51:47,180 --> 00:51:50,580
And Pharaoh, Genesis 12 verse 15, and Pharaoh's

1214
00:51:50,580 --> 00:51:53,300
officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh,

1215
00:51:53,400 --> 00:51:55,260
and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house.

1216
00:51:56,740 --> 00:51:58,480
You see, they had some morality there in

1217
00:51:58,480 --> 00:52:00,300
Egypt, they knew you can't take somebody else's

1218
00:52:00,300 --> 00:52:03,560
wife, but they thought she was Abraham's sister.

1219
00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:06,380
Pharaoh decided, all right, I'm going to marry

1220
00:52:06,380 --> 00:52:06,820
her then.

1221
00:52:08,460 --> 00:52:11,200
And therefore he treated Abraham well for her

1222
00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:14,440
sake, and gave him sheep, and oxen, and

1223
00:52:14,440 --> 00:52:17,680
donkeys, and male and female servants, and female

1224
00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:18,740
donkeys and camels.

1225
00:52:21,810 --> 00:52:24,010
He exchanged his wife for all these animals.

1226
00:52:26,130 --> 00:52:28,830
And think that he kept quiet with all

1227
00:52:28,830 --> 00:52:29,090
this.

1228
00:52:30,030 --> 00:52:30,770
It's amazing.

1229
00:52:31,690 --> 00:52:35,450
That Pharaoh's taken her, and he still keeps

1230
00:52:35,450 --> 00:52:35,730
quiet.

1231
00:52:35,830 --> 00:52:38,990
He doesn't say, hey, I was just bluffing,

1232
00:52:39,110 --> 00:52:41,630
she's not really my sister, she's my wife.

1233
00:52:41,770 --> 00:52:43,170
He didn't even say that, he just let

1234
00:52:43,170 --> 00:52:44,570
her go.

1235
00:52:48,480 --> 00:52:50,460
And those of you who are single, you

1236
00:52:50,460 --> 00:52:51,900
may say, boy, I'll never do that.

1237
00:52:52,460 --> 00:52:54,240
I'll tell you something, you'll never discover how

1238
00:52:54,240 --> 00:52:55,520
selfish you are until you get married.

1239
00:52:56,840 --> 00:52:57,240
Never.

1240
00:52:57,860 --> 00:53:00,000
I believe when you get married, you get

1241
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:03,060
a revelation on selfishness that dwells in the

1242
00:53:03,060 --> 00:53:04,780
flesh that you never even knew was there.

1243
00:53:05,920 --> 00:53:08,780
So, just hang on a little before you

1244
00:53:08,780 --> 00:53:11,720
judge Abraham, and wait till your time comes

1245
00:53:11,720 --> 00:53:12,780
and see if you can do it any

1246
00:53:12,780 --> 00:53:15,440
better in relation to various little things.

1247
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:16,900
It may not be exchanging your wife for

1248
00:53:16,900 --> 00:53:18,740
animals, you may not do any stupid thing

1249
00:53:18,740 --> 00:53:20,340
like that, even the heathens don't do that.

1250
00:53:20,340 --> 00:53:23,180
But it can be another thing.

1251
00:53:23,560 --> 00:53:25,500
It can be exchanging your wife and her

1252
00:53:25,500 --> 00:53:26,500
rights for your rights.

1253
00:53:27,740 --> 00:53:29,560
So that it may go well with me.

1254
00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:32,500
So that my self-life is preserved.

1255
00:53:33,420 --> 00:53:35,340
So that my convenience is preserved.

1256
00:53:36,360 --> 00:53:38,040
My comfort is preserved.

1257
00:53:42,040 --> 00:53:45,460
And the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house

1258
00:53:45,460 --> 00:53:48,280
with great plagues because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

1259
00:53:50,330 --> 00:53:53,050
And it's amazing that Pharaoh knew that when

1260
00:53:53,050 --> 00:53:54,890
sickness comes, he's got to judge himself.

1261
00:53:56,650 --> 00:54:00,190
A heathen man like Pharaoh, sickness comes into

1262
00:54:00,190 --> 00:54:01,870
the home and he says, boy, what did

1263
00:54:01,870 --> 00:54:02,490
I do wrong?

1264
00:54:03,210 --> 00:54:04,770
And he thinks, what did I do wrong

1265
00:54:04,770 --> 00:54:06,030
in the last few days?

1266
00:54:06,670 --> 00:54:08,310
Must have been that I took this woman.

1267
00:54:09,230 --> 00:54:10,710
I can't think of anything else that I

1268
00:54:10,710 --> 00:54:12,110
did wrong that all of a sudden sickness

1269
00:54:12,110 --> 00:54:13,390
has come to everybody in the house.

1270
00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:17,320
Good thing to do.

1271
00:54:18,700 --> 00:54:22,180
When sickness strikes everyone, to ask ourselves, what

1272
00:54:22,180 --> 00:54:24,680
did I do wrong in the last few

1273
00:54:24,680 --> 00:54:24,980
days?

1274
00:54:25,320 --> 00:54:26,560
Follow Pharaoh's example.

1275
00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:28,540
And he discovered something.

1276
00:54:29,740 --> 00:54:32,540
And he came to Abraham and said, what

1277
00:54:32,540 --> 00:54:33,520
is this you have done to me?

1278
00:54:33,800 --> 00:54:34,960
Why did you not tell me she was

1279
00:54:34,960 --> 00:54:35,320
your wife?

1280
00:54:36,280 --> 00:54:37,680
I think he must have gone to Sarah

1281
00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:39,920
and said, tell me, are you his sister?

1282
00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:41,260
And she said, he must have said, no,

1283
00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:41,780
I'm his wife.

1284
00:54:42,780 --> 00:54:45,400
And he rebuked Abraham.

1285
00:54:47,020 --> 00:54:49,680
This heathen man rebuking a prophet of God.

1286
00:54:52,140 --> 00:54:53,160
Have you had that experience?

1287
00:54:54,780 --> 00:54:57,480
Where a heathen man says something and you

1288
00:54:57,480 --> 00:55:00,900
feel humbled that a heathen man says something.

1289
00:55:01,020 --> 00:55:02,700
I'm supposed to be a new covenant believer.

1290
00:55:03,580 --> 00:55:06,340
And what this man says is so upright

1291
00:55:06,340 --> 00:55:08,060
and righteous, it puts me to shame.

1292
00:55:09,400 --> 00:55:10,980
Yeah, I'm sure all of us have had

1293
00:55:10,980 --> 00:55:11,980
experiences like that.

1294
00:55:12,460 --> 00:55:13,600
Well, Abraham had one there.

1295
00:55:16,210 --> 00:55:18,530
Pharaoh called Abraham and said, what is this

1296
00:55:18,530 --> 00:55:19,390
you have done to me?

1297
00:55:21,230 --> 00:55:22,970
And why did you say she is my

1298
00:55:22,970 --> 00:55:23,390
sister?

1299
00:55:24,210 --> 00:55:25,630
So that I took her for my wife.

1300
00:55:25,730 --> 00:55:27,150
Now then, here is your wife, take her

1301
00:55:27,150 --> 00:55:27,590
and go.

1302
00:55:29,030 --> 00:55:31,610
Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him and they

1303
00:55:31,610 --> 00:55:35,030
escorted him away with his wife and all

1304
00:55:35,030 --> 00:55:35,950
that belonged to him.

1305
00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:42,800
And we read, thus Abraham went up from

1306
00:55:42,800 --> 00:55:45,420
Egypt to the Negev and he and his

1307
00:55:45,420 --> 00:55:48,020
wife and all that belonged to him and

1308
00:55:48,020 --> 00:55:48,700
lost with him.

1309
00:55:49,540 --> 00:55:54,520
Now Abraham was very rich in livestock and

1310
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:55,300
silver and in gold.

1311
00:55:55,580 --> 00:55:58,840
It's very significant that this is the first

1312
00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:01,620
time in the Bible that it says that

1313
00:56:01,620 --> 00:56:05,740
somebody was very rich and it is when

1314
00:56:05,740 --> 00:56:06,940
he came out of Egypt.

1315
00:56:07,420 --> 00:56:10,360
That was the second problem that came there.

1316
00:56:10,520 --> 00:56:12,620
First, he got into trouble with Pharaoh by

1317
00:56:12,620 --> 00:56:13,260
telling a lie.

1318
00:56:14,200 --> 00:56:16,280
The second thing, of course, he must have

1319
00:56:16,280 --> 00:56:17,380
had a lot of things when he came

1320
00:56:17,380 --> 00:56:18,400
out of Ur of the Chaldeans.

1321
00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:20,460
But I think those days a lot of

1322
00:56:20,460 --> 00:56:22,780
people had camel and livestock and other things

1323
00:56:22,780 --> 00:56:23,240
like that.

1324
00:56:23,760 --> 00:56:26,160
But when he went to Egypt, Pharaoh the

1325
00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:29,000
king, it says there, he gave him so

1326
00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:30,140
many things, verse 16.

1327
00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:34,820
And apparently he didn't take it all back.

1328
00:56:35,740 --> 00:56:38,700
He took, he gave it actually in exchange

1329
00:56:38,700 --> 00:56:39,880
for Sarah.

1330
00:56:40,800 --> 00:56:43,000
But he told Abraham, you can keep it.

1331
00:56:43,640 --> 00:56:45,700
And Abraham came out very rich.

1332
00:56:46,800 --> 00:56:48,940
And not only Abraham was very rich, but

1333
00:56:48,940 --> 00:56:50,240
Lot also was very rich.

1334
00:56:50,780 --> 00:56:53,580
And there we see the root cause of

1335
00:56:53,580 --> 00:56:55,680
the problem that came later on between these

1336
00:56:55,680 --> 00:56:56,500
two people.

1337
00:56:57,400 --> 00:56:59,620
They were, they had far too much wealth

1338
00:56:59,620 --> 00:57:01,920
now that they got into conflict with each

1339
00:57:01,920 --> 00:57:02,960
other, their herdsmen.

1340
00:57:04,080 --> 00:57:06,140
Why didn't their herdsmen get into conflict before

1341
00:57:06,140 --> 00:57:06,460
that?

1342
00:57:07,720 --> 00:57:09,120
Because they didn't have so much.

1343
00:57:09,980 --> 00:57:11,400
But when they came out of Egypt, they

1344
00:57:11,400 --> 00:57:12,340
had so much.

1345
00:57:13,900 --> 00:57:15,940
Yeah, when you miss God's will, you can

1346
00:57:15,940 --> 00:57:17,900
become very rich.

1347
00:57:19,700 --> 00:57:23,780
Very rich by missing the will of God.

1348
00:57:28,820 --> 00:57:30,880
And so many people are so foolish to

1349
00:57:30,880 --> 00:57:34,120
think that all that riches has come by

1350
00:57:34,120 --> 00:57:34,720
obeying God.

1351
00:57:34,820 --> 00:57:37,800
Did Abraham become very rich by obeying God?

1352
00:57:37,920 --> 00:57:38,280
No.

1353
00:57:39,860 --> 00:57:42,340
By missing God's will and going to Egypt,

1354
00:57:42,660 --> 00:57:44,580
he came out with all this wealth and

1355
00:57:44,580 --> 00:57:46,420
the wealth became the cause of his problem

1356
00:57:46,420 --> 00:57:47,640
with Lot.

1357
00:57:49,080 --> 00:57:49,920
Learn a lesson.

1358
00:57:52,640 --> 00:57:54,420
The blessing of the Lord makes rich and

1359
00:57:54,420 --> 00:57:55,260
there is no sorrow.

1360
00:57:56,680 --> 00:57:59,960
But those who want to be rich and

1361
00:57:59,960 --> 00:58:02,200
go into Egypt or instead of Egypt you

1362
00:58:02,200 --> 00:58:04,480
can put dot dot dot, put some other

1363
00:58:04,480 --> 00:58:06,720
country or any other name there.

1364
00:58:07,400 --> 00:58:09,100
Go to such and such a place in

1365
00:58:09,100 --> 00:58:10,780
order to become rich.

1366
00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:12,940
Yeah, they will become rich.

1367
00:58:13,240 --> 00:58:14,120
God doesn't stop them.

1368
00:58:15,400 --> 00:58:17,960
But there is something that will be lost.

1369
00:58:20,660 --> 00:58:22,860
I just want to mention something here in

1370
00:58:22,860 --> 00:58:23,200
passing.

1371
00:58:24,160 --> 00:58:25,940
That the first rich man mentioned in the

1372
00:58:25,940 --> 00:58:26,560
Bible is Abraham.

1373
00:58:27,300 --> 00:58:28,740
And it is after he came out of

1374
00:58:28,740 --> 00:58:28,940
Egypt.

1375
00:58:30,300 --> 00:58:32,860
And the last rich man mentioned in the

1376
00:58:32,860 --> 00:58:36,340
Bible is in Luke 18.23, the rich

1377
00:58:36,340 --> 00:58:41,200
young ruler who turned away from Jesus because

1378
00:58:41,200 --> 00:58:43,880
he would not give up all that wealth.

1379
00:58:44,940 --> 00:58:46,780
And there is a contrast there.

1380
00:58:47,800 --> 00:58:49,380
The first rich person and the last rich

1381
00:58:49,380 --> 00:58:49,760
person.

1382
00:58:52,780 --> 00:58:54,800
And Genesis 13 verse 3.

1383
00:58:55,880 --> 00:58:57,800
He went on his journey from the Negev

1384
00:58:57,800 --> 00:59:00,400
as far as Bethel to the place where

1385
00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:01,640
his tent had been at the beginning.

1386
00:59:02,580 --> 00:59:05,320
Notice that phrase, at the beginning.

1387
00:59:06,200 --> 00:59:08,540
When you go astray from God to Egypt,

1388
00:59:08,940 --> 00:59:10,920
you have always got to come back to

1389
00:59:10,920 --> 00:59:13,260
the place where you were at the beginning.

1390
00:59:13,340 --> 00:59:14,500
We say there is a phrase in English

1391
00:59:14,500 --> 00:59:16,720
saying, which says going round in circles.

1392
00:59:17,660 --> 00:59:20,080
Or another phrase which says back to square

1393
00:59:20,080 --> 00:59:20,440
one.

1394
00:59:21,700 --> 00:59:23,400
Like the snakes and ladders game.

1395
00:59:24,600 --> 00:59:28,520
You climbed up to 56 and then down

1396
00:59:28,520 --> 00:59:29,500
to square one.

1397
00:59:31,730 --> 00:59:34,690
Because at some point you missed the will

1398
00:59:34,690 --> 00:59:34,930
of God.

1399
00:59:35,030 --> 00:59:37,330
Back to square one at the beginning.

1400
00:59:38,490 --> 00:59:41,290
And all that time and labor lost.

1401
00:59:42,470 --> 00:59:44,130
Think of people who are at square one

1402
00:59:44,130 --> 00:59:44,690
when they die.

1403
00:59:46,170 --> 00:59:47,290
What a tragedy.

1404
00:59:48,470 --> 00:59:51,070
At square one when they die after having

1405
00:59:51,070 --> 00:59:52,950
been believers for 30-40 years.

1406
00:59:53,570 --> 00:59:56,410
Still losing their temper, still lusting after women,

1407
00:59:57,030 --> 01:00:00,950
still loving money, still defeated, still bitter, still

1408
01:00:00,950 --> 01:00:04,750
easily offended, still upset, still disturbed, still irritated.

1409
01:00:06,530 --> 01:00:09,270
After years, back to square one.

1410
01:00:10,870 --> 01:00:12,810
Occasionally after a convention they would move out

1411
01:00:12,810 --> 01:00:14,510
to square number 10 or 12.

1412
01:00:15,090 --> 01:00:17,110
But after a few weeks after the conference

1413
01:00:17,110 --> 01:00:18,630
was over, back to square one.

1414
01:00:20,920 --> 01:00:22,800
But think, alright, that happens for a little

1415
01:00:22,800 --> 01:00:24,540
while, but think if you spent all your

1416
01:00:24,540 --> 01:00:25,240
life like that.

1417
01:00:25,680 --> 01:00:27,080
Being eaten up by a snake and back

1418
01:00:27,080 --> 01:00:28,680
to square one and end up in square

1419
01:00:28,680 --> 01:00:29,400
one when you die.

1420
01:00:29,400 --> 01:00:31,780
We really got to take it more wholeheartedly.

1421
01:00:32,400 --> 01:00:33,800
We got to walk carefully.

1422
01:00:35,100 --> 01:00:37,020
Thank God it doesn't depend upon a throwing

1423
01:00:37,020 --> 01:00:38,640
of a dice, like in snakes and ladders,

1424
01:00:38,960 --> 01:00:39,920
that you don't know where you're going to

1425
01:00:39,920 --> 01:00:40,180
land.

1426
01:00:40,300 --> 01:00:41,460
We know where we're going to land.

1427
01:00:42,400 --> 01:00:43,780
And we can be careful that we don't

1428
01:00:43,780 --> 01:00:44,240
land there.

1429
01:00:45,060 --> 01:00:46,220
It's not a throw of a dice.

1430
01:00:46,220 --> 01:00:49,620
We choose to land into some square where

1431
01:00:49,620 --> 01:00:51,440
there is a snake, called the love of

1432
01:00:51,440 --> 01:00:54,080
money perhaps, or the love of a profession,

1433
01:00:55,020 --> 01:00:58,060
or advancement for oneself, or some personal gain.

1434
01:00:58,100 --> 01:00:59,480
I know there's a snake there, but I

1435
01:00:59,480 --> 01:01:00,140
go and land there.

1436
01:01:01,300 --> 01:01:03,020
I choose that it may go well with

1437
01:01:03,020 --> 01:01:03,400
me.

1438
01:01:05,000 --> 01:01:05,180
Yeah?

1439
01:01:07,550 --> 01:01:09,330
But praise God he didn't keep going round

1440
01:01:09,330 --> 01:01:09,750
in circles.

1441
01:01:09,830 --> 01:01:11,630
He didn't spend all his life going back

1442
01:01:11,630 --> 01:01:12,130
to square one.

1443
01:01:12,210 --> 01:01:12,790
He made a move.