In 2023, I decided to preach a series of 7 sermons on the blessings of God in the Old Testament. I believe this will be an informative series of sermons learning how God blessed His people through their life's journey in the Old Testament.
Before preaching Abraham's life of faithfulness, I want to point out that a major premise of God's blessing is unconditional, but at the same time, it is also conditional. We can discover this is true through the story of Abraham in the Old Testament.
Today's message title is Abraham's faith. Through Genesis 12:1-5, we will find out two important things.
- First, Abraham's faith was the condition for unlocking God's unconditional blessing to Abraham. Again, Abraham's faith was the condition that opened God's unconditional blessing to Abraham.
- Second, the essence of Abraham's faith was to make a godly decision about God's Word and move in the right direction.
In verse 1, "When Abram was in Haran, the Lord had said to him, "Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you." Haran was a land of comfort and familiarity for Abraham, but Canaan was a land of promise with many uncertainties. Hebrews 11:8-9 says, "By faith Abraham when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith, he made his home in the promised land."
Abraham's faith was completed through his action and his action was to hold the promise of God. It brought God's blessings to him and his descendants.
The Story of Salt
I will talk about the interesting story of salt. Our body needs adequate amounts of sodium to transmit nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles, and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals.
So if you weigh 121 pounds, you have about 200 grams of sodium chloride in your body. That's about 40 teaspoons of salt. I weigh about 165 pounds, which means I have about 60 teaspoons of salt in my body.
However, I am not a chemist, but I will explain Christian spiritual principles using simple high school chemistry rules.
Chemically, table salt is made up of two complex elements. These are sodium and chloride. Unfortunately, these two chemicals can kill people when used alone. When sodium is exposed to water, it produces hydrogen gas with high heat, and chlorine gas is toxic and can kill people.
Nonetheless, when electrostatic forces combine these two chemicals, it becomes essential table salt for humans. In the same way, when Abraham held the promise of God, he became a source of blessings and a channel of blessings to his children.
Holding the Promise of God
The act of holding on to God's promise was Abraham’s faith. A biblical example of faith is holding on to God's promises in the Bible.
The Genesis account testifies that Abraham's character was a coward who was good at lying. Abram twice lied about his wife Sarah as his sister. Genesis 12:13 says he lied to the king of Egypt, and Genesis 20:2 tells the same lie to Abimelech, the Philistine king. Although he made many mistakes, God was always with Abraham and worked for him. Romans 4:3 says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
The story of Abraham implies that God's blessing to Abraham was not because of his moral perfection but because of perfection of his faith. Perfection of his faith means holding on to God's promises. That is his faith.
Making the Right Decision and Walking in that Direction
The essence of Abraham's faith was to trust God's Word, hold onto it, and keep walking in that direction.
In Genesis 12:4-5, “Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.”
This verse gives us a spiritual lesson. The lesson is that holding on to God's promises and following them is not a matter of age. Many Christians tend to believe that when they retire, they are retiring from their spiritual duties to their church and children. Today's text tells us it's not biblical. When Abram was seventy-five years old, God gave him hope to continue dreaming, and when he was 100 years old, he gave birth to his first son, Isaac.
Acts 2:17 "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” It means God will pour his Spirit of knowledge and wisdom into young and old and male and female. In His Spirit, there is no discrimination of all human conditions.
However, it is not acceptable for everyone. It is given only to those who have God's promises in their hearts. 1 Peter 3: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
Keep dreaming of the spiritual hopes within you, and be prepared to tell your children about their desires in God and tell them to walk in the right direction before God. It is the spiritual authority of parents given by God when He made us parents.
According to the story of Abraham, if you and I trust God and do what He says, we will be blessed, and our children will be blessed because of us. You may retire from your job, but not from your spiritual responsibilities before God.
Story of Kim’s Family
By the way, when I meet new friends in America, many people ask me this question. “Where are you from?” When I told them I was from Korea, they said, "Are you from the North or the South?" Please, do not ask that question.
There is an interesting story about the Kim’s family. It is said that Kim Il-sung, who founded North Korea, grew up in a Presbyterian family, his grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and his father attended a missionary school and was a Presbyterian elder.
But the grandson of a Presbyterian minister became a dictator in their country, and he decided to kill over a hundred thousand Christians. Kim's family had faith in God, but one man decided against God. He passed ungodly traditions to his son and grandson. They have been making the most destructive weapon to kill more people.
Conclusion
In biblical history, a person's spiritual life and decisions profoundly impact the spiritual direction of their children. The biblical truth is still at work among us because there is no effect without a cause, because the story of the Bible is our story.
In 2023, Carleton United Methodist Church will continue to do these two things. The ministry of the word of God and care for people's lives. These focus ministries are the ministry plan of the Early Church in Acts 6:1-7. The characteristic of mother's love is caring, and the characteristic of a father's love is a discipline with the word of God.
01.07.2023 Pastor Cloud Poy
@ Photo on Unsplash
