Abraham

1
Abraham Father Of Faith

• Part 2 Abraham Is Promised The Land Of Canaan

2
Abraham Prospers And Worships

• Genesis 13 -  1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he
  and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with
  him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in
  livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went
  on his journey from the South as far as Bethel,
  to the place where his tent had been at the
  beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place
  of the altar which he had made there at first.
  And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

3
Abraham Has Become Wealthy

• Abraham had gone down to Egypt because of a
  drought.
• There he had made a big mistake regarding Sarah.
• But still God protected Abram and blessed him.
• He came out of Egypt very wealthy.
• Gods love is unconditional

4
Abram Heads Back To God

• After his big mistake in Egypt Abram heads back
  to the place where he met God and calls on the
  name of the Lord.
• Abram is grateful for Gods unconditional love
• We need to head straight back to God when we make
  a mistake in life.

5
Prosperity

• God sometimes grants great financial prosperity
  to His saints.
• However this is not seen all the time - e.g. Paul
• Abraham was given the prosperity needed to found
  a dynasty.
• Prosperity comes when you are in the purposes of
  God and is for the purposes of God.

6
Lot Abraham Separate

• 5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and
  herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to
  support them, that they might dwell together, for
  their possessions were so great that they could
  not dwell together. 7 And there was strife
  between the herdsmen of Abrams livestock and the
  herdsmen of Lots livestock. The Canaanites and
  the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. 8. So
  Abram said to Lot, Please let there be no strife
  between you and me, and between my herdsmen and
  your herdsmen for we are brethren. 9 Is not the
  whole land before you? Please separate from me.
  If you take the left, then I will go to the
  right or, if you go to the right, then I will go
  to the left.

7
Abram Is Gracious

• Abram gives his much junior nephew Lot the choice
  of the best land.
• Abram avoids conflict
• Abram does not grasp at this worlds goods and
  advantages.
• Abram does not dominate but is meek and humble.

8
Holding Possessions Lightly

• Christians are not to be part of the rat race.
• We are to hold our possessions lightly
• We need to be able to give away the best to
  others
• We need to believe that God will make it up to us.

9
Lot Chooses Sodom

• 10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain
  of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere
  (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)
  like the garden of the LORD, like the land of
  Egypt as you go toward Zoar.

11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of
Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they
separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the
land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of
the plain and pitched his tent even as far as
Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly
wicked and sinful against the LORD.
10
Prosperity vs. Promise

• Lot chose immediate prosperity and compromise
  and dwelt near Sodom
• Abram chose the Promise and dwelt in Canaan and
  relied on God.
• Christians may have to choose between prosperity
  and promise.

11
The Cost Of Compromise

• First wealthy Lot dwells near Sodom
• Then Lot dwells in Sodom
• Then Lots daughters are engaged to the men of
  Sodom
• Finally his wife is killed and his daughters
  commit incest.
• Compromise cost Lot everything and he ends up
  living in a cave.

12
God Promises The Land To Abram

• 14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had
  separated from him Lift your eyes now and look
  from the place where you arenorthward,
  southward, eastward, and westward 15 for all the
  land which you see I give to you and your
  descendants forever. 16 And I will make your
  descendants as the dust of the earth so that if
  a man could number the dust of the earth, then
  your descendants also could be numbered. 17
  Arise, walk in the land through its length and
  its width, for I give it to you. 18 Then Abram
  moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the
  terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron,
  and built an altar there to the LORD.

13
Abram Is Rewarded

• Abram does not lose out by being gracious but is
  instead given the whole land.
• God honors those who keep His commandments.
• We can trust God to reward us in the long run.

14
Gods Promises Take Time

• It took about 500 years for Abrams descendants
  to become numerous and to inherit the land.
• It even took 25 years just for Isaac to be born.
• Faith Patience Inherits The Promise!

15
Abram Saw The Promise Fulfilled

• Abram was still alive (in Heaven) when Moses was
  called at the burning bush.
• Abraham was able to observe the ministry of Jesus
  thousands of years later.
• Christians live forever and most of our reward
  will be in the Millennium, after Jesus returns.

16
Abraham Is Still Alive!

• Matthew 2231-32 HCSB Now concerning the
  resurrection of the dead, haven't you read what
  was spoken to you by God (32) I am the God of
  Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of
  Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the
  living."
• John 856 HCSB Your father Abraham was overjoyed
  that he would see My day he saw it and rejoiced."

17
Our Future Reward

• Matthew 1927-30 HCSB Then Peter responded to
  Him, "Look, we have left everything and followed
  You. So what will there be for us?" (28) Jesus
  said to them, "I assure you In the Messianic
  Age, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious
  throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on
  12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. (29)
  And everyone who has left houses, brothers or
  sisters, father or mother, children, or fields
  because of My name will receive 100 times more
  and will inherit eternal life. (30) But many who
  are first will be last, and the last first.

18
Faith Is In Forever

• Faith only makes sense if we live forever!
• Why sacrifice now if there is nothing later!
• We have to believe in the Resurrection
• True Christians live in the light of Eternity.

19
Its Not About The Visible!

• 2 Corinthians 416-18 HCSB (16) Therefore we do
  not give up even though our outer person is
  being destroyed, our inner person is being
  renewed day by day. (17) For our momentary light
  affliction is producing for us an absolutely
  incomparable eternal weight of glory. (18) So we
  do not focus on what is seen, but on what is
  unseen for what is seen is temporary, but what
  is unseen is eternal.

20
Walk Through The Land!

• Abraham was told to walk through his inheritance.
• We need to act as if we have received the reward.
• We need to believe that we have received!
• Faith acts on Gods promises.

21
Believing You Have Received!

• Mark 1122-24 HCSB Jesus replied to them, "Have
  faith in God. (23) I assure you If anyone says
  to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into
  the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but
  believes that what he says will happen, it will
  be done for him. (24) Therefore, I tell you, all
  the things you pray and ask for--believe that you
  have received them, and you will have them.
• 1 John 514-15 HCSB Now this is the confidence we
  have before Him whenever we ask anything
  according to His will, He hears us. (15) And if
  we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know
  that we have what we have asked Him for.