Wednesday, October 18, 2006
By Faith... Abraham - Part II, Part 37 of 79
TEXT: "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore" (Hebrews 11:11-12).
IDEA: Someone's faith in God can appear ridiculous and even be painful for other people.
PURPOSE: To help listeners see that our faith acted out will affect other people positively or negatively.
John Donne has a famous line: "No man is an island." What was he talking about when he wrote that line?
Do you think it's always true that all of us are part of the mainland?
I. If we are people of faith, can we be true believers without affecting those around us?
Abraham and Sarah had a hard time believing God when He promised them a son in their old age.
Have you ever thought how their announcement could have affected others?
When God promised Abraham a son, his name wasn't Abraham but Abram. What does that mean?
"Exalted father."
Later God came to repeat the promise to Abram and changed his name to Abraham, which means "Father of a multitude."
II. Imagine how that would have played out in lands where hospitality was extended to travelers.
Imagine a traveler stopping by Abram's tent and introducing himself. Abram responds, "My name is Abram." The visitor would say, "Oh, exalted father. How many children do you have?" The stranger leaves and several years later he passes by Abram's tent again, reintroducing himself, and says to Abram, "Well, exalted father, it's nice to see you with all the time that has passed." Abraham responds, "My name has been changed." [Genesis 17:5 - change of Abraham's name.] "What is it now?" "It's Abraham -- father of a mob." To which the man asks, "How many children do you have?" "I have just one son, Ishmael. But I have a promise from God." How do you think people who heard this claim from Abraham would have responded? He would have been a laughing stock.
Do you think Abraham would have been admired for his belief?
He must have sounded like a fruitcake to many people.
Sometimes when you declare your faith in our society, it sounds similar.
Your faith can be painful to others.
As a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham, he and his household were circumcised. How do you think the servants in his household felt about that? (Genesis 17:23-27).
Imagine the conversation that must have gone on among the servants in his household: "There's this thing about another child, but now he's going to circumcise us." "What's circumcision?" etc.
Sometimes when you're in a position of authority, the expression of your faith will affect other people, not always in ways they like.
But Abraham's faith that God would give him a son came true, and then through the posterity that God gave him, there came the salvation for the world.
