Genesis 2:7, 1:26-27

Genesis 12-22     Abraham's Journey of Faith       – The Bible Teaching Commentary

Introduction: Abraham's Journey of Faith

Abraham's Journey of Faith
Intro & Objectives
A) The Call (Genesis 12:1)
B) The Promises (Genesis 12:2-3)
C) The Method (Genesis 15)
D) The Testing (Genesis 22)
Assignment

Faith seems to come so easy. We hear, “Believe and you shall be saved.” But any Christian that has lived a while knows that growing in his faith is a journey. We do not have one stop where all the faith we might need in life is received. Faith is gained through a series of testings.

Objectives

     Examine how Abraham grew in his faith.
     Describe the importance faith plays in a Christian's life.
     Show how a Christian cultivates this faith.
     Outline some practical steps for us to be men and women of faith.

Have you ever traced the ways God has provided opportunities for you to grow in your faith? In these chapters before us, we see not only the places Abraham had to wait upon God, but also principles helping us learn through these testing times.

Abraham's growth in faith can be traced both by God's revelations to him (calling, promises, visions) as well as his own obedience in responding to God.


We will see that when we persevere in our faith, God will do tremendous things for our lives and those around us. Abraham persevered through his hardest trials and so earned him the name ‘The Father of Faith’ (Romans 4:16). Let’s look at his life and note how to build up our own faith.

A.) The Call (Genesis 12:1)

when God’s grace begins to pour into our lives.

Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go forth
from your country,
And
from your relatives
And
from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;"

Two millenniums have passed since creation when we see Abraham. There seems to be no stop to the increase of sin. Despite the use of language to divide the peoples into different isolated cultures, the cities were still expanding. Ur and the other Sumerian cultures are known for their advancements from archeaological digs. The pull of the world for Abraham, his family and others was getting stronger and stronger.

One would think that God would give up on helping out man, but instead like He promised in Genesis 3:15, God was tracking down a man who had faith through which He could do wonderful and great things. Abram was that man. God would later change his name to Abraham–'Father of Nations.'

Our goal for this session is to give a picture of the kind of man God can and wants to use. Fortunately for us, the scriptures not only reveal his strengths but also enough of his weaknesses to better understand the willingness of God to work in frail vessels like us. Instead of being discouraged, we are staring at a challenge to open ourselves to the work God wants to do in and through our lives.

This 'in and through' pattern is something we need to focus on for a moment. The “in” represents the grace God inputs into a person’s life. Without this grace or blessing, Abram and we would be nothing. This 'in' is the 'streams of water” that Psalm 1 mentions. God gives so that we might be able to give.

That which we give is the 'through' mentioned above. God works through us so that He can work in others. This is the enabling or the empowering pattern that we see scattered so carefully throughout the scriptures. God set Adam up so that he could bring great blessing and truth to all through his rule. God both called Abraham and gave him needed blessings. God did the same things with Jesus (through Holy Spirit's anointing) and desires to do it again through His church.

Our study of Abraham's life, then, is an exploration of how God might want to work 'in and through' our own lives.

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Looking Forward

Note the three ‘froms’ and the two ‘tos.’ in the text of Genesis 12:1.

The motion and direction of God's faithful believers cause disruption in the flow of the world and enable God's plans to be implemented.

Looking Backward

Born in Ur (2008 creation)
75 Leaves Haran for Canaan. (2083 creation)
LORD appears to him in Shechem.
86 Ishmael born in Hebron.
99 Promise of Isaac (Gen 17)
100 Birth of Isaac (Gen 20-21)
120? Offering of Isaac on Moriah (Gen 22)
175 Abraham dies in Hebron (Gen 25)

Reflections

Reflect on your call to be a Christian. When and where did it happen? Did you sense that call to leave the world? This is when God's grace began to be poured out on your life. When God 'touches' your life, it will no longer be the same. God's blessings will be on you. True enough, if you don't fully leave the world, then there are bad ramifications as we will see more in the next study. But even there, when you turn to the Lord God will be watching over you. Compromises with the world always will cost you. Make sure you are fully His in your heart.


The Genesis Index

Genesis Introduction:  Introduction to Genesis |  Outline and Genealogies  |  Genesis' Chronologies (5 & 11) |   Unified Themes of Genesis
Genesis 1-2:3:   The Worship of the Creator |  The Meaning of Creation  |  Creation Lessons on God.  |  God and the World's Religions
Genesis 2:4-17:    Preparation for Man (Genesis 2:4-6) |  Creation of Man (Gen. 2:7, 1:26-27) |  Purpose for Man (Genesis 2:8-17)
Genesis 2:18-25: The Foundations of Marriage
Genesis 3:1-13: The Fall of Man | Temptation (Genesis 3:1-6) | The Fall (Genesis 3:7-13) | Questions 3:1-6 | Questions 3:7-13
Genesis 5-9: Genesis Flood | Genesis 05 Genealogical Chart
Genesis 10-11: Noah's Sons| Questions | History Genesis 10:6-11 | Tower of Babel Genesis 11:1-9 | Questions | Culture Genesis 11
Genesis 12-22:   The Call: Genesis 12.1The Promises: Genesis 12.2-3  |  The Means: Genesis 15The Testing: Genesis 22
Genesis 12-16: Introduction |   Place Detour: Genesis 12:10-20; 20 |  Person Detour: Genesis 12:13-14Procedure Detour: Genesis 16-17
Genesis 14:1-24: Three Steps to Spiritual Growth | #1 Observe | #2 Utlilitize | #3 Secure
Genesis 18-19: Cultural Woes of Sodom | Appearing to Abraham | Visit to Sodom | Debate of Homosexuality and Sodom
Genesis 21-26: Isaac's Model for Godly Marriages
Genesis 27-36: Genesis 27-36 Jacob's Life of Faith
Genesis 25-37: Influence of Sin | God and Man's Sin | Understanding Man's Sin Nature | Understanding Jacob's Sins
Genesis 37-50: Joseph’s Dillusonment | Genesis 42-47:12: The Big Picture | Conclusion | The Reason



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