The Life of Faith 05

Faith and Vision

Genesis 15 Thursday, October 01, 1998

Lets talk about faith and vision. I want to admit up front that my goal in speaking is to encourage you. Allow God to refresh your dream. Maybe even reshape it.

Exegesis of Genesis 15.

VERSE 1, After these things. What things? After these things. Refers back to chapter 14. A four king alliance had defeated a five king army of Sodom. In the process, Abrahams nephew, Lot is captured and carried into captivity in Damascus. Far to the north. Abraham mustered his men and pursued the victorious kings. Abraham defeated the kings and rescued Lot. Upon returning to the promised land he did two things: first he gave a tenth of everything to Melchezidek a priest of Salem. Melchezidek is a type of Christ. So the image is of obedience to God in his possessions. Next he refused the king of Sodoms offer to keep the remainder of the spoils for himself. Abraham said he had made a covenant to the Lord to give everything back. See in this the great faith of that man of God. His word to the Lord meant more than his stuff. After those great victories, physically against the kings, and personally against temptation, the word comes to Abraham, Do not fear. Odd words for a man who had just defeated four kings. Dont you think. Some fears are tougher than others.. Abrams fear was in an AREA HE COULDNT CONTROL: childlessness. Those are the big fears. The out of control situations. Fight an army? No problem. But this one was different. Abraham couldnt strategize. He couldnt manufacture or manipulate circumstances. All he could do was wait and pray. That is the most difficult kind of fear. Will God come through? Notice Gods word. It is for us. Fear not. Notice HE DIDNT SAY, BE BRAVE. There are times when God counsels us to do that. And usually it has to do with facing a fear and taking decisive action. This type of fear has a different need. WHAT HE IS SAYING IS TRUST ME. DONT WORRY! Abrams reply exposed his fear. . . VERSE 2. Eliezer of Damascus. A servant in the home. No children. This was a common practice when their wasnt an heir. This was his great grief. The vision for his life was dissolving with each passing year. His vitality was draining away and Abraham knew that time was not his friend. Soon it would be impossible for him to have a child. Sarah would go through menopause and that would be the end.

Introduction:
I dont think we fully appreciate the importance of having a vision or a dream for our lives. Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. KJV. Where there is no vision the people perish. I saw this in a profound way in the book on vision called The Art of the Leader. Cohen told of an experiment with the Processionary Caterpillar. This insect bears this unusual name because of its unusual method of navigation. A number of Processionary Caterpillars will attach themselves front to back in a single line. The leaders seeks the mulberry leaf, the main food of this caterpillar. Wherever the leader goes, the other Processionary Caterpillars are sure to follow. And off they go in this way, one continuous line of five or more caterpillars looking for mulberry leaves. Several years ago a scientist conducted an experiment by taking a line of Processionary Caterpillars and formed them into a circle. What had been the leader was attached to what had been the last caterpillar in line. Now there was no leader and no follower caterpillars. In the center of the circle of caterpillars he placed a bowl of mulberry leaves. The scientist wanted to know how long they would maintain the circle with no leader and no objective. He knew that eventually they must break the circle to eat the mulberry leaves or they would starve. The result of this experiment surprised him. The caterpillars continued in a circle until they were so week that they couldnt reach the mulberry leaves. Though food was only inches away, they continued to follow the caterpillar in front. They continued to go forward with no objective at all. That sounds like a group of 8 grade girls trying to find a restroom. Sounds a lot like churches doesnt it. Nobody sure where they are heading. Just circle the same tired mountain. Sounds like life without vision.
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God speaks three things that you need to hear. Maybe your are on the verge of drifting from your dream. Maybe you already have. Let God speak this to you tonight. I think it is important to understand that we are not sure how God was speaking here. Was it face-to face? I doubt it. More likely he was speaking through the spirit in that still small voice. Notice it says, the word of the lord came. Word not person. Same way God speaks to you. And here is what he said:

wasnt always so easy on the home front. Billy was often absent. Missed the births of his children. Ruth his wife was a single mother much of the time. Billys eldest son, Franklin went into rebellion and Ruth struggled in prayer for his deliverance. She later wrote a book about her journey. For Prodigals and Those who Love them. After a long bought with fear and anxiety Ruth finally came to herself. She wrote, Suddenly the Lord said to me, quit studying the problems and start studying the promises. Gods promises must be remembered, and believed! What has the Lord said to you? Do you even know? I was young and now Im old but Ive not seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging for bread. I will never leave your or desert you. I am the vine you are the branches, abide in me and you will bear much fruit. I am the bread of life.

I.

Remember His Promise.

Ten years had passed since God originally spoke his promise to Abraham. Ten years of waiting and wondering. And questioning. In the process it was easy to doubt. Abrahams doubts turned to fear. Maybe God wont. So God reminds him of the promise. VERSE 4, From your own body shall be your heir. So the heir would be from Abram, not some servant. THEN GOD EXPANDS THE VISION. Go outside, lie down and look up. VERSE 5, stars. . . Genesis 22:17. Compares it to sand of the sea. Interesting insight. Stars of heaven too numerous to count. At the time they were countable. 4,000 stars visible to the naked eye. Put up a telescope and the picture really comes into view. Billions of Galaxies. In fact its likely that there are more stars than sand. But he wasnt getting specific. THIS IS PICTURESQUE LANGUAGE. JUST LOTS MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. God is repeating what Abraham already knew. VERSE 6. Abrahams response: Abram believed. This is a powerful important verse. It highlights the method of salvation. Belief in the promise of God. Reckoned it to him was a legal term. In New Testament Paul quotes this and demonstrates that this is the method of salvation. In ROMANS 4:3 he used an accounting term. Accounted. Credited his account. Imputed the righteousness of God. Our righteousness is not our goodness but Gods decree. When we struggle we must remember and allow God to remind us of his promises. God used Billy Graham like few in history. His ministry has shaped the much of the way that the modern evangelical church operates. But life

II.

Remember His Work.

If you struggle to believe then this step is essential. Look back and remember what he has done. VERSE 7, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans. . . God was reminding him of the 10 year pilgrimage. Look back and build your faith. The victories of the past are training for the future. Ill. . . A case for how this works is gymnastics. Notice the amazing things. How? How do they take those risks? How do they get those guys to do those incredible things. Small incremental steps over a well padded floor. . With Billy in Gymnastics. The high bar is over a pit full of foam. Swing out straight and let go. Move them up in skill and confidence. That is how God trains. Doesnt dump the load. Ill. . . With the disciples. Jesus said follow me. He didnt tell them what that would mean. Must remember the work of the Lord in our lives. Line out of the old hymn, Come thou Fount, here I raise mine Ebenezer hither by thy help I come. So often sing and miss the meaning. Robert Robinson, a student of Scripture, used that old Hebrew word to point the singer to a powerful truth. 1SA 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." Ebenezer comes from an Old Hebrew term rock of remembrance. We must remember his work. Look back at the victories.

III.

Remember the Vision.

VERSE 8. This is not a lack of faith. Verse 6 settled the faith issue. Its all right to be confused. We dont have all the answers and that is not a requirement. You can believe heartily in God and still wonder. And that doesnt give God ulcers. In this case God filled Abram with hope and vision. VERSES 9-16. Depicts an ancient ritual of moving into an intimate covenant relationship. By the way, modern idea of a bride walking the center isle flows from this idea. Walking between the two families as Abraham walked between the heifer, goat and ram. Life in the blood. Death of the animals was the sacrifice. VERSES 17-21 demonstrate how God is responsible for accomplishing His purpose. The smoke and fire are manifestations of God. See this in the Exodus. Pillar of smoke and fire. Walking between demonstrates that God is taking full responsibility for the action. God will do his work. Beautiful promise for you when fear grips you and you cant see the way. Not how much you know or how good you are. It is how much God knows and how good He is. You need to be reminded of the vision. God will do what he promised. And notice the whole burden of the vision is on God. It comes from Him and he is the one that is responsible. So DONT FEAR. FAITH IS TRUSTING GOD TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED. Out job is to relax and hang on. But be sure to hang on to the right thing. Too many are like Abram. Burned out and lost. Like those caterpillars hooked in an endless cycle. Going in circles because they dont have vision. Discouragement becomes a daily companion. See it in teenagers who are cut off from the groups. The arent in sports, they dont do band, they arent particularly academic. There is nothing they seem bent toward. Without the Lord in their lives they start to wander into destructive patterns. Trouble is coming. See it in young adults, disillusioned and already stuck. Dont seem to know where to go next or what to do.

In mid-life. So much you thought you would do and then it doesnt happen. Hard for some to refocus and start with a scaled down dream. Or to redeem and retool. Often slide into crisis. In senior adulthood. Maybe the vision for the children is less than expected. Looking back wonder where all that time went. No real dream. No vision. Drift from day to day. Lonely. See it in institutions and companies. No real sense of what they are trying to do. See it in sporting teams. See it in churches where they become content to drift along with the same mundane routine and never try to do anything great for the kingdom.

Where there is no vision the people perish. What is your life vision? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What are you living for? God has a life vision for you. REMEMBER THE PROMISE. REMEMBER THE WORKS. REMEMBER THE VISION.