WEBVTT 00:52.805 --> 00:56.546 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, thanks so much to Adam for the privilege of being able to be with you today. 00:56.606 --> 01:02.028 [SPEAKER_00]: For about twelve years, I served as a pastor here at first free and now for the last eight. 01:02.828 --> 01:06.169 [SPEAKER_00]: Carol and I have been serving as those sent out by you. 01:06.209 --> 01:10.771 [SPEAKER_00]: We're offering training to pastors and church leaders and countries around the world. 01:10.791 --> 01:17.013 [SPEAKER_00]: We've been everywhere from Myanmar before it was embroiled in civil war to the jungles of Peru and places in between. 01:17.773 --> 01:20.375 [SPEAKER_00]: And we want to thank you so much for the opportunity to be here. 01:20.395 --> 01:23.537 [SPEAKER_00]: I think we might have two of our teammates here today. 01:23.557 --> 01:25.578 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm looking around for Abby and Esther. 01:25.598 --> 01:26.219 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, there they are. 01:26.239 --> 01:27.199 [SPEAKER_00]: You guys want to stand up. 01:27.760 --> 01:30.381 [SPEAKER_00]: They oversee the training that we do in Asia. 01:30.461 --> 01:32.042 [SPEAKER_00]: So we're glad that they're here. 01:36.465 --> 01:38.487 [SPEAKER_00]: They actually live in Eureka. 01:38.607 --> 01:46.232 [SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to connect with what's going on in Asia, you can talk to Abby and Esther after the service, but it's great to have them here with us this morning. 01:48.528 --> 01:51.369 [SPEAKER_00]: You've been tracking with our series, we're in Genesis. 01:51.909 --> 01:56.010 [SPEAKER_00]: And I want to do a little bit of a recap of what's happened so far. 01:56.050 --> 01:58.671 [SPEAKER_00]: So chapter one begins with a flourish. 01:58.771 --> 02:01.912 [SPEAKER_00]: God speaks all of creation into being. 02:01.952 --> 02:07.914 [SPEAKER_00]: And all its vastness, all its variety, all its grandeur, all its glory. 02:07.974 --> 02:12.135 [SPEAKER_00]: And then you come to chapter two where we come to the pinnacle of creation. 02:12.195 --> 02:17.017 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a slow motion, instant replay of God's creation. 02:18.230 --> 02:19.655 [SPEAKER_00]: of the first man and the first woman. 02:21.422 --> 02:24.272 [SPEAKER_00]: We're the only creatures made in his image and there is this 02:25.808 --> 02:26.869 [SPEAKER_00]: special attention. 02:27.129 --> 02:30.111 [SPEAKER_00]: God gives to their creation for providing for them. 02:30.951 --> 02:36.995 [SPEAKER_00]: And then in chapter three, the wheels fall off because Adam and Eve go rogue toward God. 02:37.055 --> 02:38.816 [SPEAKER_00]: They disobey him. 02:38.856 --> 02:43.079 [SPEAKER_00]: They dishonor him by ignoring the very clear directive. 02:43.119 --> 02:46.281 [SPEAKER_00]: He gave them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 02:46.961 --> 02:48.702 [SPEAKER_00]: And things just go downhill from there. 02:49.783 --> 02:52.585 [SPEAKER_00]: So the point that we come to Genesis chapter six, and this is 02:53.597 --> 03:05.090 [SPEAKER_00]: What it says there, the Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 03:06.071 --> 03:07.292 [SPEAKER_00]: So the Lord was sorry. 03:07.352 --> 03:10.716 [SPEAKER_00]: He had ever made them and put them on the earth and broke his heart. 03:12.338 --> 03:17.042 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, there are a few sparks of hope in the first five chapters. 03:17.662 --> 03:26.429 [SPEAKER_00]: God gives a promise to Adam and Eve that one of their descendants will overthrow the work of Satan who triggered this mess. 03:27.710 --> 03:39.680 [SPEAKER_00]: There are some of their descendants who follow God faithfully, but by the time we come to Genesis six, there's only one righteous man left in his family, Noah and his family, and God makes a radical decision. 03:40.509 --> 03:47.195 [SPEAKER_00]: He pushes the reset button and he sends a devastating flood all over the world. 03:48.516 --> 03:56.243 [SPEAKER_00]: And the only creatures that survive that have the breath of life in their lungs are those that are on the ark with Noah and his family. 03:56.263 --> 04:01.587 [SPEAKER_00]: Now you might think, well, that solves the problem, right? 04:03.649 --> 04:08.073 [SPEAKER_00]: And we know that it doesn't because we are a troublesome lot. 04:10.220 --> 04:19.307 [SPEAKER_00]: So by the time we come to chapter eleven, the human race is cooperated with part of God's design to be fruitful and multiply, but some don't want to fill the earth. 04:19.748 --> 04:20.528 [SPEAKER_00]: They build a city. 04:21.109 --> 04:23.090 [SPEAKER_00]: They say, here's what they say. 04:24.451 --> 04:28.194 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's build a tower that reaches to the heaven. 04:28.395 --> 04:28.655 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 04:28.975 --> 04:30.156 [SPEAKER_00]: So they can be close to God? 04:30.817 --> 04:31.097 [SPEAKER_00]: No. 04:31.917 --> 04:35.781 [SPEAKER_00]: So we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all of them. 04:37.082 --> 04:38.162 [SPEAKER_00]: So God steps in again. 04:39.214 --> 04:47.216 [SPEAKER_00]: He confuses their language, they are scattered, and Noah's descendants begin to make themselves into nations. 04:48.896 --> 04:50.216 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what we've seen so far. 04:51.076 --> 04:53.857 [SPEAKER_00]: Now the story of Genesis is going to pivot. 04:55.137 --> 05:08.840 [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to go from this wide angle lens of all of humanity in their destructive exploits to one man and his descendants whom God uses in his mission 05:09.525 --> 05:11.947 [SPEAKER_00]: to redeem us from our biggest problem. 05:14.529 --> 05:19.652 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a perfect for our emphasis, a being on mission as a church. 05:19.672 --> 05:21.714 [SPEAKER_00]: That's why I was so excited about this message. 05:22.094 --> 05:27.418 [SPEAKER_00]: Not only does it resonate with my heart and what we're doing, but this is what all of us are going to be called to do. 05:28.538 --> 05:30.760 [SPEAKER_00]: You're going to see that as we go through this passage. 05:32.221 --> 05:37.305 [SPEAKER_00]: Today we're going to see God's mission to redeem us and it's going to come into sharp focus. 05:38.111 --> 05:39.472 [SPEAKER_00]: So let me pray as we begin. 05:44.897 --> 05:52.244 [SPEAKER_00]: Father, we acknowledge before you that, without your work and our hearts, we aren't necessarily inclined to listen. 05:54.446 --> 06:01.473 [SPEAKER_00]: Without your help with our eyes, we are unable to see, without your help with our ears, we tune out. 06:04.264 --> 06:15.900 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I pray that you will prepare our hearts and open our eyes, give us ears to hear, so that we can be on mission as your people, as a church. 06:17.082 --> 06:18.524 [SPEAKER_00]: We pray this in Jesus' name. 06:18.944 --> 06:19.265 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen. 06:21.581 --> 06:25.002 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's pick up where we left off in Genesis two weeks ago. 06:25.242 --> 06:27.362 [SPEAKER_00]: Genesis chapter eleven verse twenty seven. 06:27.402 --> 06:28.222 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what it says. 06:28.283 --> 06:31.003 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the account of Tara's family. 06:31.083 --> 06:36.984 [SPEAKER_00]: Tara was the father of Abram, Nehor, and Heron, and Heron was the father of Lot. 06:37.064 --> 06:43.046 [SPEAKER_00]: Now it may sound strange to you, but over the years I've learned to appreciate the genealogies in the Bible. 06:43.626 --> 06:48.207 [SPEAKER_00]: And you might say that is weird, and that's because you are a pastor, and a lot of pastors are weird. 06:50.653 --> 06:54.776 [SPEAKER_00]: But I want you to learn to share my excitement about genealogies in the Bible. 06:55.636 --> 06:56.657 [SPEAKER_00]: Why would I be excited? 06:56.717 --> 07:03.181 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, first, and that means there's more than one reason, the wording of verse twenty-seven. 07:05.063 --> 07:17.851 [SPEAKER_00]: In the NLT, new living translation, these, this is the account of terrorist family and the more literal word for word translations, these are the generations of terrorist family. 07:20.123 --> 07:24.647 [SPEAKER_00]: And in this book that Moses wrote, that is a marker. 07:24.727 --> 07:26.669 [SPEAKER_00]: It is a literary signpost. 07:26.729 --> 07:28.831 [SPEAKER_00]: We are moving into a new section. 07:28.891 --> 07:33.075 [SPEAKER_00]: It occurs ten times in the book of Genesis. 07:33.836 --> 07:35.917 [SPEAKER_00]: These are the generations. 07:37.579 --> 07:39.040 [SPEAKER_00]: You might say, well, that's a little interesting. 07:39.080 --> 07:40.802 [SPEAKER_00]: It's really not very exciting. 07:42.143 --> 07:42.984 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's keep reading. 07:45.595 --> 07:51.319 [SPEAKER_00]: But Heron died in horror of the Caldeans, the land of his birth, while his father Tara was still living. 07:51.939 --> 07:56.942 [SPEAKER_00]: Meanwhile, Abram and Nehore both married the name of Abram's wife was Sarah. 07:56.982 --> 08:07.709 [SPEAKER_00]: The name of Nehore's wife was Milka, Milka, and her sister Iska were daughters of Nehore's brother, Heron, but Sarah was unable to become pregnant and had no children. 08:09.430 --> 08:14.033 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, before you say to yourself, wow, that was scintillating. 08:14.918 --> 08:16.339 [SPEAKER_00]: I am on the edge of my seat. 08:17.440 --> 08:18.161 [SPEAKER_00]: Give me a chance. 08:20.142 --> 08:25.446 [SPEAKER_00]: Because there are some things going on here that are preparing us for the stories that are yet to come. 08:26.547 --> 08:30.210 [SPEAKER_00]: There are things in here that are meant to shock us. 08:32.372 --> 08:36.375 [SPEAKER_00]: So if you weren't shocked, it shows there's work to be done. 08:36.915 --> 08:37.215 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay? 08:37.596 --> 08:38.536 [SPEAKER_00]: So follow with me here. 08:39.397 --> 08:41.499 [SPEAKER_00]: When you're looking at a biblical b genealogy, 08:42.418 --> 08:46.740 [SPEAKER_00]: Notice the pattern that exists, and then where does the pattern break? 08:47.881 --> 08:49.902 [SPEAKER_00]: Where are their side comments that come up? 08:49.942 --> 08:51.243 [SPEAKER_00]: Where are their explanations? 08:51.303 --> 08:56.586 [SPEAKER_00]: Why are there people introduced that maybe aren't in the typical flow of the genealogy? 08:56.626 --> 08:58.487 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll give you some examples here as we go through. 08:58.907 --> 09:01.489 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's begin in verse twenty seven. 09:03.330 --> 09:09.213 [SPEAKER_00]: It says that, parent had a son named Lot. 09:12.103 --> 09:14.004 [SPEAKER_00]: And a lot comes up as a side comment. 09:16.724 --> 09:19.185 [SPEAKER_00]: Because a lot is going to show up later in the story. 09:20.185 --> 09:21.706 [SPEAKER_00]: So remember that name. 09:21.826 --> 09:22.546 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember a lot. 09:22.646 --> 09:23.266 [SPEAKER_00]: It will come up. 09:24.086 --> 09:29.348 [SPEAKER_00]: Then verse twenty eight gives us another side comment about her and her and died in herb. 09:31.388 --> 09:32.809 [SPEAKER_00]: We can just blow right by that. 09:35.790 --> 09:40.351 [SPEAKER_00]: Do you know any families or one of the children has died before the parents? 09:42.717 --> 09:46.039 [SPEAKER_00]: You know how upside down their lives are with grief. 09:49.742 --> 09:51.082 [SPEAKER_00]: That happened to this family. 09:54.104 --> 10:01.149 [SPEAKER_00]: And then verse thirty tells us about a problem in one of the marriages in this family between Abram and Sarah. 10:01.489 --> 10:05.472 [SPEAKER_00]: And it tells us the problem not once but twice. 10:06.973 --> 10:07.913 [SPEAKER_00]: Sarah was barren. 10:09.474 --> 10:10.395 [SPEAKER_00]: She had no child. 10:13.356 --> 10:16.238 [SPEAKER_00]: These are the first human beings recorded in the Bible. 10:17.538 --> 10:19.199 [SPEAKER_00]: We have the problem of infertility. 10:21.841 --> 10:25.023 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you've ever experienced it, you know how difficult it can be. 10:28.905 --> 10:41.813 [SPEAKER_00]: So we're introduced to this family that's going to become a family of focus, to an individual who is an individual of focus for God's mission to fix our biggest problem. 10:44.437 --> 10:51.664 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a family that's riddled with the pain of our sin-ruption world. 10:53.166 --> 10:57.991 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a family that knows the pain of an empty seat at the table. 10:59.692 --> 11:04.237 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a family that knows the pain of an empty womb in a marriage. 11:05.975 --> 11:08.438 [SPEAKER_00]: and the pain continues as we read about this family. 11:08.658 --> 11:11.462 [SPEAKER_00]: Follow along as I look at verses thirty one and thirty two. 11:12.223 --> 11:23.377 [SPEAKER_00]: One day, Tara took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law, Sarah, his son Abram's wife, and his grandson, Lot, his son, Heron's child, and moved away from war of the Caldeans. 11:25.446 --> 11:28.847 [SPEAKER_00]: He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Hey Run. 11:29.267 --> 11:33.448 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a different word than the Sun, Hey Run, and settled there. 11:33.768 --> 11:38.709 [SPEAKER_00]: Tara lived for two hundred five years and died while he was still in Hey Run. 11:39.390 --> 11:45.631 [SPEAKER_00]: So as we slow down and read those verses, maybe you will start asking some questions. 11:45.971 --> 11:48.932 [SPEAKER_00]: Questions like I have, as I reflected on this. 11:51.233 --> 11:51.913 [SPEAKER_00]: Why did they leave or? 11:54.805 --> 12:03.176 [SPEAKER_00]: You see, most ancient cultures, unless they were nomadic, they were very stable where they were extended family was everything. 12:03.617 --> 12:06.260 [SPEAKER_00]: Family property is everything. 12:07.642 --> 12:08.883 [SPEAKER_00]: We work with a person. 12:10.080 --> 12:11.601 [SPEAKER_00]: who helped us to understand this. 12:11.621 --> 12:13.563 [SPEAKER_00]: You see, in America, we're very mobile. 12:14.324 --> 12:18.167 [SPEAKER_00]: We are connected to our immediate family a lot more than our extended family. 12:18.267 --> 12:23.392 [SPEAKER_00]: And that puts us at a disadvantage when we try to understand what's going on in the Bible. 12:23.872 --> 12:31.259 [SPEAKER_00]: This guy that I know he has memorized his family history for a thousand years. 12:32.800 --> 12:36.023 [SPEAKER_00]: That was his responsibility as the oldest son in the family. 12:37.370 --> 12:37.690 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 12:38.851 --> 12:40.232 [SPEAKER_00]: Because family is everything. 12:43.053 --> 12:44.034 [SPEAKER_00]: Family is everything. 12:45.875 --> 12:48.716 [SPEAKER_00]: And he grew up in the family property. 12:50.297 --> 12:52.919 [SPEAKER_00]: It goes back for generations and generations. 12:57.902 --> 12:58.902 [SPEAKER_00]: Why would they leave war? 13:00.603 --> 13:01.303 [SPEAKER_00]: Another question. 13:03.425 --> 13:05.626 [SPEAKER_00]: Why did they leave behind the other living son? 13:09.493 --> 13:11.394 [SPEAKER_00]: One had died, there was still another one living. 13:11.454 --> 13:12.515 [SPEAKER_00]: Why did they leave him behind? 13:15.037 --> 13:15.697 [SPEAKER_00]: Another question. 13:16.398 --> 13:17.679 [SPEAKER_00]: Why did they settle in Hayren? 13:17.919 --> 13:19.500 [SPEAKER_00]: They were going to Cainan. 13:19.760 --> 13:21.161 [SPEAKER_00]: Why did they stop and stay there? 13:23.122 --> 13:31.788 [SPEAKER_00]: There's some gaps here that we'll need to get to, but the story itself is going to focus on one person in this family, Abram. 13:33.072 --> 13:42.930 [SPEAKER_00]: And from what we know about this family, they don't appear to be very hot prospects to be the launching pad for God's mission to solve our biggest problem. 13:43.170 --> 13:45.555 [SPEAKER_00]: They are suffering from our biggest problem. 13:46.990 --> 13:48.251 [SPEAKER_00]: death has taken its toll. 13:48.831 --> 13:50.852 [SPEAKER_00]: Infertility is taking its toll. 13:51.232 --> 14:03.638 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, there's only one grandchild mentioned in this genealogy, his dad died, and now Grandpa is raising him, has taken him away from the extended family, the family property, and then Grandpa dies. 14:07.500 --> 14:08.320 [SPEAKER_00]: So what do we have here? 14:10.021 --> 14:16.584 [SPEAKER_00]: If you were to choose a family as the starting point for a mission for the rest of history, 14:18.280 --> 14:19.561 [SPEAKER_00]: would you choose this family? 14:22.043 --> 14:24.926 [SPEAKER_00]: I wouldn't, but God did. 14:27.307 --> 14:27.588 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 14:30.250 --> 14:37.316 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, there's a pattern to God's choice as we're going to see it unfold in the outworking of this mission. 14:37.736 --> 14:44.602 [SPEAKER_00]: God has a way of choosing not the one who is culturally favored 14:45.738 --> 14:50.839 [SPEAKER_00]: Not the one who may be favored for other reasons, he chooses the less likely. 14:52.580 --> 14:56.100 [SPEAKER_00]: So he chose, instead of Ishmael, he chose Isaac. 14:57.061 --> 14:58.741 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of Isah, he chose Jacob. 14:59.541 --> 15:01.262 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of Aaron, he chose Moses. 15:02.002 --> 15:04.362 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of David's brothers, he chose David. 15:06.843 --> 15:07.083 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 15:09.087 --> 15:13.750 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, the closest we get to an answer comes in a letter to one of the new Testament churches. 15:13.870 --> 15:16.332 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. 15:17.573 --> 15:25.719 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or powerful, or wealthy, when God called you? 15:26.679 --> 15:31.943 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, God chose things that the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they're wise. 15:33.765 --> 15:37.146 [SPEAKER_00]: And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 15:37.646 --> 15:46.669 [SPEAKER_00]: God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 15:47.810 --> 15:51.891 [SPEAKER_00]: As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. 15:54.112 --> 15:57.673 [SPEAKER_00]: You see, this is God's mission, and God is going to get the glory. 15:59.454 --> 16:00.894 [SPEAKER_00]: But you can see what it means for us. 16:02.635 --> 16:03.395 [SPEAKER_00]: If you've ever thought, 16:05.023 --> 16:06.643 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how God could ever use me. 16:08.264 --> 16:09.504 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't have great gifts. 16:09.544 --> 16:10.564 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't have great abilities. 16:10.604 --> 16:11.685 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't have great experience. 16:11.705 --> 16:21.107 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, if God really wanted to use someone, he should use someone like my brother or my sister or my friend or this other person that I know they, they really have something to offer. 16:21.167 --> 16:24.588 [SPEAKER_00]: If you've ever thought that, here's the good news. 16:25.888 --> 16:28.829 [SPEAKER_00]: You are a great candidate for God to use. 16:30.249 --> 16:34.390 [SPEAKER_00]: Because when he uses people like us, he gets the glory. 16:35.794 --> 16:41.537 [SPEAKER_00]: God often uses the unlikely and unqualified. 16:43.438 --> 16:46.899 [SPEAKER_00]: And this verse set of verses, they offer a great example. 16:47.600 --> 16:50.681 [SPEAKER_00]: This family knows brokenness, they know barrenness. 16:51.241 --> 17:05.028 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a group that it's like unlikely prospects and God reaches into this family of unlikely prospects and he chooses one who may be the most unlikely and says, this is the one. 17:06.065 --> 17:08.726 [SPEAKER_00]: that I will use for my mission. 17:10.907 --> 17:11.167 [SPEAKER_00]: Wow. 17:15.048 --> 17:18.289 [SPEAKER_00]: Does that help you understand why genealogies can be exciting? 17:20.030 --> 17:21.590 [SPEAKER_00]: And we haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet. 17:22.511 --> 17:24.011 [SPEAKER_00]: And that is what God says. 17:24.691 --> 17:25.272 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Jeff. 17:26.712 --> 17:29.253 [SPEAKER_00]: What God says to Abraham? 17:30.641 --> 17:33.023 [SPEAKER_00]: So we're gonna go to chapter twelve. 17:33.423 --> 17:37.686 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna read verses one through three and I want you to notice especially in verses two and three. 17:38.247 --> 17:44.471 [SPEAKER_00]: What is the word as God describes his mission that he's going to do in Abrams life and through Abrams life? 17:45.492 --> 17:47.614 [SPEAKER_00]: What's the word that stands out that God repeats? 17:48.812 --> 17:57.515 [SPEAKER_00]: The Lord had said to Abram, leave your native country, your relatives and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. 17:58.355 --> 18:00.076 [SPEAKER_00]: I will make you into a great nation. 18:00.396 --> 18:04.797 [SPEAKER_00]: I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 18:05.777 --> 18:10.919 [SPEAKER_00]: I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you or treat you with contempt. 18:11.519 --> 18:14.180 [SPEAKER_00]: All the families on earth will be blessed through you. 18:15.599 --> 18:22.782 [SPEAKER_00]: So after all the letdowns, after all the disasters of the first eleven chapters, God zeros in on Abraham. 18:24.202 --> 18:38.047 [SPEAKER_00]: And God's words to Abraham, they're like this keyhole that we can look through, and we can see what God's mission is going to look like, not just in His life, but through His life, through the rest of human history, it's part of the keyhole, we see what our mission is. 18:39.087 --> 18:40.948 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I'm excited about this passage. 18:43.707 --> 18:45.848 [SPEAKER_00]: So what word did you seek out use again and again? 18:47.469 --> 18:47.870 [SPEAKER_00]: Bless. 18:49.030 --> 18:53.553 [SPEAKER_00]: There's a form of the word, bless five times in verses two and three. 18:55.154 --> 18:59.356 [SPEAKER_00]: God's mission is to bless the world. 19:02.138 --> 19:02.899 [SPEAKER_00]: That's our mission. 19:03.779 --> 19:04.900 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see that in a moment. 19:07.361 --> 19:08.862 [SPEAKER_00]: So it begins with a command to Abraham. 19:09.322 --> 19:11.904 [SPEAKER_00]: Leave your native country, your relatives, your father's family. 19:11.944 --> 19:13.205 [SPEAKER_00]: Go to the land that I will show you. 19:14.560 --> 19:15.780 [SPEAKER_00]: It takes faith to do that. 19:16.861 --> 19:19.202 [SPEAKER_00]: And it answers some of the questions that we raised earlier. 19:19.262 --> 19:20.282 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see that in a moment. 19:20.342 --> 19:22.523 [SPEAKER_00]: But God, this is his way. 19:23.323 --> 19:26.965 [SPEAKER_00]: It's his way with us when Jesus called disciples. 19:27.145 --> 19:28.005 [SPEAKER_00]: He called fishermen. 19:28.025 --> 19:30.306 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, leave your nets and come follow me. 19:31.326 --> 19:32.647 [SPEAKER_00]: I will make you fishers of men. 19:34.648 --> 19:40.530 [SPEAKER_00]: He said to the crowds, you know, if you love your father and mother more than me, you're not worthy of me. 19:43.377 --> 19:49.962 [SPEAKER_00]: We get the same invitation that Abram did and it takes faith to do it. 19:51.162 --> 19:56.146 [SPEAKER_00]: But when you know who is doing the asking or the commandant, it makes it a lot easier. 19:57.387 --> 19:58.647 [SPEAKER_00]: But it's still a struggle for us. 20:00.569 --> 20:05.132 [SPEAKER_00]: What God told Abram to do does answer some of those questions back in chapter eleven. 20:05.832 --> 20:10.516 [SPEAKER_00]: Why would Abram leave or because God told him to? 20:11.409 --> 20:17.291 [SPEAKER_00]: Why would the older or the other brother be left behind the living brother because God told him to? 20:18.792 --> 20:20.092 [SPEAKER_00]: But that raises other questions. 20:24.574 --> 20:25.954 [SPEAKER_00]: Why is Dad going along? 20:27.515 --> 20:29.475 [SPEAKER_00]: Why is his nephew lot going along? 20:31.296 --> 20:33.437 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'm going to be speculating a little bit here. 20:34.983 --> 20:41.265 [SPEAKER_00]: I think there are some cultural dynamics that are different from our culture that will help us to understand this. 20:41.285 --> 20:51.287 [SPEAKER_00]: You see in some cultures, adult sons, including adult sons who are married, continue to live with their parents. 20:51.387 --> 20:54.388 [SPEAKER_00]: They continue to honor and obey their fathers. 20:55.408 --> 21:03.490 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's possible that Abram shared with his father, this is what the true God has spoken to me. 21:06.371 --> 21:10.713 [SPEAKER_00]: And if dad said I'm going with you, then dad goes with you. 21:12.414 --> 21:19.858 [SPEAKER_00]: If dad says, my grandson lot is going with us because I'm responsible for him now, then lot goes with you. 21:25.962 --> 21:27.602 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe the Bible doesn't tell us. 21:29.303 --> 21:31.985 [SPEAKER_00]: But I think it's a plausible explanation for what happens. 21:33.621 --> 21:36.643 [SPEAKER_00]: And we do know some other things about this family from later in the Bible. 21:36.663 --> 21:39.705 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what it says in Joshua chapter twenty four. 21:39.786 --> 21:50.293 [SPEAKER_00]: Long ago, your forefathers, this is Joshua speaking to the people of Israel, including Tara, the father of Abraham and Nehor lived beyond the river and noticed this. 21:50.353 --> 21:53.075 [SPEAKER_00]: They worshiped other gods. 21:56.158 --> 21:59.260 [SPEAKER_00]: Abram was now worshiping the true God. 22:04.745 --> 22:08.288 [SPEAKER_00]: So why would they settle in Hairen instead of going on to Canaan? 22:09.129 --> 22:11.070 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that's what Dad wanted to do. 22:12.311 --> 22:13.292 [SPEAKER_00]: So that's what they do. 22:15.494 --> 22:22.679 [SPEAKER_00]: And immediately, when Dad dies, Abraham sets out and he continues on the journey. 22:23.400 --> 22:27.223 [SPEAKER_00]: And now a lot is his responsibility and so a lot goes along. 22:28.630 --> 22:42.535 [SPEAKER_00]: Like I said, it's just speculation, but I think if we understand the realities, the cultural dynamics and different places at different times, sometimes there are things that are gaps to us that weren't to the people who originally read this in the days of Moses. 22:42.975 --> 22:45.636 [SPEAKER_00]: Now the real meat of this comes in what God says to Abraham. 22:46.217 --> 22:54.840 [SPEAKER_00]: So if Abraham trusts God, if he obeys God, if he does what God says, this is what God said, I'm going to do number one, I will make you into a great nation. 22:58.415 --> 22:59.336 [SPEAKER_00]: How's that going to happen? 23:02.938 --> 23:04.018 [SPEAKER_00]: Sarah is bare them. 23:05.279 --> 23:06.279 [SPEAKER_00]: She has no children. 23:08.381 --> 23:12.143 [SPEAKER_00]: There's just this one grandson who's mentioned in the family genealogy. 23:13.083 --> 23:18.626 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Abraham is now following the Lord of heaven and earth. 23:20.027 --> 23:25.050 [SPEAKER_00]: If he can speak all of creation into being, is this a problem for him? 23:26.444 --> 23:30.406 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's an opportunity for Abraham to exercise his faith and he does. 23:30.486 --> 23:32.707 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what it says in Romans four. 23:33.268 --> 23:36.629 [SPEAKER_00]: Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. 23:36.929 --> 23:39.471 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, his faith grew stronger. 23:40.251 --> 23:42.532 [SPEAKER_00]: And in this, he brought glory to God. 23:42.572 --> 23:52.978 [SPEAKER_00]: See, this is how God uses our weaknesses, our inability, our shortcomings, our failures, their opportunities to trust him and it brings him glory. 23:54.446 --> 23:57.970 [SPEAKER_00]: He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 24:00.833 --> 24:04.878 [SPEAKER_00]: So I'll make you into a great nation, promise number one, promise number two, I will bless you. 24:06.560 --> 24:08.122 [SPEAKER_00]: What kind of blessing we talking about, God? 24:09.535 --> 24:11.336 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it spiritual blessings? 24:11.576 --> 24:13.518 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it material blessings? 24:13.578 --> 24:14.818 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it family blessings? 24:14.879 --> 24:16.159 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it other blessings? 24:16.540 --> 24:21.203 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, the story will flesh this out for us, but the answer is yes, yes, yes, and yes. 24:21.903 --> 24:27.927 [SPEAKER_00]: God is a God of multi-faceted blessing for his people. 24:29.328 --> 24:30.289 [SPEAKER_00]: That's true for us too. 24:32.110 --> 24:35.112 [SPEAKER_00]: Multi-faceted blessing for all of us. 24:37.814 --> 24:38.234 [SPEAKER_00]: Number three. 24:41.733 --> 24:44.014 [SPEAKER_00]: In the NLT, I will make you famous. 24:45.794 --> 24:51.296 [SPEAKER_00]: In other translations, I will make your name great. 24:54.017 --> 24:56.957 [SPEAKER_00]: Now did you catch the contrast with what we saw in chapter eleven? 24:57.297 --> 25:01.979 [SPEAKER_00]: In the tower of Babel, they're building this great tower so that they can reach it up to heaven so they can do what? 25:03.459 --> 25:04.860 [SPEAKER_00]: Make a name for themselves. 25:06.480 --> 25:09.521 [SPEAKER_00]: God says to Abram, I'm gonna make a name for you. 25:12.554 --> 25:20.819 [SPEAKER_00]: Do you think he's held up his end of the bargain when three of the world's major religions point back to Abram as the source of their faith? 25:24.301 --> 25:34.306 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, the next statement here, there's a question as to whether it should be another promise, you will be a blessing or whether it's a command, be a blessing. 25:35.747 --> 25:42.011 [SPEAKER_00]: As I looked at the Hebrew text, it's in the form of a command, be a blessing. 25:44.485 --> 25:52.110 [SPEAKER_00]: So he's making these wonderful promises of blessing to Abram and he stops in the middle and he says, you be a blessing. 25:54.071 --> 25:55.812 [SPEAKER_00]: Abram, you be a blessing. 25:57.574 --> 25:59.695 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm blessing you, you be a blessing. 26:02.697 --> 26:04.798 [SPEAKER_00]: That's what this mission looks like, okay? 26:06.059 --> 26:09.601 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna bless you and I want you to be a blessing. 26:10.602 --> 26:11.823 [SPEAKER_00]: He says the same thing to us. 26:13.594 --> 26:15.795 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't be a hoarder of my blessings, Abram. 26:17.256 --> 26:22.258 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't treat them like they're only for you and only about you. 26:23.258 --> 26:26.000 [SPEAKER_00]: These are for you to be a blessing to others. 26:29.201 --> 26:32.723 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, one of the blessings that comes to Abram is a new land. 26:32.803 --> 26:37.385 [SPEAKER_00]: He left his land and God's going to give him a new land, the land of Canaan. 26:39.026 --> 26:40.346 [SPEAKER_00]: Why this new land? 26:40.366 --> 26:41.587 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I want to show you a map. 26:43.415 --> 26:49.556 [SPEAKER_00]: If you could see the red lines that go, these are the major trade routes in ancient times. 26:50.237 --> 26:53.097 [SPEAKER_00]: They're at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea. 26:53.317 --> 26:55.298 [SPEAKER_00]: That's where all those lines converge. 27:00.619 --> 27:10.221 [SPEAKER_00]: If people want to travel, they're going to have to go through this land, south into Africa, east and north into Asia. 27:11.532 --> 27:12.793 [SPEAKER_00]: West toward Europe. 27:13.493 --> 27:20.837 [SPEAKER_00]: God is going to put Abram and his descendants on this platform where they can be a blessing to the world. 27:25.360 --> 27:26.500 [SPEAKER_00]: So Abram be a blessing. 27:28.121 --> 27:32.423 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm going to put you in the best spot possible to do that. 27:35.965 --> 27:37.446 [SPEAKER_00]: You think he expects any less of us? 27:39.927 --> 27:40.628 [SPEAKER_00]: Look where he's put us. 27:42.893 --> 27:45.034 [SPEAKER_00]: We are blessed people in this congregation. 27:47.015 --> 27:49.437 [SPEAKER_00]: And he says to us, you be a blessing. 27:49.517 --> 27:53.239 [SPEAKER_00]: This is why I appreciate about Adam and our pastoral leaders, our elders. 27:53.779 --> 27:56.020 [SPEAKER_00]: They are telling us we need to be on mission. 27:56.340 --> 27:58.161 [SPEAKER_00]: And our mission is about blessing. 27:58.521 --> 28:07.086 [SPEAKER_00]: Our neighborhoods, blessing our communities, blessing the school across the street, blessing our city, blessing our nation, blessing the world. 28:09.667 --> 28:10.568 [SPEAKER_00]: This is for all of us. 28:13.808 --> 28:15.009 [SPEAKER_00]: But the promises aren't done yet. 28:15.769 --> 28:17.030 [SPEAKER_00]: We've only heard half of them. 28:18.250 --> 28:19.591 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's take the next two together. 28:19.671 --> 28:24.053 [SPEAKER_00]: He says, I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. 28:24.614 --> 28:32.938 [SPEAKER_00]: And this set of promises, it points out to a dynamic within the mission that is unexpected. 28:34.959 --> 28:41.863 [SPEAKER_00]: What it tells us is that there will be people that we will bring the blessing of God to and they will treat it with contempt. 28:44.963 --> 28:52.009 [SPEAKER_00]: And the response of other people to this blessing that we bring, it determines their standing before God. 28:52.369 --> 28:56.072 [SPEAKER_00]: God will bless those who bless his work through Abraham and his descendants. 28:56.592 --> 29:01.136 [SPEAKER_00]: He will curse those who treat it with contempt. 29:01.957 --> 29:08.122 [SPEAKER_00]: And there is no one who expressed this spiritual dynamic more than Jesus did when he came. 29:09.395 --> 29:21.438 [SPEAKER_00]: You may remember when Mary and Joseph took him to the temple to dedicate him to the Lord and obedience to what the law of Moses says, and there was this godly man named Simian who met them there and he gave them a message. 29:21.818 --> 29:22.679 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the message. 29:23.579 --> 29:29.640 [SPEAKER_00]: This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and many others to rise. 29:31.701 --> 29:39.023 [SPEAKER_00]: He is sent as a sign from God and many will oppose him as a result that deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. 29:40.319 --> 29:47.405 [SPEAKER_00]: This will happen every time that you and I bring the blessing of Jesus to the people around us. 29:48.305 --> 29:50.887 [SPEAKER_00]: It will reveal the hearts of where people are. 29:51.668 --> 29:55.151 [SPEAKER_00]: Some will be receptive, some will treat it with contempt. 29:56.111 --> 30:03.197 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't let those who treat it with contempt keep us from bringing the blessing to those who are ready. 30:04.418 --> 30:04.658 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay? 30:06.577 --> 30:11.579 [SPEAKER_00]: And then we know that this mission will succeed because here's the final promise. 30:12.339 --> 30:15.840 [SPEAKER_00]: In the end, all the families on earth will be blessed through you. 30:17.781 --> 30:21.122 [SPEAKER_00]: That's why Jesus tells us go and make disciples of all the nations. 30:22.363 --> 30:24.003 [SPEAKER_00]: This is God's picture. 30:24.244 --> 30:25.284 [SPEAKER_00]: It's God's plan. 30:25.404 --> 30:26.444 [SPEAKER_00]: It's God's purpose. 30:27.325 --> 30:33.507 [SPEAKER_00]: Heaven will be populated by people from every tribe and nation and language and tongue. 30:35.407 --> 30:37.408 [SPEAKER_00]: And he's brought some of them right here. 30:39.690 --> 30:42.131 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's be part of blessing them. 30:45.133 --> 30:51.317 [SPEAKER_00]: So when we think of being on mission, this is what it involves. 30:52.878 --> 30:54.499 [SPEAKER_00]: It begins with God blessing us. 30:55.780 --> 31:00.463 [SPEAKER_00]: We are restored in our relationship with God by His blessing. 31:00.503 --> 31:04.586 [SPEAKER_00]: We are restored through His blessing and then He makes us blessing bearers. 31:08.600 --> 31:20.866 [SPEAKER_00]: Now the rest of chapter thirteen is really two stories about Abram living either in compliance with this mission or out of step with this mission. 31:21.206 --> 31:26.708 [SPEAKER_00]: There's Abram as a good example and Abram as a bad example and we'll do both ourselves. 31:27.129 --> 31:27.369 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay? 31:28.400 --> 31:30.101 [SPEAKER_00]: So follow along again as we read. 31:30.121 --> 31:32.543 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's start with a good example, starting in verse four. 31:33.164 --> 31:36.507 [SPEAKER_00]: So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed and lot went with him. 31:37.007 --> 31:40.270 [SPEAKER_00]: Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Hairen. 31:40.750 --> 31:47.976 [SPEAKER_00]: He took his wife, Sarah, his nephew, lot, and all his wealth is there's the beginning of God's blessing already, started in Hairen. 31:48.256 --> 31:51.499 [SPEAKER_00]: His livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Hairen. 31:52.119 --> 32:04.447 [SPEAKER_00]: And he headed for the land of Canaan, and when they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shukham, there he set up camp beside the oak of Mora at that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. 32:05.007 --> 32:10.831 [SPEAKER_00]: Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, here's another blessing, I will give this land to your descendants. 32:12.212 --> 32:17.295 [SPEAKER_00]: And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord who had appeared to him. 32:18.012 --> 32:29.236 [SPEAKER_00]: After that Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country with Bethel to the west and I to the east, there he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord and he worshiped the Lord. 32:29.776 --> 32:33.497 [SPEAKER_00]: Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the negative. 32:36.018 --> 32:37.239 [SPEAKER_00]: So we see Abram's faith. 32:38.399 --> 32:43.681 [SPEAKER_00]: We see it in continuing the journey after his father died and notice what he does when he arrives. 32:44.655 --> 32:46.456 [SPEAKER_00]: He's there in the northern part of Israel. 32:46.516 --> 32:47.996 [SPEAKER_00]: It comes to a place called Shekam. 32:49.297 --> 32:51.277 [SPEAKER_00]: And there's this big tree there. 32:51.517 --> 32:56.059 [SPEAKER_00]: It's called the tree, the oak of Mora, which means teacher. 32:56.079 --> 32:59.240 [SPEAKER_00]: So let me ask a couple of questions. 33:00.560 --> 33:04.361 [SPEAKER_00]: Who do you suppose the teachers were at that oak? 33:06.062 --> 33:07.542 [SPEAKER_00]: What do you suppose they were teaching? 33:09.543 --> 33:12.044 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, was this like Oakville University? 33:14.038 --> 33:25.567 [SPEAKER_00]: In the Shacum edition, no, these were most likely local spiritual leaders who were presenting their local pagan religion. 33:26.508 --> 33:27.629 [SPEAKER_00]: And so what does Abraham do? 33:28.630 --> 33:30.351 [SPEAKER_00]: He sets up an altar right there. 33:33.093 --> 33:36.837 [SPEAKER_00]: And he starts declaring the glory of God. 33:37.710 --> 33:40.951 [SPEAKER_00]: He worships the one true God there. 33:40.971 --> 33:44.573 [SPEAKER_00]: He's like this speck in a sea of paganism. 33:44.593 --> 33:48.114 [SPEAKER_00]: That takes faith. 33:49.575 --> 33:51.696 [SPEAKER_00]: He's a great example to us of that. 33:58.318 --> 34:00.199 [SPEAKER_00]: These people, they had local gods. 34:01.433 --> 34:04.414 [SPEAKER_00]: Going top of hell, they got places to worship there. 34:04.454 --> 34:08.937 [SPEAKER_00]: Find a nice fertile tree, set up a worship place there. 34:09.337 --> 34:11.578 [SPEAKER_00]: We know this because of the Israelites. 34:11.858 --> 34:16.821 [SPEAKER_00]: They were discipled by their culture that they moved into and they started doing the same thing later on. 34:17.801 --> 34:19.262 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, the prophets confront them. 34:19.282 --> 34:23.064 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what Jeremiah said to the people of his day, 34:24.063 --> 34:25.164 [SPEAKER_00]: This is God speaking. 34:25.244 --> 34:28.787 [SPEAKER_00]: Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? 34:28.807 --> 34:30.088 [SPEAKER_00]: They were to be committed to him. 34:30.368 --> 34:37.874 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. 34:39.915 --> 34:41.377 [SPEAKER_00]: No, Abram doesn't do that. 34:41.437 --> 34:44.559 [SPEAKER_00]: He's a person of faith and so he plants this altar. 34:44.599 --> 34:45.420 [SPEAKER_00]: There's like a flag. 34:45.720 --> 34:48.062 [SPEAKER_00]: This is God's land. 34:49.868 --> 34:51.549 [SPEAKER_00]: And he offers the blessing of God. 34:51.609 --> 35:02.193 [SPEAKER_00]: He is inviting them to true worship, true hope, true knowledge of God, true forgiveness, true redemption, true restoration. 35:03.694 --> 35:05.295 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what people of faith do. 35:07.916 --> 35:08.856 [SPEAKER_00]: Then he travel south. 35:09.296 --> 35:09.977 [SPEAKER_00]: He's about North. 35:10.137 --> 35:10.457 [SPEAKER_00]: Check him. 35:10.557 --> 35:11.177 [SPEAKER_00]: He goes south. 35:11.197 --> 35:12.198 [SPEAKER_00]: He's down in Bethel. 35:12.658 --> 35:13.118 [SPEAKER_00]: Guess what? 35:13.178 --> 35:14.559 [SPEAKER_00]: He sets up another altar there. 35:14.779 --> 35:17.800 [SPEAKER_00]: The same kind of altar to the same God. 35:18.020 --> 35:19.521 [SPEAKER_00]: Now this is weird religion for them. 35:21.433 --> 35:27.880 [SPEAKER_00]: Every village out of town, every hilltop, had an altar of worship, every tree. 35:28.060 --> 35:33.185 [SPEAKER_00]: They had a pagan altar there, every city, or village had its own local God. 35:33.446 --> 35:34.487 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the same God. 35:35.708 --> 35:38.351 [SPEAKER_00]: He's being worshiped in these two different locations. 35:38.411 --> 35:39.071 [SPEAKER_00]: How does that work? 35:39.312 --> 35:39.552 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 35:40.273 --> 35:42.335 [SPEAKER_00]: This one is the maker of heaven and earth. 35:48.528 --> 35:52.719 [SPEAKER_00]: So these opening stories underscore why Abram is a model to us of faith. 35:56.082 --> 35:59.405 [SPEAKER_00]: Let me read again what it says about this in Galatians chapter three. 35:59.505 --> 36:02.889 [SPEAKER_00]: The real children of Abraham, then are those who put their faith in God? 36:03.229 --> 36:11.117 [SPEAKER_00]: What's more, the Scriptures look forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith? 36:11.597 --> 36:19.205 [SPEAKER_00]: God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said quoting from the passage, all nations will be blessed through you. 36:20.625 --> 36:26.851 [SPEAKER_00]: So all who put their faith in Christ, share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith, his faith. 36:27.472 --> 36:29.874 [SPEAKER_00]: God works through people of faith. 36:31.195 --> 36:32.536 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what we are called to do. 36:33.898 --> 36:36.620 [SPEAKER_00]: We're called to set up a shop. 36:37.361 --> 36:39.683 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the presence of God wherever we go. 36:42.386 --> 36:43.527 [SPEAKER_00]: Now onto the bad example. 36:46.123 --> 36:47.003 [SPEAKER_00]: Starting in verse ten. 36:47.423 --> 36:53.165 [SPEAKER_00]: At that time, a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt where he lived as a foreigner. 36:54.246 --> 36:55.846 [SPEAKER_00]: He was approaching the border of Egypt. 36:56.426 --> 37:02.228 [SPEAKER_00]: Abram said to his wife, Sarah, I, look, you are a very beautiful woman. 37:03.508 --> 37:04.649 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's stop there for a moment. 37:05.909 --> 37:08.250 [SPEAKER_00]: Ladies, would you like to hear your husband say that to you? 37:09.090 --> 37:09.490 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. 37:11.571 --> 37:14.532 [SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, Abram didn't stop there. 37:15.766 --> 37:18.509 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's keep reading on what he said to her after that. 37:19.770 --> 37:26.496 [SPEAKER_00]: When the Egyptians see you, they will say, this is his wife, let's kill him, then we can have her. 37:27.217 --> 37:29.779 [SPEAKER_00]: So please tell them, you are my sister. 37:30.700 --> 37:35.245 [SPEAKER_00]: Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you. 37:37.787 --> 37:38.688 [SPEAKER_00]: How's that sound, ladies? 37:40.832 --> 37:44.853 [SPEAKER_00]: And sure enough, when Abraham arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarah's beauty. 37:44.913 --> 37:48.554 [SPEAKER_00]: When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh. 37:49.075 --> 37:51.595 [SPEAKER_00]: Their king and Sarah was taken into his palace. 37:51.655 --> 38:00.318 [SPEAKER_00]: Then Pharaoh gave Abraham many gifts because of her sheep goats cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants and camels. 38:01.698 --> 38:05.019 [SPEAKER_00]: But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh. 38:05.039 --> 38:06.700 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not the first time this is gonna happen. 38:07.764 --> 38:10.885 [SPEAKER_00]: and his household because of Sarah I Abram's wife. 38:12.066 --> 38:15.687 [SPEAKER_00]: So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. 38:16.308 --> 38:17.508 [SPEAKER_00]: What have you done to me? 38:17.748 --> 38:18.288 [SPEAKER_00]: He demanded. 38:18.729 --> 38:20.629 [SPEAKER_00]: Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 38:21.250 --> 38:23.471 [SPEAKER_00]: Why did you say she is my sister? 38:23.491 --> 38:25.771 [SPEAKER_00]: And allow me to take her as my wife. 38:25.831 --> 38:27.472 [SPEAKER_00]: Now then, here is your wife. 38:27.972 --> 38:29.213 [SPEAKER_00]: Take her and get out of here. 38:30.397 --> 38:37.842 [SPEAKER_00]: Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them and he sent Abram out of the country along with his wife and all his possessions. 38:42.245 --> 38:43.686 [SPEAKER_00]: Where was Abram's faith? 38:46.767 --> 38:51.531 [SPEAKER_00]: Did God stop being God when he crossed the border from Canaan into Egypt? 38:56.814 --> 38:58.335 [SPEAKER_00]: No, he did not. 38:59.868 --> 39:03.610 [SPEAKER_00]: But fear overcame Abrams' faith. 39:05.731 --> 39:11.093 [SPEAKER_00]: And it came up with this hair-brain scheme that put his wife in this terrible position. 39:16.035 --> 39:17.115 [SPEAKER_00]: But we do the same thing. 39:19.396 --> 39:25.639 [SPEAKER_00]: We can be very bold in our services, bold in our Bible studies, bold in our fellowships, and then we go to work. 39:26.740 --> 39:27.580 [SPEAKER_00]: Then we go to school. 39:28.960 --> 39:38.344 [SPEAKER_00]: Then we go into our neighborhood, we go into our family of origin, we go into a hundred and one other places where the people there don't share an understanding of who God is. 39:39.485 --> 39:42.506 [SPEAKER_00]: And somehow God seems very distant and very small to us. 39:44.427 --> 39:56.533 [SPEAKER_00]: And we come up with our own hair-brained ideas, our own excuses, our own lame activities that we think are gonna get us out of trouble or keep us from opposition. 39:59.558 --> 40:05.080 [SPEAKER_00]: God himself had to step in and rescue Abraham's wife. 40:06.281 --> 40:12.263 [SPEAKER_00]: And he did it with such ferocity that this powerful ruler knew he was in trouble. 40:12.283 --> 40:15.764 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the worst thing he did was rebuke Abraham. 40:19.446 --> 40:21.347 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think it all turned out okay in the end. 40:22.867 --> 40:24.668 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, Abraham had his wife back. 40:25.970 --> 40:30.832 [SPEAKER_00]: And I imagine it was a very long camel ride out of Egypt. 40:34.933 --> 40:37.054 [SPEAKER_00]: Wonder how long it was before she talked to him. 40:41.176 --> 40:55.441 [SPEAKER_00]: But in this treasure trove that he took with him, the kind of gifts you would expect from a powerful ruler for such a beautiful woman, there's a hook embedded in there that will find out about in a couple of chapters. 40:58.809 --> 41:15.915 [SPEAKER_00]: There's an Egyptian servant girl who plays a part in another hair-brain scheme that Sarah and Abram come up with to address the problem of Sarah's infertility. 41:17.075 --> 41:22.497 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you don't know what that hair-brain scheme is, it will make you laugh when you read it. 41:23.517 --> 41:24.478 [SPEAKER_00]: And a couple of weeks. 41:26.358 --> 41:27.899 [SPEAKER_00]: But we all have the same tendency, don't we? 41:29.144 --> 41:38.856 [SPEAKER_00]: We have a tendency to become fearful, we get antsy, we get uncomfortable, we get impatient, we get embarrassed, and then we come up with our own ideas. 41:40.958 --> 41:41.819 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't wait on God. 41:43.621 --> 41:49.128 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I think this saying from Proverbs three is so powerful, for all people 41:50.193 --> 41:56.115 [SPEAKER_00]: It says, trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. 41:56.695 --> 42:00.656 [SPEAKER_00]: See his will and all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 42:03.877 --> 42:16.080 [SPEAKER_00]: So when we blow it, and we will, we can take heart because God over rules are failures of faith. 42:17.770 --> 42:24.515 [SPEAKER_00]: His mission will be performed with us, without us, or in spite of us. 42:28.738 --> 42:30.399 [SPEAKER_00]: So this is what it looks like to be on mission. 42:31.480 --> 42:33.662 [SPEAKER_00]: Here's the first example in the Bible. 42:34.302 --> 42:35.223 [SPEAKER_00]: So what are your takeaways? 42:36.256 --> 42:38.877 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, maybe your takeaway is from the genealogy. 42:39.197 --> 42:51.863 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you've always looked at yourself and thought, wow, God wants someone who's smarter, someone who's better looking, someone who has more experience, more education, more gifts, fewer flaws, fill in the blank. 42:54.924 --> 42:56.325 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, there was good news, wasn't there. 42:57.786 --> 43:00.567 [SPEAKER_00]: God often uses the unlikely and unqualified. 43:02.668 --> 43:05.549 [SPEAKER_00]: He'll use you if you'll trust him. 43:07.832 --> 43:12.835 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you came here today, not recognizing all the blessings that God has given us. 43:12.895 --> 43:15.877 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Carol and I have recognized some blessings we took for granted. 43:16.717 --> 43:24.862 [SPEAKER_00]: When we started this ministry with our mission organization, we never knew that being a native English speaker would be a blessing. 43:27.003 --> 43:30.725 [SPEAKER_00]: Every place we travel, virtually every place we travel. 43:32.703 --> 43:41.426 [SPEAKER_00]: When you're in the airport, when you're flying on an airline, they are making the announcements in the local language and English. 43:43.366 --> 43:52.970 [SPEAKER_00]: Everywhere we travel, there is someone there who can translate for us because English is such an indemand language all around the world. 43:54.930 --> 43:57.171 [SPEAKER_00]: Did you know you were blessed with the gift of English? 44:00.007 --> 44:03.069 [SPEAKER_00]: There are people that live around this church that want to learn English. 44:04.889 --> 44:06.190 [SPEAKER_00]: That's a blessing that you have. 44:06.830 --> 44:12.093 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe God will call you to participate in the ministry that is helping them to learn English. 44:13.414 --> 44:15.114 [SPEAKER_00]: There's so many blessings we have. 44:15.955 --> 44:22.178 [SPEAKER_00]: And what we see is that the first blessing, the most important blessing is God restores us through His blessing. 44:23.018 --> 44:26.040 [SPEAKER_00]: But then He makes us blessing bearers. 44:26.935 --> 44:29.837 [SPEAKER_00]: Who is God wanting you to bless? 44:32.678 --> 44:36.981 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you came here today not realizing that we are to bring God's presence with us wherever we go. 44:38.462 --> 44:42.884 [SPEAKER_00]: Like Abraham, we need to sort of set up shop wherever we go. 44:44.485 --> 44:44.966 [SPEAKER_00]: You're at work. 44:45.466 --> 44:46.306 [SPEAKER_00]: You're a believer there. 44:47.187 --> 44:47.867 [SPEAKER_00]: You're at school. 44:48.227 --> 44:49.128 [SPEAKER_00]: You're a believer there. 44:49.568 --> 44:50.529 [SPEAKER_00]: You're in your neighborhood. 44:50.849 --> 44:52.450 [SPEAKER_00]: You're a believer there and people know it. 44:53.608 --> 45:04.192 [SPEAKER_00]: in your community and the places where you do your exercises or whatever your particular interests are out on the golf course or whatever, you're a believer there. 45:06.612 --> 45:09.793 [SPEAKER_00]: God wants to make his presence known through us wherever we are. 45:11.994 --> 45:12.854 [SPEAKER_00]: How can we do that? 45:12.935 --> 45:14.895 [SPEAKER_00]: How can we participate in that? 45:15.355 --> 45:18.336 [SPEAKER_00]: That's part of what the mission looks like and being on mission. 45:18.356 --> 45:22.978 [SPEAKER_00]: So you God works through people of faith and it takes faith to do that. 45:25.630 --> 45:26.611 [SPEAKER_00]: But we'll also blow it. 45:28.292 --> 45:33.875 [SPEAKER_00]: And maybe you came here after a week where you can think, I blew it this week. 45:36.737 --> 45:37.678 [SPEAKER_00]: So we need forgiveness. 45:39.039 --> 45:41.280 [SPEAKER_00]: And God is always willing to give us a fresh start. 45:41.340 --> 45:46.224 [SPEAKER_00]: And He's always willing to help us see our need to rely on Him and not on our own abilities. 45:46.304 --> 45:48.505 [SPEAKER_00]: So maybe that's part of what we need to learn. 45:49.806 --> 45:52.568 [SPEAKER_00]: God over rules, our failures of faith. 45:53.660 --> 45:55.800 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that's what your takeaway is. 45:55.820 --> 45:58.481 [SPEAKER_00]: But my desire is something that all of us could do. 45:58.621 --> 46:00.261 [SPEAKER_00]: All of us could participate in. 46:00.301 --> 46:01.961 [SPEAKER_00]: It's just for one week experiment. 46:02.462 --> 46:07.742 [SPEAKER_00]: I've come up with a brief prayer that I would like to invite you to pray every morning this week. 46:07.802 --> 46:11.423 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to use your phone to take a picture of it, it'll pop up in a moment. 46:11.483 --> 46:15.144 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to write it down, I'll read it slowly enough that you can write it down. 46:15.604 --> 46:17.364 [SPEAKER_00]: Put it in a place where you will remember it. 46:17.404 --> 46:21.805 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe by your coffee maker or next to your bathroom mirror or wherever you'll see it. 46:22.545 --> 46:25.128 [SPEAKER_00]: Pray this prayer with me every day this week. 46:25.888 --> 46:29.852 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, show me who I can bring your blessing to today. 46:33.736 --> 46:34.897 [SPEAKER_00]: That's his mission for us. 46:36.138 --> 46:38.601 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't have to wonder if God wants to do this. 46:39.221 --> 46:41.944 [SPEAKER_00]: We just have to have His help to participate in it. 46:42.504 --> 46:44.686 [SPEAKER_00]: Give me your heart for the people around me. 46:45.644 --> 46:47.265 [SPEAKER_00]: I look at how Jesus looked at the people. 46:47.305 --> 46:53.350 [SPEAKER_00]: It says he looked at the cross yet compassion on them because they were helpless and harassed like sheep without a shepherd. 46:53.751 --> 46:56.693 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, give me your heart for the people around me. 46:58.214 --> 47:01.337 [SPEAKER_00]: Open my eyes to the opportunities you've prepared for me. 47:01.357 --> 47:07.122 [SPEAKER_00]: And the Bible says that God has prepared good works for us to walk in. 47:09.864 --> 47:11.065 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, help me to see those. 47:13.985 --> 47:17.648 [SPEAKER_00]: Give me, keep me strong and you to step forward and faith. 47:17.688 --> 47:19.069 [SPEAKER_00]: Those opportunities come along. 47:20.330 --> 47:21.611 [SPEAKER_00]: Suddenly the fear can grow. 47:22.371 --> 47:23.892 [SPEAKER_00]: The anxiety, the concern. 47:23.932 --> 47:24.933 [SPEAKER_00]: Am I going to handle this right? 47:24.973 --> 47:26.114 [SPEAKER_00]: Am I going to say it the right way? 47:26.154 --> 47:27.975 [SPEAKER_00]: How are they going to take it, et cetera, et cetera? 47:28.596 --> 47:32.579 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, keep me strong in you to step forward and faith. 47:32.679 --> 47:38.343 [SPEAKER_00]: And if I fail, help me to turn back quickly to you so I can get back on mission. 47:39.524 --> 47:42.466 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what it looks like to live on mission. 47:43.998 --> 47:47.221 [SPEAKER_00]: And I hope that you will do this, just try it for one week. 47:47.882 --> 47:53.767 [SPEAKER_00]: And at the end of the week, I'm excited to see what doors God opens for the people who are sitting here right now. 47:55.709 --> 48:01.394 [SPEAKER_00]: And the stories that we'll be able to tell, because God has a mission for all of us. 48:01.634 --> 48:02.095 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's pray. 48:04.191 --> 48:06.913 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, thank you so much for being our Father. 48:06.973 --> 48:10.776 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for blessing us with the redemption that you've given us in Christ. 48:11.356 --> 48:14.939 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you that you have called us to be your blessing bearers. 48:15.579 --> 48:20.002 [SPEAKER_00]: And I pray that this week we would, in a sense, put you to the test. 48:21.443 --> 48:22.784 [SPEAKER_00]: Do you really want to use me? 48:22.964 --> 48:23.885 [SPEAKER_00]: Can you use me? 48:24.849 --> 48:29.011 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, can you take the things that are blessings in my life and bless others? 48:30.072 --> 48:35.775 [SPEAKER_00]: Can I really take a stand where you need to be made known? 48:37.696 --> 48:40.457 [SPEAKER_00]: And Lord, can you restore me if I fail? 48:42.258 --> 48:49.342 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, thank you for giving us the story of Abraham that helps answer all these questions so that our faith can be made strong. 48:50.131 --> 48:51.593 [SPEAKER_00]: And your name can be made known. 48:52.415 --> 48:57.242 [SPEAKER_00]: And the nations can be blessed for your glory in Jesus' name. 48:57.542 --> 48:57.843 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll bet.