The Life of Faith 05

Faith and Vision

Genesis 15 Thursday, October 01, 1998

We must have a vision for our lives, our families, and our church. Without one we drift Lets talk about faith and vision. I want to admit up front that my goal in speaking is to encourage you. Allow God refresh your dream. Maybe even reshape it. But give it back. God wants us to have vision. AC 2:17 `AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, `THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT UPON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

Introduction:
I dont think we fully appreciate the importance of having a vision or a dream for our lives. Where there is no vision the people perish. When people dont have a life vision, a goal for which they strive and work they drift. 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.

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.

A couple of points.
FIRST, often the greatest discouragement come on the heals of a victory. Big let down. Accomplish something only to discover that it didnt bring the relief you expected. Score a big win and then battle depression. Common. SECOND, and more importantly, realize that 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.

Where there is no vision the people perish. All around you today people are struggling because they either never had a vision or they lost the one they had. No mark to hit. No target to aim for. No bar to jump. No goal to reach.

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? Important principle for the vision. It must be from God. When it is it will be God sized. And it must ultimately be achieved by God through us. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FINISHED PRODUCT. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FAITHFULNESS. 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. Joshua was repeatedly told, Be strong and courageous. In those areas he is referring to control issues. Courage was needed to follow Moses and move the people forward. This type of fear has a different need. It applied to an area beyond control. Dont need courage. Nothing really to do. 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. 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:

VERSE 4, From your own body shall be your heir. So the heir would be from Abram. Mark that because this will create tremendous problems later. He doesnt say, And from Sarai. Leaves open the avenue for Ishmael. But it affirms that it wont be a servant or distant relative. It would be a son. 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. Like 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. Ruth Bell Graham, In Prodigals, Suddenly the Lord said to me, quit studying the problems and start studying the promises. Gods promises must be remembered, and believed!

II.

Remember His Work.

I.

Remember His Promise.

God began by re-affirming 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.

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. 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 foamSwing

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.

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. Ill. . . On June 30, 1859, 35-year-old Jean-Francois Gravelet - better known as Blondin - walked the 335 m (1100 ft) separating the two banks of the Niagara River on a rope stretched 50 m (160 it) above the raging waters of the Falls. The precarious walk took 20 minutes When Blondin finally reached safety, he was applauded by thousands of excited spectators. For Blondin it must have been an exhilarating moment - he had been in training since his acrobat Not content simply to walk across, Blondin carried his business manager Harry Colcord on his back. According to Colcord, the episode was a nightmare from beginning to end. Six times Blondin nearly lost his balance. What tremendous faith in the tightrope walker. That is the essence of placing faith in Christ. Putting yourself on his back and then trusting him to carry you across. He assumes full responsibility for the success of the journey. So dont fear. Hang on. And if necessary shut your eyes. What is your life vision? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What are you living for? Need a vision. Must be from God. Must glorify God. REMEMBER THE PROMISE. REMEMBER THE WORKS. REMEMBER THE VISION.

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. 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