Abram
Sermon notes from Pastor Don Roscoe at Grace Church on Abram, deception, and following God through obedience, dependence, reverence, and persistence.
Tricks and Treats
In this series, we are looking at Old Testament people who were tricksters, deceivers, and liars. The Bible records their character, but it does not approve of their deception.
Before we look at someone in Scripture and say, “What a loser,” we need to think about what could be written about us. We are all capable of lying and deceiving.
A Spiritual Family
A church is a spiritual family. But when we hear the word family, we often interpret it through our own experiences, including dysfunctional or painful ones.
We need to think and act biblically rather than allow our culture and past experiences to define our spiritual identity or our sense of community.
Get to know one another. Individuals need to know individuals, and families need to know families. Meet for a meal, go for a walk, or spend time on the trails together.
It Is Not About Us
The church’s trails and treat and trunk and treat events are opportunities to appreciate what God has given us, learn one another’s stories, and care for people in the Nashville community.
Whether you like candy or enjoy Halloween is not the point. This is a chance to use the abilities God has given us to have fun with people who do not know Christ and do something positive in our community.
Check Your Motives
Are you trying to make someone laugh with you, or are you trying to laugh at them? A prank can become a way to mock someone, hurt them, or make them look foolish.
If we are going to represent Christ, our motives need to be above reproach. We should not hurt someone just to look clever or cunning.
Deception also includes withholding part of the truth. Sometimes we tell people only enough to escape trouble, make them happy, or let them hear what they want to hear.
Deception Takes Many Forms
World War II history offers striking examples: Japan’s peace talks before Pearl Harbor, Germany’s deception before invading Russia, and the Allies misleading Germany about where they would land.
In Seattle, a Boeing bomber plant was disguised beneath a false neighborhood. The camouflage covered roughly 23 acres above a plant employing 30,000 people and producing 300 bombers a month.
We may never build a false city, but we know what it means to intentionally hide the truth. When was the last time you tried to deceive someone?
Our Sin Nature
Deception is an age-old behavior that stems from our sin nature. Satan is the father of lies.
Psalm 58:3 uses poetic exaggeration. A newborn is not speaking lies, but the passage describes the sinful nature present from birth. In time, that nature shows itself.
Calling something a little lie or a white lie does not change what it is. We need to examine why we deceive, and we have a choice about what we do.
God Does Not Approve of Lying
The Lord detests lying lips and delights in people who are trustworthy.
Scripture records individuals, families, and nations deceiving others. Recording their behavior does not mean God approved of it. The Bible is showing us the nature of sinful people.
Today we are looking at one man we can all relate to: Abram.
1. God Selected Abram
Abram came from Ur of the Chaldeans, in what is now southern Iraq. He grew up in a pagan land where people worshiped many gods.
God selected him. Abram did not earn that call. In the same way, our faith story begins with God’s grace, not with something we have done to deserve him.
2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you. ”
4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring. ” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8 From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
9 And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.
Called to Leave and Follow
God told Abram to leave his country and family and follow him. Abram went.
His journey from Ur through Haran to Canaan covered about 1,100 miles. This was not a quick trip. He traveled with family, possessions, and animals, stopping along the way and spending a period of time in Haran.
Following God meant leaving something behind. Have you left anything for Jesus?
Abram the Hebrew
Abram is identified as a Hebrew. He became the founding father of the Jewish nation.
He came from a pagan background, but God changed his life. Jewish people look back to him as their ancestor, and Christians look to him as an example of faith.
The Friend of God
Abraham was called the friend of God. What would God call you?
Friendship grows as people spend time together and get to know one another. Abram did not begin with a lifetime of knowing God. That relationship developed as he followed him.
The same need for time and effort applies to our church family. We will not build friendships here without getting to know somebody.
So Abram Went
Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. His wife, Lot, and others went with him.
Haran was a stopping place, not his final destination. He kept going.
Repentance means turning from the former life and putting our faith and trust in God. God is not a rabbit’s foot to pull out only when we need help. A worshiper of God follows him.
Step by Step
Abram’s journey gives us a picture of following God one step at a time.
We become distracted. We stumble. Sometimes we fall flat on our faces. Welcome to the human race.
The question is not whether you have stumbled. The question is whether you will keep going.
Altars Along the Way
In Genesis 12:7, Abram built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him. In verse 8, he built another altar and called on the name of the Lord.
As we follow God, we begin to recognize how faithful he has been. We stop and thank him for saving us and leading us this far.
Our understanding grows. We come to say, “God is mine. I will not go back. I will put my faith and trust in him.”
Follow Me
Abram continued toward the Negev, toward the south. He did not have a map laying out every stage of the journey. God was leading him.
When God saves us, he does not explain every circumstance we will face or every stage of our lives. He calls us to follow him.
We have to decide whether to keep living the old life or trust him enough to keep going.
A Marathon, Not a Sprint
The Christian life is one step after another. Four words describe that walk:
- Obedience: If God says it, I do it.
- Dependence: As I obey, I depend on him rather than on what my friends, family, or culture say.
- Reverence: I worship and thank him for his greatness and goodness.
- Persistence: I keep going, even when life is hard.
2. God Used Circumstances to Test Abram
Abram had begun following God, but now he faced a severe famine.
We may not have experienced famine, but we know what it is like to open a cupboard and find little there, or to wonder how we will meet our needs.
Difficult circumstances test whether we will continue to trust God.
11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
13 Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
A Memory of Having Little
Early in our marriage, Sherry and I had only 35 cents on hand. We decided to spend it at Dairy Queen, where we had gone on our first date.
We bought one large ice cream cone and shared it, sitting in the same car and parking spot where we had sat when we were dating.
That was a time of having very little. It is also one of my most endearing memories of my wife.
Returning to What Is Familiar
When the famine came, Abram went down to Egypt rather than remaining where God had led him. A pagan land was familiar territory.
We can do the same thing. When following God becomes difficult, we revert to old ways because they are familiar and easy.
We tell ourselves, “I am only going to do this for a while.” Then we begin explaining why our choice makes sense.
How We Justify Ourselves
The famine was severe. Abram had a circumstance he could use to justify his decision.
We do that too: “Times are tough. I have bills.” Support for God’s work, missionaries, and people in need can become the first thing we cut.
How we use money reveals the reality of our faith. We need to consider whether our decisions have been made with God or simply around what we want.
What They Say or What God Said?
Before Abram began the journey, God had given him seven promises. Yet under pressure, Abram focused on what the Egyptians might say and do.
He feared that they would see his beautiful wife, kill him, and take her. His plan was for her to say she was his sister.
He was protecting himself without considering what might happen to her. He came up with his own plan instead of trusting God.
Problems Grow, Promises Shrink
The circumstances of life magnify our problems and minimize the promises of God.
Molehills become mountains. All we can see is the problem, and we begin trying to control the situation.
Abram panicked, just as we do. The test was whether he would trust God for the next step after already walking this far with him.
3. God Proved Himself Faithful
Abram’s plan put his wife and the future God had promised in danger. But God intervened.
His faithfulness was not only about Abram. The promise of a family and a nation involved Abram’s wife too.
15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
16 He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
17 The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
Your Choices Affect Your Family
Men, the decisions you make affect your wife, your children, your grandchildren, and your legacy.
It is possible to sacrifice your family while telling yourself you are working toward freedom, retirement, or a better life. Meanwhile, worshiping together, reading the Bible, and caring for your family spiritually are neglected.
Abram was thinking about himself. We need to recognize that same tendency in us.
Keep Living for God
God preserved the future Abram had put at risk. His care included Abram’s wife.
Women, take encouragement from this story to keep living for Jesus and modeling him to your family.
When you stumble, do not choose to remain in the mud. Get up and keep going.
4. God Allowed Consequences
God allowed Abram to suffer the consequences of his choices.
Our lives are filled with decisions. Some are deliberate; others have become so routine that we hardly notice we are making them.
A choice that seems useful in the moment can cost us later.
19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
20 Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.
Found Out
Pharaoh summoned Abram and confronted him: Why had he concealed that she was his wife? Why had he said she was his sister and allowed Pharaoh to take her?
Abram had no recorded answer to those questions. He had deceived Pharaoh, and now the deception was exposed.
At that point, his reasons did not change what he had done.
2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
3 One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?
5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”
6 Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”
10 Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”
11 Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.
13 So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him.
15 And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.”
16 And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—
18 for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
The Same Failure Again
Later, Abraham used the same deception with another king, again presenting his wife as his sister.
In that account, God warned the king not to touch her. Abraham’s repeated failure reminds us how easily we return to the same patterns.
Abram is not so different from us.
God Still Loves Us
The amazing thing is that God still loves us in spite of who we are.
We fall. We get in the mud. We quit and lie beside the road. Yet God calls us to get up and take another step.
That is the God who has called us to serve him. His love is greater than we can comprehend.
Take the Next Step Toward Him
Your next step may be different from mine, but it needs to be toward God, not away from him.
We cannot keep wavering between living for God and living for the world. Only God has the power to redeem, guide, and protect our lives.
Obey. Depend on him. Revere him. Persist. After you fall, get up and keep walking.
Closing Prayer
Father, work in our lives. Help us live as you want us to live: obeying you, depending on you, and revering you for your goodness and greatness.
Help us persist, taking the next step and looking to you for how to live in a way that honors you and helps others.
Abraham was called your friend. That is what we want for our lives. Show us how to honor you this week. In Christ’s name, amen.
Before you leave, find someone here you do not know well. Get to know them.
