"FROM FEAR TO FAITH"

MF Blume MARCH 28, 1999 am

Gene 11:31 - 12:3 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.


Notice in 12:1 that we read, "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country." 1 John gives us a progressive list of three stages of Christian growth.
    1Joh 2:12-14  I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
     
  1. We begin as LITTLE CHILDREN
  2. Then on to YOUNG MEN
  3. Finally, FATHERS
Abram experienced these three stages.

And, we read:

Gala 3:8  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,...
The GOSPEL was preached to Abram. These three stages that John mentions are also seen in the command to Abram:
Acts 7:3  And said unto him, (1) Get thee out of thy country, (2) and from thy kindred, (3) and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Abram was told to leave his country But this is only the "little children" level of maturity. When I first went to school at such a young age, I was terrified. We are always afraid to a degree of the unknown. We are all "little children" in our first stages of growth.

Abram should not have followed Terah, for he was supposed to leave Terah.

Terah died in Haran (Gen. 11:32) Abram finally came to the land of Canaan AFTER Terah died. Following after Terah represents taking our journeys and going in the wrong manner and not in full faith. After God saves us, he desires to lead us to a specific place in the Spirit. Small-town folk, who hardly ever ventured away into different towns and larger cities, and metropolis super-cities, are afraid to venture out and stay at home all their lives.

Recall that John said the little children's sins are forgiven.

Moses and Abram were both supposed to go to Canaan - the promised land. Moses found out that Israel was supposed to leave Egypt, but he did not understand the proper way that would occur. Abram had the same mistake. But its so easy since we lived in since after the flesh all our lives. All that Moses could show for his attempts to deliver Israel and defeat the kingdom of Egypt was a resume that said, "ONE EGYPTIAN DEAD." People who are comfortable in doing what they always did, feel uneasy when they turn the steering wheel over to someone else. Forty long years later.... It is like God is saying, "Do not be afraid to do what I say."

He saw a burning bush that doesn't burn up, and God says God will deliver Israel.

God does the delivering. And the 40 years that passed until Moses received this instruction represent a GENERATION. Terah's death represents the passing of a generation of Abram, and Abram growing up. There is a drive behind us to make ourselves do what we must do and stand on our own two feet. Abram got out of the way. So Moses and Abram both understood God's will to take them out of their present dwellings and go to a promised land. Due to our lack of understanding, we try to convince ourselves we are doing the right thing when it simply is the wrong thing. This is the WORK OF GOD. God allows failure to defeat you so much until you come right to the end, and then HE SPEAKS. And we grow up a bit more.

Those who come to this place almost give up ever trying to make it all the way to where God wants them.

Peter started to walk on water and sank.

And what has happened is that we have finally begun to experience a RENEWING OF THE MIND. Don't be stuck in the way the world does things. You are now going to prove the perfect will of God out for yourself! Faith comes from hearing the word.
Gene 12:5-7  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram,...
Abram left Haran and came to CANAAN!

As long as a man grows older and daddy is still leading, sonny-boy will never learn to walk like a man himself!

Was he scared? After we take steps of faith it is easy to rely upon flesh again, and not have to believe.
SERMONS