Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Welcome to Celebration.

If you are joining us via the podcast, our prayer is you are encouraged and if you are in the Orlando area, you will come join us.

Today I am excited to kick off a new series, From Here to There, surrounding the life of Abraham.

Over the next 3 weeks we will identify 3 important things you need to bring with you when you are going from where you are to where God is leading you.

We are introduced to this mountain of a man in and we follow his journey through .

Roughly 13 chapters but his life shapes the entire Bible.

Why? Was he perfect?

No. Did he perform massive miracles?

No.

He was a man that endeavored to believe God.

He trusted God.

He had faith.

What is faith?

(NKJV) — 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith has substance, it is something you can feel even if you can’t see it.

I am trusting even when I can’t see it, but you can see it when I am trusting.

(ESV) — 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him.

Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

(NKJV) — 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith has substance, it is something you can feel even if you can’t see it.

I am trusting even when I can’t see it, but you can see it when I am trusting.

Scripture(s)

(ESV) — 1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.”

Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other.

But he did not cut the birds in half.

11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Not sure if you have ever had a “these things” season.

For Abram:

He lost his brother, He lost his father, Got separated from his nephew , Denies his wife , Nephew gets kidnapped, Goes to war to retrieve nephew, Getting old, Pays tithes…

He lost his father

Got separated from his nephew

Denies his wife

Nephew gets kidnapped

Goes to war to retrieve nephew

Getting old

Pays tithes…

Notice there are 3 stages of a storm, before, during, and after.

Before the storm is quiet, during is chaos, after is peace.

You may be in a “these events” season that is chaotic but for every before, there is an after.

2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.”

Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other.

But he did not cut the birds in half.

11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

(HCSB) — 1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield; your reward will be very great.

God goes on to explain the book of Exodus in 2 sentences, but affirms Abram, that His hand is on him and his legacy that has yet to be born.

Not sure if you have ever had a “these things” season.

For Abram:

He lost his brother

He lost his father

Got separated from his nephew

Denies his wife

Nephew gets kidnapped

Goes to war to retrieve nephew

Getting old

Pays tithes…

Notice there are 3 stages of a storm, before, during, and after.

Before the storm is quiet, during is chaos, after is peace.

You may be in a “these events” season that is chaotic but for every before, there is an after.

(HCSB) — 17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals.

18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River: 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Name above all names:

Sometimes our opposition has a name to it but we serve a name that’s above every name

(NKJV) — 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

Illustration

I am certain you are familiar with the term, opposites attract.

We’ve all heard of couples that couldn’t be more different but somehow they found chemistry and we chalk it up to opposites attract.

Interestingly enough this concept is drawn from magnets.

Magnets create a magnetic field where it draws items made from the same material that actually have different “pull”.

This “pull” is a magnetic field where the two opposites attract to one another.

Paula Abdul tells us “I take--2 steps forward I take--2 steps back, We come together, Cuz opposites attract, And you know--it ain't fiction, Just a natural fact, We come together, Cuz opposites attract.”

Sometimes it’s little things.

Who has ever washed your car only to have it rain immediately afterwards…or even worse.

True story: a few months ago Maegan and I were taking our Senior Pastors, Stovall and Kerri, to dinner.

I get the car all cleaned up and we pick them up and they are raving about how nice the car is.

I drop them off at the front and I go park my car.

After a lovely night of conversation, I go to retrieve the car.

To my surprise, I walk up and there is bird poop on my car.

When I say bird poop, I am not talking about a single drop or two, it was like every bird in the city ate something that didn’t agree with their stomach and thought my car was a porta potty.

My car was so white I thought it was vandalized with paint.

I literally tried to park in the best place available only to have positioned exactly at the spot where it would endure a violent assault.

It’s crazy how things like this happen.

Who has ever been in a hurry to get somewhere and somehow get stopped at every red light there is to the location?

These are truly small things but what about when they have larger impact?

Have you ever made your mind up to be the bigger person to someone you don’t agree with only for them to act ever smaller?