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liberty bible church 6~/17~/07 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“what does saving faith look like?”
Genesis 15:1-21
introduction
Illus. of A small boy riding a bus home from Sunday school was very proud of the card he had received, which had a picture and a caption that read: “Have Faith in God.”
Then to his dismay the card slipped from his hand and fluttered out the window.
“Stop the bus!” he cried.
“I’ve lost my ‘faith in God!’” The driver pulled the bus to a stop, and as the lad climbed out and went to retrieve his card, one of the adult riders smiled and made a comment about the innocence of youth.
A more perceptive adult observed, “All of us would be better off if we were that concerned \\ about our faith."
Saving faith is not something tangible like this card, nor is it something one can lose.
But, it is more than what the world flippantly throws around as something that is cheap and expendable.
This cheap pseudo-faith saves no one and deceives many.
Saving faith comes at a high price and carries with it great responsibility.
So, how do we know if what faith we have is saving faith?
OPEN to passage.
*Prop.
*In this passage, we see Abram exercise his saving faith in his relationship with God.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage.
Abram has just come off a great victory for his family and five cities from the southern plain.
He chooses to recognize that God was the source of this great victory by worshiping with Melchizedek and rejecting the materialistic offer of the King of Sodom.
Cf. 14:18-24 As Abram grows older in this strange land, he begins to contemplate all that God has done and what He hasn’t done and he begins to struggle.
He focuses on what God isn’t doing rather than what He has done.
And in this struggle, God makes a covenant with Abram to confirm the promises He had made previously.
In this process, we see saving faith.
First of all, saving faith is…
i.
true unwavering belief in God’s Promises vs. 1-6
Illus. of There once was a man who very adamantly believed in living by faith.
He believed that, so long as he prayed in Jesus’ name, believing in faith that God would provide his need, he would receive whatever he asked for.
One day he stood up in church and declared that from that day forward, he was trusting God to supply all his needs.
He quit his job as a high-ranking official in a fairly large company and moved into a dingy little house on the rougher side of town.
The first night he prayed very fervently for God to send him some food, because he was beginning to get hungry.
The next morning he walked outside, expecting to find food, but nothing was there.
Figuring that he didn’t pray fervently enough, he dedicated the whole day to praying for God to provide food for the next day.
The next morning came, and still no food.
That day he prayed even more fervently for God to provide nourishment, for by now he was growing ravenously hungry.
"God, you must provide me with food, or I will die out here," he prayed over and over again.
The next morning he walked outside, and still no food.
By this time he was beginning to get angry with God for not providing He promised in His Word.
That afternoon and evening he redoubled his efforts, wailing and rocking back and forth and beating his breast as he prayed.
"Dear God, I’m going to starve to death unless you feed me.
I haven’t eaten or had anything to drink in 4 days!"
When he had prayed all he could pray, and was exhausted he fell back on the bed and stared at the wall.
In the silence, he heard a small voice calling out his name.
"Bill!
Bill!" "I’m here Lord," he cried.
"Are you finally answering my prayer?"
"I’ve been answering your prayers," the voice replied.
"You’ve just been looking in the wrong direction."
"What do you mean Lord?
I don’t understand," he exclaimed, exasperated.
"Walk outside," said the voice.
Bill walked outside, looked all around on the dirty porch, but still found no food.
"There’s nothing here, Lord.
I don’t see any food."
"You’re looking in the wrong direction.
Look up." Bill looked up, and there right above his head, pasted onto the building next to him, was a huge billboard with big black print that said, "DAY LABORERS WANTED!
LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED."
This man had unwavering belief, he just misapplied it.
Abram demonstrates unwavering belief as well, but soon will misapply it.
a.
true belief sometimes doubts
V 1a 1.
Even after a great victory and blessing from God, Abram still felt fearful and unsure.
God gives him an assurance here.
V 1b 2.
God would protect him and provide for him in a greater way than any king could bless him.
The king of Sodom offered him a great deal, but Go had more.
Cf. 12:1-3 But…
V 2 3.
Abraham had not forgotten God’s promise in chapter 12. But, he still has no child.
His heir is the child of a servant born in his house.
He yet has no child, but clings to God’s promise.
This is a word play.
“heir of my house” is “possessor-heir” or “son of possession.”
Abram was pointing out to God that that the one who would gain his possessions is one of his possessions, a servant.
V 3 4.
This clearly states his point.
When we are at this point in our lives, remember…
b. god’s word is clear
V 4 1.
God makes a clear statement here.
He had not forgotten His promise to Abram.
The servant would not be his heir, but someone would come from his own body.
To demonstrate the magnitude of this promise, God gives him an illustration.
V 5 2.
The same word that created the stars guaranteed Abram’s seed.
And…
V 6 3.
The form of the Hebrew word for believed shows that his belief did not begin here.
This was not the first time Abram believed.
He believed when he left his home to come to Canaan.
Abram’s faith is mentioned here since it was the basis of the covenant God is making with him.
4.
This account of Abram is repeated in the NT 3 times.
Cf.
Rom.
4:3; Gal.
3:6; James 2:23 Throughout all ages, righteousness is based on true faith.
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