App for That on the Job

“The Story—Chapter 2”

Kyle Idleman

February 18/19, 2012

For a full transcript and audio recording of this sermon please visit

The Living Word at www.livingword.org.

Introduction

It wasn’t Abraham’s credentials or qualifications that got God’s attention, but there is something about Abraham that explains why God used him to build a nation. Abraham’s story was a story of faith. His life takes up about 13 chapters in Genesis, and we learn what faith is from reading his story. It’s because of Abraham’s faith that God chose to use Abraham as such an integral part of the story.

Faith is obeying God when you don’t know where you’re going.

· In Genesis 12 God tells Abraham to take his family and to leave his homeland of Haran (a city close to the border of Turkey and Syria) and to go to a place God would show him. As senior citizens, my guess is that Abraham and Sarah were pretty comfortable and had no thoughts of moving. Change would have been hard for them.

· They are just told to get up and go, but God doesn’t tell them where they are going. And yet, here’s Abraham’s response in Genesis 12:4: “So Abram went…” That’s faith.

Faith is believing God against all hope.

· After God told Abraham to leave his home, God promised that he would be the father of a great nation. There were all kinds of objections Abraham could have made. But Genesis 15:6 says, “Abraham believed God…”

· Abraham believed God against all hope (Romans 4:18). That’s faith.

Faith is trusting God even when the story doesn’t make sense.

· Maybe the most well-known part of Abraham’s story comes in Genesis 22—where God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. We read in Genesis 22:1 that this was a test, but Abraham doesn’t know that.

· But notice the way verse 3 begins, “Early the next morning…” Surely he had all kinds of questions and doubts about why God asked this of him. But he just obeyed. That’s faith.

Conclusion

I’m wondering if maybe your story is the missing piece to the story God is trying to tell, because the purpose of your life is to be a part of His story. Abraham was invited to be part of God’s story not because he was deserving, not because he was qualified, but because he had faith. Today the same God is inviting you to put your faith in Him and become a part of His epic story.