THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL.

SERIES: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD

TEXT: GENESIS 12:1-5

No matter who you are or what you have done, you too can have close encounters with the living God. If there has ever been a day to have close encounter with God it is now.

We are living in the last days, these are the days of great opportunities.

Christians are the greatest argument for Christianity and the greatest argument against Christianity.

Mahatma Gandhi of India once said “I will become a Christian if I see one.” He would have become a Christian if it had not been for Christians. As Christians we need to be on fire for God, not one foot for Christ and the other foot in the world.

However, the greatest people who had the closest encounters with God were people just like you and me, people who had flaws, setbacks, failures, problems. In Genesis 12:1-5 we encounter the man Abraham was a great man:-

• He is great in history.
• He is the biological fathers of both the Jews and the Arabs.
• The world as we know it today has been shaped and directed by the descendants of this man.
• He is great in spirituality.
• Out of Abraham three greatest religions of the world were born, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. These three religions are called Abrahamic religions.
• The Torah, the New Testament and the Koran (Quran) are all the direct result of the life of Abraham.
• Abraham is mentioned 60 times in the New Testament.
• In the New Testament Abraham is called:-
• The father of them that believe-Rom. 4:11.
• The friend of God-James 2:23.
• The champion of faith-Heb. 11.
• He is great in destiny.
• Because everyone today and those who will come in some way to this world will be impacted by the life of this great man.
• From father Abraham comes our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the author of our destiny.
• Let us look at this greater than life man our father of faith-ABRAHAM:-

HIS CALLING WAS SOVEREIGN-Gen. 12:1-3.

• God told Abram several things:-
• Move, get out from where you are.
• I will make you a great nation.
• I will make your name great.
• You will be a blessing.
• I will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you.
• God has throughout history been fulfilling all these promises.
• God’s call to Abraham was very sovereign.
• There is nothing that Abraham did to meet that call, it was all of grace.
• God called Abraham out of his land from Ur of the Chaldus which today is modern Iraq just south of Bagdad. This was a place of extreme idolatry-Joshua 24:1-2.
• Paganism was the main religion for the Chaldeans.
• The Chaldeans did human sacrifices and passed their own children through fire.
• To appease these demon gods, the Chaldees would offer up infants as sacrifice.
• God’s sovereignly called Abraham through His grace alone.
• If you are truly born again today it was because of God’s sovereignty, you did not choose God, God chose you.
• When Abraham heard God’s voice and call, Abraham obeyed-Gen. 12:4. This was a step of faith.
• Abraham had no idea where he was going, he was totally trusting God-Heb. 11:8-10.

1. HIS MISTAKES WERE COMMON.

• Along the way of faith Abraham made some mistakes.

He stopped at Haran-half way.

• The Bible tells us in Gen. 11:31 that Abraham obeyed God but did not obey God fully.
• He took his extended family and stopped half way at Haran.
• This is what some of us have done, we heard the call and stopped halfway at Haran.
• Some have gotten saved but have refused water baptism.
• Stopping halfway is always miserable, the most miserable person on earth is not the sinner and not the saint but those who are halfway serving God.
• Those who are halfway loving God, halfhearted, carnally, fleshly, backslidden Christians, lukewarm like the Laudecians of Revelation 3.
• Why did Abraham stop halfway if Haran? His father Terah could not make the journey he died in Haran.

Abraham lied about his wife twice.

• This great man of faith lied-Gen. 12, 20.

Giving birth to Ishmael-(Gen. 16) was the worst mistake.

• Because of Ishmael the world has never known peace-Gen. 16:12.
• You know when you mess up it affects everybody.
• So, in the life of this great man of faith Abraham there were times:-
• When his faith faltered, when he was too fast or too slow.
• When he made some serious errors, when he sinned.
• Abraham’s call was sovereign, Abraham’s mistakes were common but finally:-

ABRAHAM’S CLOSE ENCOUNTERS ARE INSPIRING!

• The most inspiring fact about Abraham is the fact that despite failing, missing it bad and messing up, Abraham still had close encounters with God.
• In Genesis 13-“And Abraham built an alter unto God and spoke to him saying Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it for I will give it unto you.”
• In Genesis 15 God told Abraham to build Him an alter.
• In Genesis 22:14, God was encountered by Abraham as Jehovah Jire-God my provider.

CONCLUSION

• Do you want a close encounter with God?
• Some of you are getting a call to be saved.
• Some of you are getting a call to offer your Isaac on the alter.
• Others have made some tragic mistakes but you can still have a close encounter with God.
• Today approach the Lord God for close encounter with Him.