Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Genesis 15:1-21

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 wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" ³ And Abram said, "Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir." ⁴ And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your 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 descendants be." ⁶ And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you 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 she-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 two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. ¹¹ And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. ¹² As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years; ¹⁴ but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶ And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." ¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

Summary and Function

Summary: In Genesis chapter 12, God promised to bless Abraham by making his descendants as numerous as the stars and giving them the land occupied by other nations. In chapter 15 God re-iterates his promises. Abraham, however, expresses doubt. Instead of getting angry, God reassures Abraham by making a covenant with him. By doing this, God put his own reputation on the line. God worked with Abraham to relieve him of doubt.

God still works with us when we have doubt. He develops within us a faith that can withstand all the storms of life no matter how strong they may be. The next time you have doubt, go to God and be honest about it. Instead of responding in anger, God will work with you to strengthen your faith and erase the doubt. You will draw closer to God.

Function: To encourage the congregation to go to God in prayer whenever they have any doubts.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: My late wife Jackie

A. My late wife, Jackie, is a wonderful Christian woman. (I say ‘is’ rather than ‘was’ even though she has passed away and is no longer my wife. She is now alive in heaven which means I can still refer to her in the present tense.)

B. She was not always a good Christian. When she first became a Christian, she had huge doubts about whether or not she would become the woman God created her to be.

· She would compare herself to Jesus and recognize how far she missed the mark.

· She would also compare herself to the Biblical giants such as Abraham, David, Peter and Paul and feel inadequate.

· She had a very hard time picturing herself living the way God wanted her to live. SHE HAD SERIOUS DOUBTS!!!

C. God, however, worked with Jackie to overcome her doubts. It started with her first Sunday School class.

· Jackie joined a Sunday School class that was studying the lives of some of the major Biblical characters

· The class was studying David when Jackie first joined.

- Jackie saw how much David sinned even though he was a ‘man after God’s own heart’.

- Jackie realized that if God could work with David then God could work with her. From that moment, Jackie started to mature in Christ at a breath-taking pace. God turned her doubt into an unbelievable faith. Jackie learned that God can transform anyone into the likeness of Christ.

D. What happened to Jackie is actually very typical of God. God will work with anyone to overcome their doubt. When we express our doubt to God, God will work with us to change our doubt into a strong faith. This is illustrated in today’s passage of Scripture.

II. Genesis 15:1-21: The story of God responding to Abraham’s doubt

A. Back in chapter 12 God promised Abraham that:

· He will be blessed to be a blessing

· His descendants will become a great nation

· His descendants will inherit the land

B. Many years go by and Abraham, who was already 75 years old when God gave him the promise, still remains childless. He begins to doubt God’s promise.

· Abraham’s first proclamation of doubt: Gen. 15:1-3: Abraham begins to doubt that he will have any sons that will become a great nation.

- God responds to the 1^st proclamation of doubt: Gen. 15:4-5: God reiterates his promise by explaining that Abraham’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars in heaven

- Abraham’s response to God: Gen 15:6: Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness

· Abraham’s 2^nd proclamation of doubt: Gen. 15:7-8: Abraham wonders how he can really know that his descendants will possess the land

- God responds to the 2^nd proclamation of doubt: Genesis 15:9-21: God makes a covenant with Abraham. God is now sworn by a covenant to give the land to Abraham’s descendents.

- In Abraham’s day, covenants were binding. Animals were often sacrificed when a covenant was made. The participants of the covenant agree that what happened to the animals is what should happen to the person who breaks the covenant.

- In this covenant, only God has certain stipulations to follow. By making this covenant, God was putting His reputation as a faithful God on the line.

· The moral of the story (Gen. 15:1-21): When we express our doubt to God, God will work with us to change our doubt into a strong faith.

III. We all have doubt from time to time

· My professor at Asbury Theological Seminary began his relationship with God by expressing his doubt. His prayer that began his love relationship with God went something like this, “God, just in case you do exist and love me, I’m going to give you a try. I’m going to try following you in accordance with what the Bible says and see what happens.” Do you see the doubt in this prayer? This same professor now has an unshakable faith in the Lord and is absolutely fanatical about spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

· You may be looking at your current circumstances. You may be looking at your financial troubles, failing health and broken families.

- With all the turmoil in your life, you may doubt God’s love. You may be thinking, “I know the Bible tells me that God loves me. I know Jesus demonstrated God’s love on the cross. But, does God really love me?”

- If you fall into this category, go to God in prayer and talk to Him about it. Be honest with God and express your doubt to Him. God will not strike you with lightning. Instead, He will lovingly work with you to change your doubt into faith.