The God of Who? What’s So Special About Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Part 1:  What Did Abraham Ever Accomplish?
Hebrews 11:8-19

I.        Introduction
          A.     God introduced Himself to Moses by His relationship to men. (Exodus 3:6)
          B.     The God of Abraham …
                   1.      We know Abraham must be special. (John 8:33,39; Luke 16:22,ff)
                   2.      But what makes him special?
          C.     Abraham truly is remarkable
                   1.      I can’t begin to explain why God chose Abram the son of Terah of the city Ur
                   2.      But there is a trait of his that we must all inherit. (Gal. 3:29)
                   3.      Let’s look at the pattern of Abraham’s life and discover what we must have in common.
II.     The Faith of Abraham
          A.     Put briefly, that which makes Abraham stand out is faith. (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:1- 3; Gal 3:6; James
                    2:23)
          B.     It is true in our case as well as his that righteousness comes through faith
                   1.      But what does faith consist of?
                   2.      What makes up a faith that makes righteous?
III.   What did this faith encompass?
           A.    Believed promises
                   1.      God made promises to Abraham, repeated and expanded upon them, time after time.
                              a.       Gen. 12:1-3, Genesis 15, Genesis 17:4-8; 17:19, Gen. 22:17-18
                   2.      God didn’t always make it easy on Abraham to believe
                   3.      Yet Abraham did believe (Gen 15:6; Gal. 3:9, “the believer”)
           B.     Obeyed commands
                   1.      The promises of God were part of a covenant agreement.
                   2.       “By faith Abraham obeyed…” (Heb. 11:8; James 2:24)
                   3.      Hebrews 11 shows Abrahams faith was active (v. 8, 9, 17)
           C.     Lived righteously
                   1.      Abraham’s righteous living was also required for the promises (Genesis 18:19)
                   2.      He did live righteously – “Lived as an alien in the land of promise” (Heb 11:9 NASB)
                   3.      “Friend of God” (James 2:23)
                   4.      “God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Heb. 11:16)
IV.  Abraham is our model of faith
         A.     Abraham is the father of those who have such a faith (Galatians 3:7-9)
                   1.      In him, we see the quality of faith we must have
                   2.      Our faith must have the same traits, if it is to have the same benefit
         B.     We must believe the promises of God through Christ
                   1.      God makes promises to us in the covenant of Christ (John 3:16; 14:1-6)
                   2.      He doesn’t tell us everything that will happen; just the outcome. (John 15:15)
                   3.      Hebrews 11:6
         C.     We respond to these promises in “obedience of faith” (Romans 16:26)
                   1.      Luke 9:23; Romans 12:1-2; Gal. 3:26-29
         D.     We live righteously in relationship with Him rather than the world (Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 2:11)
V.     Conclusion
         A.     God did the marvelous things through Jesus Christ.
         B.     He asks us to do the ordinary things, like Abraham.
         C.     Will you follow the model of faith that Abraham showed?

January 10, 2010
Glenn Record