I'm giving Matt my name is arshad and I'm one of the
pastor's here at reality and I'm excited to continue this series
with you on Walking with God, and we just believe that there's
nothing greater than a human can do in their life than to walk
with God. And what we want as a community
and for you individually is for God, to have your attention and
then we talk about walking with God.
God, we want us to pay attention and forgot to have our attention
for what he wants to say to us and how he wants to direct us.
Amen. Amen.
And so the person's life as you heard from the text that we're
going to be looking into is Abraham and this is and also the
name Abraham was the name of Arnold's.
Fish on Different Strokes. I know it's all random.
If you've never seen the show, you should watch it, it's a
great show, it's good, it's great, it's amazing.
Anyways, anyways, Abraham from the Bible, the father of many
nations and so I'm his journey began at the end of chapter 11
in the beginning of chapter 12 and Genesis.
And it says in chapter 12 that Abraham was 75 years old.
Old and so fast forward to today's text and Genesis 17
Abraham is now 99. So we're talking a 24 year
period from when God first appeared to Abraham to this
appearance now in Genesis 17 and so 24 years between the time in
which God spoke his promise to Abraham.
And so so like Noah ha Abraham has been responding to what he
knows about God, he doesn't have a Bible, he doesn't have a rabbi
or a pastor in his life, he just, he's heard, God, speak and
he's been following those instructions and that's all that
he knows. And it's taken him from his
home, in the ER, of the Chaldeans on a journey to a
place called Canaan, which is the land of promise, which is
the place of which God says, I'm going to multiply your family
and they're going to be great here.
They're going to outnumber the sand on the seashore they're
going to outnumber the stars in the sky and so Abraham left
everything because God showed up and said go Guys showed up and
said, go, I have something for you and for generations to come.
Some of us are here right now because God said, go got to have
something for you in the city, I have something for you.
In New England, some of you have heard a call from God and you've
been trying to respond ever since.
And for 24 years, Abraham has been in this in-between space.
He's been the space. Um where God promised him
something in 24 years where he hasn't fully, how has it really
come close to experiencing what God has called for him that he's
been waiting and waiting and he's been often trying to take
things to his into his own hands and so trying to have a
descendant from someone not his wife.
And what we find out in his life is in the life of minis is
there's a thin line between trusting God for your future and
trying to do it yourself. Anybody.
Because the promise of physical descendant that will come
between Abram and Sarai was basically impossible.
They, they were, they were old, like, really old like, ninety
nine and ninety, and they were Beyond childbearing age and we
will we find out later in scripture, is that Sarai was
Barren. And so, yeah.
God was calling him into a future that seemed physically
impossible. And understand on.
Here's what we understand about who we know about Abraham is
that Abraham is new to new to following God.
First for 75 years. He followed other gods and he
didn't know anything about the God who created heavens and
earth, all that he knew was that this God that we read in the
Bible called him to follow him. Abraham knew that God gave him a
promise, but he didn't know if God could do it.
All he did was trust the voice that he heard and and followed
he just went and as we enter, our passage today in verse 1,
God makes a grand appearance and this was way before the Jay-Z
song were were, basically God says, allow me to reintroduce
myself. Some of y'all got that I had to
How to all right, every time I read the first niggas like like
God is saying that will allow me to reintroduce myself, to you
Abram, you know, who I am. God tells Abraham and first one,
he's the God almighty. He's El Shaddai.
Somebody here needs to hear that.
He is the god almighty. Like, when we say, God, we
worship and we say, oh God, we're seeing your God Almighty,
your El Shaddai when God Appears in scripture when he appears
those, he's saying I'm a mighty God.
I really don't want you to miss this introduction because it's
important because God often reveals Parts about himself that
we need the most in the moment in which we need it.
Abraham needed an El Shaddai and God was saying you had a promise
from me but you need to know that I can do it.
I'm not, you know, I'm not Shaddai.
It's been 24 years since you first heard that word in 24
years later you just been traveling and journeying.
And Not seen or experienced what I told you but I'm El Shaddai.
I wish I had someone here at a man.
Me right now. Amen.
God Here's what one scholar says, about this word, El
Shaddai. El Shaddai when used of God,
refers either to his ability to supply abundantly, the Abundant
one, and to his Majestic strength, the almighty one.
And so, God is showing up saying, I can supply all your
needs. I'm the Abundant one.
If you're weak, I have strained. I'm the Majestic one.
As you follow God, you begin to understand who God is.
As you be as you go, God reveals himself to you as you move
forward with him. Abraham discovers that he is
el-shaddai after 24 years of being in weakness and not being
able to fulfill things on his own.
I wish I had somebody in here that would get that was catching
this. God reveals himself to you.
As you move along you might have experienced him as Savior when
you first began to believe and now you, then he wants you to
experience him as provider. He wants to experience him as
strength, and it comes along the way in our life.
And when we find those moments, when we say God, I need you to
be strengthened this moment. El Shaddai.
God knows the longing and Abrams and Sarah's heart the longing
for a child to where it's a pressure point in their
marriage. The pressure point in their
relationship and it's also a pressure point in a tension in
their relationship with God and God knows what he's able to do.
And he wants Abraham to know, I can provide I'm not just willing
but I can provide amply, I can move mountains, scheme, Abraham
knows that God is willing. He just needs to know and trust
that God is able God is not limited to time or circumstances
and I'm saying a lot right now and I need, I've maybe I want
you to not miss that God is not limited to time or
circumstances. Some of you have been waiting or
longing for something for a very long time and hasn't happened.
And you think that it's that time is limiting to what God can
do. It's not you might think you're
in a circumstance that seems impossible improbable for
something good to come out of it.
And guys I'm not limited to that circumstance.
Now limited to that time but what God is limited by is our
unwillingness to trust him. James 4 says you have not?
Because you ask not. Roman says that the just shall
live by faith. Hebrews says, it's impossible to
please God without faith. Jesus on his triumphal entry.
Comes to Jerusalem. He said, oh, how I wish that I
could gather you up but you were unwilling.
I had so much for you to experience.
I wanted to show you the kingdom here and now, but you were
unwilling to be gathered. Why, why is this so important
because God works along relational lines and what he's
forming and cultivating in the life of Abraham and Sarah during
his journey is a relationship. They and they are at a pivotal
point in their relationship and I believe that God is saying
right here. Do you trust me?
Do you believe that I can? And I will do what I said that I
would do. Do you believe that?
Not only am I willing, but that I can and I will finish what I
started even at. The ripe old age of 99 Abram.
This is what he says in the end of verse 1, in the verse to walk
before me faithfully and be blameless.
Then I will make my Covenant between me and you and will
greatly increase your numbers. Abraham is called to walk
before. And with God, we talked about
this word, walk and Hebrew haluk.
It's a little better, it's a little better my Hebrew.
And here's what one commentator says, obviously God.
Not telling Abraham to physically walk before him, but
to continue spiritually to direct his life in such a way
that he will receive, all that God had promised to him.
God has made a promise. God has made a covenant with
Abraham. He says your part is to walk.
Your part, is the walk with me faithfully and blamelessly does
that mean that Abraham shouldn't will never make a mistake?
No, it means that Abraham will make mistakes but that his heart
is single-hearted, and that he had means, he's that, he's heart
is fully devoted to God. That word blameless.
It's used The Exodus in the word.
Refers to a perfect, sacrifice without blemish.
It was a call for integrity. God is saying to Abraham using
the sacrificial language to Abraham.
Give me your whole heart. Give me your whole heart and you
will enjoy everything. I have for you because if you
give me your whole heart, ultimately you will have God.
You tell him in Genesis 15, I am your exceedingly great reward.
Jesus says seek first, the kingdom and all these things
will be added on to you. In other words, don't seek the
promise, seek the one who makes the promise.
Come on somebody. Bit out there.
That's response worthy. That's a response for that
Twitter worthy right there. Don't just seek the promise.
Seek the one who makes the promise.
Don't just seek his hands, his face.
He's telling Abraham right now. Like, yeah, I have something for
you, but don't miss the point, man.
The point is to be with me. And you can have 24 years of a
baby every year without me, that's meaningless, but if
you're 24 years with no baby but you with me, you have
everything. This requirement of bullying
being blameless and Walking with God means live in my presence
and be devout. We can get so caught up in where
we want to go and how we want God to use us.
And we can miss the point that God wants us.
The God wants us to want him. Okay.
This is one of my favorite quotes in this whole book is
called secrets of the secret place and it says this God wants
to walk with us before he works through us.
So he will wait to act until he finds the right man or woman
through whom he can work to pull it bluntly.
God works with his friends. He doesn't decide what he wants
to do and then start looking for someone to use.
He looks for a man or woman and Once he finds him or her, he
then decides what he wants to do with them.
For example, God didn't choose Noah because he wanted to send a
flood. God had the freedom to send the
flood because he had found a man to walk with God.
Always starts by finding a friend first.
When God has a Noah, he can do a flood.
When God has a Joseph, he can give Pharaoh a Divine dream when
God has a Moses. He can plan mightily Mighty
Deliverance for his people when God has no Elijah, he could send
fire from. Heaven when God has a Samuel, he
could test God's heart when God has a Jesus.
He can save the world o beloved. Learn to walk with God.
This opening of God's introduction, says it all
Abraham. Don't stop walking with me.
God is revealing himself to Abraham as the all-powerful one
but says first and foremost I want your heart Abraham and
here's Abraham response, he bowels down and not not a
Curtain Call at the end of a play.
Like, knees, hands face to ground Abraham bowels down and
out of reverence. Yes.
But also I believe this was an act of saying God, you now even
more. So have my heart.
God, you You have my trust. It's all about our response.
God doesn't want our faith and our trust to be a one-time
isolated event. God says, walk with me.
He wants us to keep coming to him.
He wants our dependence on him. He is, heart is for us, and he
wants to know that he that we that he can have our hearts.
This is this is this is a story of devotion.
And the reason why devotion is important because God wants a
relationship. God is devoted to us and he's
saying, I want you to reciprocate that back.
As you as you go and continue to put your trust in God you are
simultaneously becoming his friend and I know that we've all
been given different pictures and description of what God is
like and how God relates to human beings.
But James 223 says, Abraham believed God and it was counted
to him as righteousness. And he was called a friend of
God. You know, is you're holding
song. I'm A Friend Of God.
Gosh that God wants a relationship with.
The, he's saying walk. Before me walk with me because I
have things to share with you. Jesus said, I want to give you
the secrets of the Kingdom, giving you the keys to the
kingdom. He does.
Who do you do that with friends on a break bread with?
You want to sit on a table with you?
I have things and plans for you. I don't want you to do.
Doing stuff. That's so disconnected for me
and my heart. I want to do it with you.
You might be go. You might have never had this
kind of relationship with the god.
I haven't seen God do anything in my life.
In a long time that I'm not experiencing what I expected to
happen. I'm not experiencing my life
right now. What I expect to happen from God
when God gives us a promise. Here's here's what I believe
that he wants us to respond at snow.
It's already done. For instance, have you ever had
someone ever told someone you trusted that's shown up in your
life promised? You something like I'm gonna
take you to Cancun, right? Like something in your heart and
your mind maybe you're right. But if I trust him and I
believed them they've always like big good on their word.
I begin to respond as though. I'm already in Cancun.
Come on somebody. Let's go winter breaks coming.
Come on. and when God gives a promise, To the response that
he's longing for us for us to see.
I have yeah, but I trust in your character, in your person I'm
gonna respond as though. You've already done it.
Talks about Abraham in Hebrews 11.
Listen to this by faith Abraham when call to go to a place, he
would later receive as an inheritance obeyed and went even
though he did not know where he was going by faith, he made his
home in the promised land Like a Stranger in a foreign country.
He lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob who were heirs with
him of the same promise for he was looking forward to the city
with foundations whose architect and Builder is God.
Won't you listen to two words in this passage obeyed and went?
Simultaneously, he obeyed and he went sometimes you don't know
where you're going until you get there.
And for some of us that's really hard.
He didn't know how God would accomplish what he said, he was
going to do. He didn't know where he didn't
know how, he didn't know when it's been 24 years and he didn't
know why. God calls.
And why, why this land? Why why me why?
At this age? You didn't know he just obeyed
and went Abraham has seen enough of God, he's experienced enough
of God, he's know everything about God but he's experienced
enough of God where he know that he wanted a world in which God
was at the center of it. And how do we know this?
We know this because he never turned back.
If you look at Genesis 12, when God first calls him, you hear
words like this. He went, he traveled, he set
from there, he went down, like, you look at every line.
Abraham keeps going. He doesn't know where he's
going. He doesn't know why.
He doesn't know when he will get there.
He doesn't, he doesn't have the details.
All he knows, he heard a voice and he's responding to his.
I'm gonna go. And as he goes as he's going,
God is revealing himself to him. I know she died.
One commentator says this God's call to Abraham demanded total
restructuring of his lifestyle. He left his own civilization, a
for foreign land. He left a place of culture to
move to the backward home of Wanderers.
He left his home to take up residence in a tent.
He left stability for the uncertainty of travel and Ever
Changing circumstances. He left the security of an
established code of laws to wander afraid.
And from Until and he left a long tradition of worship of
gnana, the Moon, God for The God Who had spoken to him.
But whom he, he did not yet. Really no leaving.
Her was an Act of Faith and making this difficult decision.
Abraham exhibited a unique, Trust And this is what God is
saying In This Moment, Abraham need you to continue to trust
me. It.
Maybe you need to hear that today.
Maybe God, I said you need to continue to trust me.
The promise from God from chapter 12.
To now, 17 was 24 years and by all accounts, it looks like
Abraham does nothing to show for it, except the loss of all
things. And I just want to say in every
journey and walk with God, there comes a point in our lives,
where we go, God's ways are not my ways, my ways are not
working, God, I need you, and it's in those places where God,
It's forms us and reveals himself in a way that we need
most. Because by our own doing, we
would try to like I want to, I don't want to go that route.
I don't want to go that route with my deepest need meets God
because I don't want to have a deep need.
Anybody. This is the place for Abram
finds himself. And now he's ready to move
forward with God. Verse 5 says no longer will you
be called Abram? Your name will be Abraham for.
I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you fruitful very fruitful.
I will make nations of you and Kings will come from you.
God changes, his name because God has changed Abram.
Abram. His name means exalted father
that speaks to his dad that name Looks To The Past Abraham means
father of Nations. His name implies a look ahead to
his descendants. God is saying you are no longer
about your past and where you come from.
You are now being named by what is I'm going to do in your
future. Some, you going to catch that
later, okay? I Envision that going way
different. Okay.
Anyways What commentator says this, why did God change their
names as a symbol of their change?
Status? Abraham was now living under
God's covenant blessings, and Sarah was now God's princess
destined to be the mother of Israel.
They had gone from Baron to blessed and then the ancient
context in which they live, such a change call for brand new
names from Baron, who from Baron to blessed.
We see Jesus do this with Peter calls Peter and he says, now
your name is Rock. When he spoke Jesus says that he
goes to build the church with you, your future with God, is
this? You have a new name, you're no
longer your former person Revelation to says, this River
has ears. Let them hear what the spirit
says, to the churches to the one who is Victorious.
I will give some hidden Manna. Also, I will also give that
person a white stone with a new name, written on it known only
to the one who receives it. For some of us here walking with
God means going forward in newness of life, and what God
has said about, you not the labels of the past, but what God
is calling you into with no turning back.
God calls, Abraham, the father of Nations at 99 years old with
with a wife with no children and nothing on the horizon.
Then he says no, you're a father of Nations.
Not not the Label Society gives you not your job title.
Not none of that. What God calls you is?
Who you are and Who you calling you to walk into?
his name is a reminder of who he was being called into, who he
was called by, And here's here's the linchpin, he had to receive
his name. He got, he had to agree with God
and go, you call me Abraham. I'm an I'm going to let people
call me that and I'm gonna respond to it.
By accepting his name Abraham. He was saying, God, I'll walk
with you. You have named me, you've given
me purpose you'll give me value. He's saying my future is in your
hands so I'll give you my present right now church God has
a name for you. You are beloved your beloved
Sons. You were beloved daughters when
you when you realize that when you walk into it, you know what
you get you could God Get a guy with open arms that you get out,
you get a when you accept it. That's when you move from
unwilling to willing and that's when you begin to experience.
God, you experience God when you trust him El Shaddai.
All sufficient all powerful God that nothing's too hard for a
God that nothing's too hard for. Nothing.
A God that nothing is too hard for.
Like, when you get that from your head to your heart even
though nothing's changed, everything's changed. he tells
Abraham 12 times in this passage, I will 12 times,
passage walk with me. I will walk with me.
I will And God said to Abraham,
do I have your? I will, he trembles Italian.
Lord. You have my, Will you you have
my heart? You have my future.
That's good. God completes what he starts God
is saying, I will take care of your family, your name will live
on everything. I promise you will.
Come trust me. Walk with me.
He's a God who makes promises and a God who sees them through.
Jesus said how much more will your father in heaven?
Give you the Holy Spirit if you ask him?
Last quote, Pastor John ortberg says this who you become while
you're waiting is at is as important as what you're waiting
for. Church reduced.
We need a faith that endures the test of life and the test of
time. And this is what it means to
walk with God. Amen.
Let's pray.