Tuesday night Bible study, cont'd

Continuing on Abraham was without doubt one of the greatest men of all time. History records it for us; he is still honored today by Christians and Muslims and Jews. All claim him to one degree or another as their father. To the Jews he is the founder of the Jewish nation…to the Muslims he was of course the father of Ishmael who was the father of the Arab nations and consequently Muslims claim him as their father…and to Christians he has this special spiritual relationship, this faith in the finished work of Christ that he saw afar off and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
However he was also a man full of faults and failures just like you and me. He made mistakes just like we do…he feared the face of clay just like we do.
He sought to maintain a godly home but the worst strife he ever faced was in his own home…he had to choose between his wife Sarah and his first son Ishmael. Sarah said concerning Ishmael and his mother Hagar…”I want them out of here.” And it was probably the hardest thing he ever had to face with the exception of course of the turmoil in his heart when God told him to sacrifice Isaac.
Abraham met many challenges but the Bible says that he believed God…and it was counted unto him for righteousness. When you look at Abraham, ..what qualities do you see in him?
I see a man of great faith in spite of his failures; I see an intercessor, a prayer warrior if you will. I’m wondering if there are many intercessors today?
How we need those who will truly intercede on behalf of the lost and that takes us to Abraham’s great intercessory prayer for Sodom.

Abraham had a simple childlike faith in God. He believed God would do everything that He said He would do. Reading it from the New Revised Standard Version, ch 11, vs 11, “because he considered Him faithful who had promised”.
That is the essence of faith…our believing, we have considered Him faithful who has promised. So there is no need for fear of what lies ahead, because He is faithful and He has promised. He has promised a home in heaven…in fact He is there right now preparing for our entry. Abraham did not put down too many roots; he was looking for an eternal home. You can tell these people pretty quickly. Judy and I were having breakfast one morning on the ship with a couple from Michigan whom we had neve met before and right away they confessed that they were Christians, but we had already detected that by their spirit. And their manner of conversation. You can tell can’t you. When your spirit witnesses with their spirit and the Holy Spirit sanctions that witness, you know that they are Christians. And as we talked there over breakfast we talked about heaven…..we are seeking a home land. And it is by faith in the finished work of Christ. Repentance is the key thing. We have to be in a constant state of repentance, at least that is how I feel about it. We are no different than Abraham, are we? He messed up more than once but he was all the time building altars. I have had to build a few altars my self in my lifetime. The old hymn writer asks the question, “is your all on the altar of sacrifice lain, your heart does the Spirit control?”
Does He control your heart tonight? It’s the only life worth living another song says and I agree wholeheartedly. Abraham got into trouble when he went down to Egypt, Egypt is a type of the world. You can tell when an individual is spending too much time in Egypt by their worldly mindedness, they never spend time with God, hardly ever read His Word, they seldom speak of Him, their interests are on things on the earth, entertainment that is questionable, Read Colossians chapter 3 starting with verse 1. Our lives are hid, it says here with Christ in God. And I for one am glad…Christ is now my life. What does it say in Cor. I think it is? If any man be in Christ he is a new creature…old things pass away, behold all things become new….just as the Old Testament saints were in Christ , by faith, so we are also.