Genesis 12:1, 4-7 ESV Scripture

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. Scripture

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Scripture

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,  Scripture

6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.  Scripture

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Scripture

The Promise to Abram

12:1, Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you … V4, So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.

Why do Chinese people immigrate to the US? Employment and educational opportunities, and the dream of owning a piece of land.

12:7, When they came to the land of Canaan 12:7, When they came to the land of Canaan. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

15:4, And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir” 

15:6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Abram believed in the Promiser (the Lord) - he wasn’t obsessed with the promise of a son and land.

16:2, And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.”

Sarai, on the other hand was obsessed with the promise of a son.

16:2 And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai 16:2 And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived.

Do you listen to the voice of God or man? Have you taken matters into your own hand and reaping the consequence of your actions?

17:1, 16, When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him … 16 I will bless her (Sarah), and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 

17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 

17:19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

22:1, After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Satan tempted Eve and Jesus. God doesn’t tempt anyone, he tests his followers. Is God testing you now with a difficult request?

22:9, When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

Is your dream been taken away by God? “Lord, Isaac is yours, not mine.” The Lord gave; the Lord can take him away.

Have you come to the point of understanding and acceptance that God can take away his blessings?

22:11, But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said … “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

Why did God stop him? Is God revealing the idols in your heart?

22:15, And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son.

22:17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven … 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

Because his eyes were on the Promiser and not on the promise, God gave Isaac back to Abraham

Because feared and obeyed God, God blessed him with many offspring. His offspring are the children of Israel and the children of God from all nations through faith in Christ.

When your heart only has God, when you love God more than your children or things, you are blessed. When you come to realize that God is all you need, you are truly blessed.

Don’t listen to the voice of man and take matters into your own hands; Wait on God, He will fulfill his promise in his time; God isn’t playing you, He will let you keep what he has promised to you.